A Thoroughbred with Flat, White Feet...

My thoroughbred - with flat, white feet and very tender soles - yes, not your usual suspect for barefootedness! - pulled a tendon and had to have 10 months off in the field. This was 6 years ago. One of my immediate concerns was, what do I do with his feet? I didn't really want him wearing shoes during his time off but had horrible images of his feet becoming chipped and cracked beyond repair if I didn't keep him shod.

My farrier advised me to take his shoes off and let his feet get on with it! So I took that advice and spent the next 10 months in trepidation. His feet however were fine!

He was then declared fit to go back into work, but by this time I had got very comfortable with no shoes and had begun to read up on barefoot riding on the Internet, so decided I would give it a go. I also really dreaded having nails knocked in his feet again - it seems such a backward step having spent so long letting his feet adjust to natural living.

After much research and measuring I got easyboot bare for his backs and oldMac G2 for his fronts - and off we went! His transitioning was well under way as he had been lead in from the field regularly down a gravelly road, so really we never looked back. There was a stage when I put comfort pads in his fronts - but I think that was more for me than him!

After two years like that, I ditched the back boots and moved onto Old Mac originals on the front as his feet seemed to have become more round as they adjusted.

I have tried to go without the front boots but I think that is a step too far for his tender, flat feet. I ride mainly on road and tracks too, so it is quite  challenge for his feet.

His feet are now hard and strong. He has no further problems with his tendon, nor the ringbone that developed during that phase. His boots stay on in all terrain and have never rubbed him - I do always use gaiters however.

All in all, I am a huge convert to barefoot, and hope that I never again have to have a nail driven into my horses' foot!

 

Sarah, Dumfriesshire.

Sally and Buffy's adventure in Epics!

Hello!

I'm back from my mini expedition so here's my hoofboot story...  This year myself and my friend Jean had decided to ride from her house in Keswick to stay with another friend in Buttermere and then ride back.  2 days riding in the English Lakes.
My horse Buffy is barefoot and for this ride I had chosen to put on her hoof boots as the going was on roads and stony tracks.  She wears Easyboot Epics as you can see in the picture.

We set off from Keswick on Saturday morning and after negotiating some tricky busy roads we were soon on the bridleway, heading along between Catbells and Derwent Water.  The going was gritty but not too stony and Buffy went really well.  After Grange we went on another bridleway towards Honister which was much more rocky (think of an uphill climb on a riverbed with no water and you've pretty much got it!) but Buffy was fine in her boots.  In fact she had much more traction than the other, shod horse who even though he had road nails in his hind shoes found it pretty hard going.

We negotiated wooden bridges and a very narrow gate at which I had to remove Buffy's panniers so she could fit through!  Perhaps I need to pack a little lighter next time?

We paused for lunch on a grassy bit and admired the view whilst eating lunch.  Then we continued on towards Honister Pass and the slate mine.  The climb up to the pass was on a road and was very steep (all the overtaking cars smelt of burning clutch) but the horses kept on plodding.  Then we got to the top and looked down and down, and down...  The roadsign said the decline was 25%!  Buffy never slipped once in her boots and we were soon at the bottom and heading along the shores of Buttermere.

After passing several groups of tourists (many commenting on Buffy's "walking boots") we reached the farm we were staying at for the night. The next day we set off at 9 am sharp for the climb up to the top of the next hill.  We returned to Keswick via Newlands Valley (this road has a climb of only 20% compared to yesterday it seemed easy!) and Jean and I swapped horses.  Buffy did the accent and decent without slipping again despite the shoddy tarmac.

We rode over wooded bridges and through farmyards as well as along tracks and more roads.  The Epics were great on the cobbles in the old mine yard too.

We got back to Keswick just in time for lunch which pleased Buffy no end.

We had a super time and the hoof boots performed brilliantly.  I'd really recommend them for this type of terrain.  They really can't be beaten on rocky or gritty tracks. In my opinion they out perform metal shoes when faced with this sort of going.  I'm definitely going to use them again when I do another expedition in the Lake District.

