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 "Drank the Kool Aid"
Posts: 5496
  
Location: Iowa, LA | rodeomom3 - 2014-01-25 3:44 PM They look great! I wish mine could/would go bare foot. I tried it for 6 months and they never quit acting like they were going to die, gave in and put the shoes back on.
Rodeomom-
I'd love to learn from your experience. I've only transitioned my 4.
Why do you think they had a hard time transitioning? What type of ground do you have at home? Did you have a barefoot trimmer or regular farrier working on them? Did you boot them? |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| annemarea - 2014-01-26 9:23 AM rodeomom3 - 2014-01-25 3:44 PM They look great! Â I wish mine could/would go bare foot. Â I tried it for 6 months and they never quit acting like they were going to die, gave in and put the shoes back on. Â Rodeomom-
I'd love to learn from your experience. I've only transitioned my 4.
Why do you think they had a hard time transitioning? What type of ground do you have at home? Did you have a barefoot trimmer or regular farrier working on them? Did you boot them?Â
My regular farrier who does barefoot trims. Â My guy was out long term with an injury so took the opportunity to pull shoes. Â Â I think my farrier knew what he was doing but don't really know. Â My ground was really hard gumbo, I have since moved. Â I did not put boots on him for fear he might trip and aggregate his suspensory. Â Â I now have soft rides for everyone and would love to try again. Â
I go to a lot of pens that have rocks, etc getting to and from pen which makes me think twice.. |
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Tell It Like It Is
Posts: 22025
Location: Wyoming | Wow! Those feet look amazing! Good job! |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | This makes me want to go barefoot!!
That link that someone posted was very informative.
i just can't imagine that my horses feet could look like that! They look so healthy!! |
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Veteran
Posts: 185
| Wow! Love seeing this! I'm new to barefoot riding/running and loving what I see! I was forced to race barefoot when leasing a horse for a few years his owner didn't want me to have him shod....best thing ever! My real turning point was when I was at a competition footing sucked and all the horses where slipping or falling. Everyone were getting really scared and so was I! Myself and one other rider didn't have any trouble....found out neither were shod!!!
I just posted on a thread about navicular corrective shoeing and said try barefoot.....I hoped it might at least plant the seed in their minds but I also figure everyone may just roll their eyes and think I'm crazy ...but I really think its the best chance. I've read and seen some amazing turn arounds!
Its been a hard road going barefoot ...no pun intended ...not the barefoot part but the closed mindedness! I don't know about any of you but I get a lot of "are you crazy....no shoes?" "You should really put shoes on him" "I take care of my horse". It makes it hard and at first you start to second guess yourself.
Its so nice to see those Beautiful hooves  |
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 Oh excuse me!
Posts: 2473
Location: S. California Beach | annemarea - 2013-11-24 6:58 AM raisinrox - 2013-11-23 6:12 PM Amen think of the thousands of horses out there that could be helped the same way.. There is a magazine for barefoot called The Horses Hoof and they would LOVE to see those pics and that story!!! Oh, it really makes me sick now....when I look at feet. And when I hear of all these "navicular" diagnosed horses! I think, wow, wonder what would happen if they just gave them some time to grow out those feet WITHOUT shoes and WITHOUT injections/surgeries. But I know most are just like I was, and follow what their vets are telling them...."Oh NO WAY can we let him go without shoes!" Well, sure....if you don't boot them and help them along....it will be excrutiating for them...but boy, what a difference you can make in their lives AND your pocketbook!!! LOL
My guy was diagnosed classic navicular...I did everything I could and surgery was unavoidale. He was barefoot for 2.5 years...
I am a HUGE barefoot proponent...been a barefoot trimmer for 12 years and have seen a huge transformation in many horses feet. Of course my horse has to be dificult and goes best in egg bars (much to my dismay).
