This is a picture of Daisy Dancer my TBx mare. I bought her in 2003 as a 3 year old and rode her barefoot from about 2 weeks later, on the recommendation of my farrier. Unfortunately, my really good farrier moved area and we had a few years struggling along with a farrier that didn’t know what he was doing (other than preparing a foot for a shoe) and we tried a few spells with shoes, but I knew it wasn’t right and she didn’t go as flowing as I knew she did without shoes. Plus, horse shoes are very slippy on our steep concrete drive – I hear people asking if they slip barefoot - I can’t believe how opposite of the truth that is, or why they can’t work that out by just observing!
I eventually went on a KC LaPierre barefoot trimming course and became aware of all the things my original farrier knew from experience. I now also trust my new farrier to shoe her occasionally (July and August), as I monitor that the foot is balanced and that the heels are not left too high or start to underrun. If they do, the shoes come straight off so that they can correct themselves. We now also have an Equine Podiatrist in our area who trims whenever she has a problem (WLD, a stone abscess or shrinking frog usually) and because she has thin TB feet, we use boots whenever she is going to do more than her feet are up to. She has had her old mac boots since about 2005 and uses them about once a month with a lot of those beach rides, so they are very worn but still well loved and have more years in them yet. As you can see from her picture, my daughter now rides her more than me and is supersensitive to your weight (no kicking and pulling required). She is a brave, trusting mare, who is bombproof and surefooted. She can spot soft ground a mile off and only swerves to get on the grass – it’s something that you get used to with a barefoot horse and just let them find the best ground for them.
Janette, Gwynedd