Sally

The Laminitic Pony

"My daughters pony has suffered from laminitis and is now well on the road to recovery but everytime the pony is trimmed by the blacksmith he takes so much off her feet she is practically walking on her soles…..  so I bought some Easyboot Epics to make her more comfortable and it did seem to make a difference…. Did ask the blacksmith to leave a little more wall on the hoof so that she is not so foot sore…. The blacksmith did not see the need for shoes as not enough work done and I didn’t really like the idea of her having nails driven into her hooves as well as the laminitus, she generally has a very good quality horn…."
Thank you to Izzy for this great story- it sounds like your farrier is pasture trimming as opposed to barefoot trimming from what you describe. The golden rule is a horse should always walk away from a trim (at least) as sound as he walks into it! I would ask him to have a look at www.barefoothorse.com, an excellent website dedicated to the art of barefoot trimming of all schools, he should have your pony walking away without soreness in no time!

Chris and Meg

Meg is the coloured cob in the front of this picture. We have all hacked across Dartmoor to the pub in the rain and her boots are still holding firm, as you can see.  She wears over-reach boots with her epics as she did sometimes pull them off as she is a very extravagant mover.  Her pal JV (Joint Venture) is behind her, also in her epics.  Meg does endurance and did her first 48km ride across Exmoor this August. Very rough terrain and very gooey. The vet commented on how good her feet were and was very impressed when she finished sound.  Hope that this story is good enough to get me a magnetic hoof pick!  

C

  

It certainly is, thank you Chris! 

Wendy, Tally and Morgan

After almost four years of my two horses being barefoot, one has coped very well, but the other, Tally Ho!, a New Forest mare, has really struggled. Last summer, at our wits end, partly because of the shape of her feet, and partly because her feet are quite small, and all the other boots were too clumsy for her, and really aggravated her, we had more or less decided to put her back in metal shoes, something I really didn't want to do, but because of lack of exercise due to her being footsore, she had put on weight, and was borderline E.M.S.(equine metabolic syndrome) My trimmer and I then discovered Easyboot Glove, and decided we would try them as a last resort. We ordered your fit kit, followed instructions, the boots arrived very promptly, and we've never looked back. It has taken a while to get her back into work, and we've had to take things slowly, but the 'Gloves' are brilliant, she loves them, and everyone, including my vet, is asking about them, and all the village schoolchildren talk about 'Talls Trainers!' So a huge thanks to Easyboot for helping me keep her 'metal-free', fit and healthy. She's 18, by the way! Don't you just love her dainty ankle straps!
Kind Regards
Wendy, Tally and Morgan.

Barefoot horse at HOYS and banning unshod horses in showing

This is a note I read today on the Horse Hoof Facebook page. I also know of at least one other horse going to HOYS barefoot and I am sure there are many more! I would encourage anyone who feels competitors should be allowed the choice how they keep their horses to take the time to drop them a line. Personally, I would like to think the judge is knowledgeable enough to assess if a horse is balanced enough in whatever footwear (or lack of) that there may be before he decides to ride as I have seen more shod horses than barefoot slip in my lifetime!

 

by The Horse's Hoof on Tuesday, 07 September 2010 at 01:23

From: antonio checa

This Irish Draught horse called Mac, property of Becky Chapman, over 18hh has qualified to go to HOYS 2010 (for the second time!). He is 7years old and has been barefoot all of his life. Not only has he been competing since he was 4 years old as a heavyweight show hunter but has either won or been well placed in lots of top competitions. If you want to find out about this magnificient horse then go to the following web link:http://www.hoys.co.uk/blog/index.php/2010/08/31/from-hand-reared-to-hoys TheSports Horse Breeding of Great Britain now wants to ban unshod horses from the showring. This new rule only effects the riding class when the judges need to ride trhe horses.Their argument: it is not safe for the judges becuse the horse could slip and injure the judge! This does not make any sense because if this were truly the case then they would wear hard hats! Furthermore this new rule does not include the pony class where children ride their ponies. Does this mean that our children aren't important?