Your guy looks great!!! |
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"Drank the Kool Aid"
Posts: 5496
Location: Iowa, LA | CowgirlLindz - 2014-01-29 10:51 AM Wow! Love seeing this! I'm new to barefoot riding/running and loving what I see! I was forced to race barefoot when leasing a horse for a few years his owner didn't want me to have him shod....best thing ever! My real turning point was when I was at a competition footing sucked and all the horses where slipping or falling. Everyone were getting really scared and so was I! Myself and one other rider didn't have any trouble....found out neither were shod!!! I just posted on a thread about navicular corrective shoeing and said try barefoot.....I hoped it might at least plant the seed in their minds but I also figure everyone may just roll their eyes and think I'm crazy ...but I really think its the best chance. I've read and seen some amazing turn arounds! Its been a hard road going barefoot ...no pun intended ...not the barefoot part but the closed mindedness! I don't know about any of you but I get a lot of "are you crazy....no shoes?" "You should really put shoes on him" "I take care of my horse". It makes it hard and at first you start to second guess yourself. Its so nice to see those Beautiful hooves
So awesome! Love to hear stories like yours! I thought the vets and farriers knew best and wasted thousands of dollars. The change that barefoot has made in all of my horses is amazing! They all have great feet that are no longer falling apart. 3 out of the 4 have no issues walking over rocks. Jug is kept off or booted since we are being so aggressive with his trim. But never did I even think of boots as an option for protecting them when they needed it. I always just thought I HAD to shoe them. And the greatest thing ever is never having to worry about pulled shoes or scheduling resets before races! |
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"Drank the Kool Aid"
Posts: 5496
Location: Iowa, LA | margoannrodeo - 2014-01-29 11:09 AM
annemarea - 2013-11-24 6:58 AM raisinrox - 2013-11-23 6:12 PM Amen think of the thousands of horses out there that could be helped the same way.. There is a magazine for barefoot  called The Horses Hoof and they would LOVE to see those pics and that story!!! Oh, it really makes me sick now....when I look at feet. And when I hear of all these "navicular" diagnosed horses! I think, wow, wonder what would happen if they just gave them some time to grow out those feet WITHOUT shoes and WITHOUT injections/surgeries. But I know most are just like I was, and follow what their vets are telling them...."Oh NO WAY can we let him go without shoes!" Well, sure....if you don't boot them and help them along....it will be excrutiating for them...but boy, what a difference you can make in their lives AND your pocketbook!!! LOLÂ
I am a HUGE barefoot proponent...been a barefoot trimmer for 12 years and have seen a huge transformation in many horses feet. Of course my horse has to be dificult and goes best in egg bars (much to my dismay).
Your guy looks great!!!
Can you tell me how you and your vets decided on surgery? Was an MRI done? Did he have changes in his bone? My trimmer has a horse that was so bad for so long that his coffin bone has eroded at the tip and she HAS to boot him to ride. It's tough when the damage is too severe. Glad my boy has made it this far. |
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 Go For It!
Location: Texas | I'm going to try to post a pic of my gelding's feet. They are au'natural. Just trimmed him today.
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I have quite a few races coming up then my schedule slows down. I am pulling shoes after March 12th. My farrier was showing me the difference in my retired guys feet whose shoes were pulled about a year ago and my shod horses. Wish me luck :). |
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Go For It!
Location: Texas | Here we go... OMGosh! How do I fix that??? I figured it out... :)
Only the one foot is done in this picture... That is what the other feet looked like prior to my trimming him... He was at about 6 weeks, because it's winter, and it's been really cold!
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"Drank the Kool Aid"
Posts: 5496
Location: Iowa, LA | Beautiful feet, grinandbareit!!! |
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I Need a Xanax!
Posts: 2774
| annemarea - 2014-02-15 5:48 AM
Beautiful feet, grinandbareit!!!
I agree. I'm no expert but that hoof looks perfect to me!  |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| grinandbareit - 2014-02-14 6:30 PM
Here we go... OMGosh! How do I fix that??? I figured it out... :)
Only the one foot is done in this picture... That is what the other feet looked like prior to my trimming him... He was at about 6 weeks, because it's winter, and it's been really cold!
Not going to pick your feet apart, but some people think this foot looks good.
I know you said this is before trimming.
If you look bottom left by the bars, there is some gravel in the white line, this can be the start of white line disease, or what some people call seedy toe. This horse doesn't have much thickness in hoof wall, this could be genetics, but I like to see a little more.
The other thing I notice is the black around the frog can be early onset thrush. I would also want to pare away half an inch around the frog, as this will help with the expansion and contraction of the foot. |
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Go For It!
Location: Texas | cheryl makofka - 2014-02-16 11:46 AM
grinandbareit - 2014-02-14 6:30 PM
Here we go... OMGosh! How do I fix that??? I figured it out... :)
Only the one foot is done in this picture... That is what the other feet looked like prior to my trimming him... He was at about 6 weeks, because it's winter, and it's been really cold!
Not going to pick your feet apart, but some people think this foot looks good.
I know you said this is before trimming.
If you look bottom left by the bars, there is some gravel in the white line, this can be the start of white line disease, or what some people call seedy toe. This horse doesn't have much thickness in hoof wall, this could be genetics, but I like to see a little more.
The other thing I notice is the black around the frog can be early onset thrush. I would also want to pare away half an inch around the frog, as this will help with the expansion and contraction of the foot.
