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Day of transition: 29th July 2004 Horse: Nero - 16.1hh 12 yr old TBX gelding
Problem: Gradual distortion of hoof capsule in near fore and on and off lameness. Shod in Sytech shoes for over 12 months.
This journey of ours all started one day when a friend of mine said she had read this great book called 'A Life Time of Soundness' by Hiltrud Strasser. It was all about horses being barefoot. I did not take too much notice at the time but my friend lent it to me and said I should read it as it gave a great insight into the workings of the horse's hoof. Well, always being interested in how things worked, I sat down one night and started reading. I don't think I hardly put the book until I had finished it. I was blown away. I now had a good understanding of how the hoof worked and how metal shoes affected the horses circulation as the hoof did not operate as it was designed to and consequently affected everything about the horse from its general health to adverse changes in temperament.
At the time my horse was being shod in Sytech shoes that my vet told me I should put on my horse, as he had been suffering from slight lameness in his near fore. Prior to this, the farrier that was shoeing him at the time had, over time, gradually made his near fore a lot smaller than the off. So naively off we went with a new farrier and Sytech shoes. No one mentioned how long they should be on for and I did not know a lot about them except that they changed the break over action of the horse's hooves.
To start with things went well. Nero's movement seemed a lot freer and he seemed to be so much more comfortable. But after about 8mths his movement changed and he started not wanting to move forward. His movement had become quite choppy and he was again lame on and off. But the most bazaar thing was that over the next 6 months the near fore hoof capsule started changing shape. It started dishing inwards. To cut a long story short, after numerous discussions with the farrier and more vet visits, on the last farrier visit (after reading 'A Lifetime of Soundness') I said 'TAKE HIS SHOES OFF'. All I can remember thinking, as I watched my farrier drive off up the road and as I lead my hobbling horse over our slightly gravely drive way, was God, what have I done, come back and put his shoes on again.
Well, our first barefoot trimming experience was the Strasser method that I thought at the time was fantastic, as the book had been so informative. The concept all sounded great (though quite extreme) and it all made sense but the trouble was my horse could not walk (and walking was all he could do) on anything other than grass, and with me NOT on his back. So in the early days I spent a lot of time taking him for walks in hand. The beach was good, around my friend's local dairy farm and anywhere else that was 'easy on the feet'. We invested in Mac boots that helped immensely. But he still was not really comfortable. I was so frustrated.
After months of this with no improvement I started to think that this sole thinning stuff couldn't be that great as my horse basically was in pain. He was walking on his thinned soles, which at the time, before being artificially concaved by thinning the sole, were very flat. I started to think it was time to make some changes.
I then read a book called 'Making Natural Hoof Care Work forYou' by Pete Ramey and that was the turning point for me. It's based on the wild horse hoof and it just made so much sense. I could now understand why my horse had been so sore. I had previously done one of Jenny Lomas's one-day hoof clinics, which was amazing. So I got in contact with Jenny. Lucky for me and Nero, Jenny started trimming him and we have gone from strength to strength so much so that on June 16th 2005 we rode with friends on the road and up a very long gravel driveway for the first time with no boots. When I saw the gravel, I thought OK I'll have to get off and lead him, but he coped really well and was even up the front with the other shod horses. I was so blown away, walking barefoot on gravel, only in my dreams. This had been my goal for nearly a year. We can now only go from strength to strength. The journey has been well worth it.
My goal now is to compete in low level dressage and show jumping this season and lots of hacking on any terrain I choose on my boy with his beautiful healthy shiny barefoot hooves.
I would like to highlight some important changes in my horse since being barefoot:
- Change of temperament- more relaxed consistent behaviour
- Sole concavity is being regained in all hooves (front a bit slower)
- Improved change in distorted hoof capsule
- More freedom in his movement
- Improved health - no colds or skin problems
- Stands like a 'real' horse - covers more ground
- Hooves have increased in size as the heels have started to de-contract
- He is now comfortable jumping and enjoying it
- A general look of health, shiny coat of good colour, bright interested eye etc.
And the great thing is that I can maintain my horse's hooves myself (with Jenny's help). I know how to check the angles and how to trim the hoof wall and bars. Thank you. Jenny, you also have a lovely way with baby horses which is so important in their early days of learning to have their feet trimmed. Thanks again.
NB I would also like to add that my horse suffered an injury to his near fore hoof in the early days so this probably set us back a few months as the hoof grew out.
AND
Also I now realise that the bare foot transition period varies considerably from horse to horse (as my friends horse has shown me who was basically walking on gravel within a couple of months of being barefoot) In the early stages some horses cope better than others. But be patient as it is well worth it.
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