If you do not agree with this new ruling , then please write to them at the address below.  SPORT HORSE BREEDING OF GREAT BRITAIN96 HIGH STREET EDENBRIDGEKENTTN8 5ARTel:

Fax: 01732 867464If you know any other people who would support this campain, then please forward the address above to them.

Big thank you, in advance.A. Checa.    

email: office@sporthorsegb.co.uk

Easycare at Walt Disney World!

This is an entry into Easycare's blog about Kevins visit to 'The happiest place on earth' and it looks like for their horses, it soon will be! I have always been impressed with the standard of care of the animals at the parks that I have seen, and the horses are no exception with this bold yet commonsense move by Disney to take their horses barefoot. Their horses vary is size, breed and shape so it is a very good showcase how different types of working horse can all work very happily without shoes and also have all the benefit of life without the restriction of metal shoes.

"I had the good fortune last week to work with some of the people who manage the equine program at the Tri-Circle-D Ranch at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.


Tri-Circle-D Ranch - one of the first buildings erected when Walt Disney World was originally opened.
About the Horses
There are currently 79 horses at two locations on the massive Walt Disney World campus. Both barns are near the Magic Kingdom location and there is a diverse mix of horses there who are split into two disctinct groups. One set is made up of the large draft horse breeds like Clydesdales and Belgians. They are used principally for pulling carriages around the Main Street area - always at a walk and mostly on blacktop roads.


Some of the staff at Tri-Circle-D Ranch talk about the transition strategy.
The other set is made up of trail horses, mostly of quarter horse descent, with the odd Arabian and warmblood mix thrown in for color or height variety. Their job is to keep the guests entertained on five or six 45-minute trail rides per day. A smaller group of ponies give trail rides around the former petting zoo, which now provides a set of spacious paddocks for the little guys.


This location is where the trail rides start from. The shade was very welcome.
The horses are all in exceptionally good weight and health and the facitilies are meticulously maintained by a cheery group. The public - called 'guests' - are free to wander around the facilities. I was very impressed by the willingness of the staff to answer questions and share their love for what they do.


Impressive, isn't it, to think about implementing change at such a large institution?
 EasyCare and Exclusivity
As you can probably imagine, I wasn't just there to see what it is like at the happiest place on earth. I was there because Tri-Circle-D Ranch is transitioning their horse teams over to a barefoot/booted program and EasyCare will be the exclusive boot provider for their program.


Discussing the journey ahead.
An Impressive Approach
I flew down to Orlando to coordinate a visit there during the two days their barefoot hoofcare practitioner was pulling shoes from some of the horses - and trimming others who are already weeks or months into their barefoot transition. They brought in their vet so we could talk about the relevance of diet in the transition process, and it also gave us a chance to study x-rays of some of the horses' feet so the trims could be modified accordingly.

Some of these draft horses are unbelievably tall - we put a stick to one guy and it was not even big enough to get an accurate measurement. That means he was probably 18h3. It was fascinating to see these big hooves get trimmed - and to get a first hand understanding of the challenges they face. It is a humid climate with soft, wet ground for most of the year, and the hooves are definitely soft-country feet. One of the contributors to success for Walt Disney World will be the amount of work each of their horses is responsible for, which means every horse has a job and every horse is on a strictly monitored work program. This will help speed the transition process.


One of several pastures around the facility.
Those are Some Big Feet
We selected Easyboot Epics for their draft carriage horses - they will be using a combination of size 6 and size 7 for those horses. The trail horses will be using Easyboot Gloves - with the exception of Minnie, a draft horse cross, who will be parading down the trail in her size 4 Easyboot Epics.

All eyes are on the transition project down in Orlando - if this initial phase goes well, Walt Disney World in California will be our next stop. Please join us in wishing the entire team in Orlando the very best of luck in this bold move forward."