Lol... I appreciate the critique. But actually, the pic of the right front is after the trim. This horse is 5 and has never had his frog trimmed or sole removed from his foot. He has great hoof walls...when I trim him I trim back to the waterline and roll the hoof wall back at the toe. He has NO seedy toe, nor the start of it, and tbat is a natural frog. This is what a natural hoof looks like. All that has been done is a little shaping (his entire life) to keep that wall from breaking off. And as for that thin hoof wall... nobody has to worry about it, cause he's not for sale. ;-) You can walk him across any ground you want. He has never taken a lame step. Dr Honnas said "that colt has some of the best feet I have seen in a in awhile". And... he's a 1d horse that has already chalked up a few pretty nice wins. I guess the proof is in the pudding. ;-)
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13502
Location: OH. IO | any new photos? |
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"Drank the Kool Aid"
Posts: 5496
Location: Iowa, LA | Hey guys! I've been in a total funk, but have been riding ALOT the past few weeks and my boy is more sound than he's ever been. My mare is doing great, as well. I'm just trying to focus on getting them legged up which isn't an easy task with the hours I work and having to deal with PSSM with the mare. My navicular nightmare gelding is having to do a lot of extra work by ponying the PSSM mare in order to keep her from being so back sore. LOL So, right now our rides are slow and long. I've got him built up to 12 minutes of trotting and the remainder walking. He's being worked 1-1 1/2 hours a day. I plan on taking new pics on the next trim in two weeks. I really have neglected my horses the past 6 months and just couldn't get back into the groove of riding. But I'm trying my best to get back into the habit! |
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 Scooters Savior
Location: "Si Fi" Ville | I am thrilled to see this!!! Could you pm me who to use for barefoot trimming close to my area if you know of anyone, I am from Louisiana. I would appreciate any steps, advice, tips, etc. anything. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| cheryl makofka - 2014-02-16 11:46 AM grinandbareit - 2014-02-14 6:30 PM Here we go... OMGosh! How do I fix that??? I figured it out... :) Only the one foot is done in this picture... That is what the other feet looked like prior to my trimming him... He was at about 6 weeks, because it's winter, and it's been really cold! Not going to pick your feet apart, but some people think this foot looks good. I know you said this is before trimming. If you look bottom left by the bars, there is some gravel in the white line, this can be the start of white line disease, or what some people call seedy toe. This horse doesn't have much thickness in hoof wall, this could be genetics, but I like to see a little more. The other thing I notice is the black around the frog can be early onset thrush. I would also want to pare away half an inch around the frog, as this will help with the expansion and contraction of the foot.
Forgive me ... but WHY??? If you pare more of the foot around the frog, aren't you removing the bars of the hoof that are needed for internal support?? I am not a barefoot guru nor am I a certified farrier but ... this doesn't make sense to my knowledge of equine anatomy at all.  |
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"Drank the Kool Aid"
Posts: 5496
Location: Iowa, LA | lindseylou2290 - 2014-05-23 1:39 PM
cheryl makofka - 2014-02-16 11:46 AM grinandbareit - 2014-02-14 6:30 PM Here we go... OMGosh! How do I fix that??? I figured it out... :) Only the one foot is done in this picture... That is what the other feet looked like prior to my trimming him... He was at about 6 weeks, because it's winter, and it's been really cold! Not going to pick your feet apart, but some people think this foot looks good. I know you said this is before trimming. If you look bottom left by the bars, there is some gravel in the white line, this can be the start of white line disease, or what some people call seedy toe. This horse doesn't have much thickness in hoof wall, this could be genetics, but I like to see a little more. The other thing I notice is the black around the frog can be early onset thrush. I would also want to pare away half an inch around the frog, as this will help with the expansion and contraction of the foot.
Forgive me ... but WHY??? Â If you pare more of the foot around the frog, aren't you removing the bars of the hoof that are needed for internal support?? Â I am not a barefoot guru nor am I a certified farrier but ... this doesn't make sense to my knowledge of equine anatomy at all. Â
My slightly educated mind agrees. My trimmer takes the stance of "less is more" and rarely touches anything on the sole or frog. It has taken longer to get the results we wanted with Jug but he's been able to work and ride, where as before he wasn't even pasture sound. As we became more aggressive with pulling the toes and heels back, I always booted him for rides. He needed the extra protection. Every horse is different as far as how long it will take, but his feet were so severely under run for so long it's been quite a challenge. The important thing is that he is SOUND even though he doesn't have the beautiful foot shape that Grinandbareit's horse does. That is our obvious goal, but more importantly that he is no longer toe stubbing lame! He's landing beautifully heel first...on heels that had significant internal damage! |
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