HOOF AUTHORITY

Why would you want your horse to go barefoot? Well for one reason it will greatly improve your horses health. Shock absorption will increase in his hooves where it belongs. Shock was meant to dissipate in the hooves not other joints in his body. A healthier hoof means a healthier horse. There are many benefits with barefoot but it comes with a bit of sacrifice for the horse owner. All horses can go barefoot but not all horse owners are able to deal with it. You actually have to be a better horse owner. When you decide to "go barefoot". You have to take the whole horse in to consideration. Diet, exercise , living arrangements etc are vital for most horses to obtain strong feet. A diet low in sugar, and hopefully a lot of exercise is very important for all horses but even more so if you want your horse to go barefoot, as you can't have healthy hooves on an unhealthy horse and the other way around, without noticing it. You can successfully hide problems with steel shoes for some time but not forever. On a barefooted horse it will show up right away. Which is a good thing as you can deal with the problem before it becomes something serious. To transition your horse over to barefoot you will need a pair of boots. Easycare and Renegades make great boots for every style of riding.

The boots is not an admittance of failure. It is a tool to be used so you can keep exercising your horse the very same day you pull his shoes off. Not only do they protect but with a pad in them they actually also help to condition the lateral cartilages and digital cushion which are very important and often forgotten structures of the hind part of the hoof. They are the very thing we are trying to strengthen and in the boots they will. If you try to ride your horse barefoot without boots (In harsh terrain) you will find that the horse shortens its stride a bit and you are back to square one. Toe landing first is not how we condition the hooves. It is pathology and we have to avoid it at all cost. In the beginning you will be cursing up a storm when you try to put boots on your horse but they are no different then any boots you own for yourself. They might rub in the beginning so don’t go for a long ride when you first try them on. And just like with old boots. If you use them often (That’s the hole idea right?) they will slide on like a pair of slippers after a while. Making you wonder why you ever cried about it in the first place. So let an experienced person find the right boots, and have fun riding everywhere you ever wanted to take your horse.

I started trimming brood mares and peoples neglected backyard horses, and learned the hard way that I can only save these guys with their owner’s assistance. When struggling in muddy paddocks trying to trim feet that had last been trimmed 6 months ago, or trying to devise a bandage that would stay on an abscessed foot when the horse's pasterns were buried in mud, I realized that.... I needed to focus on horses I could help.

I can help the horses but I can't change the owners. I now let them know what they need to do to help their horse, and let them know that if they work to heal their horse, I'll work hard next to them. If they can't do their part, I give them a few names of folks who may be willing to work with them.

It’s a heart breaker....

Pete consoled me once that I'd made the right decision about not working with the owner of a horse that was fed to obesity, had laminitis and chronic thrush. "When the vet looks at that foot and asks who the hoof care provider is, do you want your name associated with it? Is there anything you can do to change her?"

Tough.... I leave the door open, tell them that if they decide to try working with me, I would love to work with them, but ask them, please, not too wait too long because the effects of laminitis are NOT reversible. This is their horse’s life, and no, they don't get a Do-Over if they realize they were wrong.

Linda

Linda Cowles
Certified Hoof Care Provider
WWW.HealthyHoof.Com
mailto:HealthyHoof@Comcast.net