Transition to Barefoot...the journey

Barefooted

2009-09-25T09:26:00.000+01:00

Wednesday night was our last evening trip out around our 3.5mile lane hack. Dusk hits at 7pm and even though I put on a huge amount of hi-viz gear, I just don't want to risk the ratrunners coming out of Bristol. They obviously do not expect to see a pony on the road, and I'm not sure whether I prefer them to belt past or slam the brakes on. The tractor drivers are also in a real hurry at the moment. That said she felt fine in her feet and I pushed her a bit more than I normally do. So we are now going to switch routes. Evenings are going to spent going round the fields as light permits, and playing the Parelli friendly game. Saturdays, I will have my weekly lesson and Sundays will be doing a longer route hacking across varied terrain to keep her feet conditioning.

It's now 7 and half months since we went without shoes, and we seem to be doing fine.

2009-09-06T14:35:00.002+01:00

Went for a 3.5 mile road hack today. She seemed fine. Had a few ouch moments when she trod on some stones. It always seems to be her right front foot. She never stumbles on her left foot. I am getting somewhat curious again. I did at one point think the bruising had come back, but when she heard some shod horses coming down the lane, their riders voices only marginally louder than their horses feet, she trotted like her life depended on it...just couldn't wait to meet new friends. We also discovered just how grippy our feet were trotting down hill to get to a gateway when yet another ancient roaring tractor came up from behind with a haylage bailer in tow. I will trot her up tonight to see if there is any change in her gate..hopefully I will be able to find someone to look at her footfall.

I'm also going to give Parelli a go this winter so if anyone has any hints/tips, please let me know. No hate messages please...they are so dull and smack of ignorance.

Oh joy!!!

2009-09-01T10:28:00.003+01:00

I haven't posted for quite some time, sorry. So what has been happening since I last posted...

Dressage at Urchinwood, where we cam home with a very respectable 65.49% and just out of the rosettes. 1st place was up in the 70% region so not only was it close, but the standard was also exceptionally good. Then I discovered that 70% of the class were eventers out for a fun day, not that it should matter one bit, but I was very proud that my New Forrest pony held her own in such company, and was much better behaved away from the ring. We had one little skid in a downward transition from canter to trot, but that had a positive effect in as much as she listened to me more from then on, so our second transition down from canter was the most perfect I have ever had. We even scored an 8 which is so fab I could hardly contain myself.

Exercise wise I have been trying to do at least two days a week around the farm fields, dairy cows permitting, with a day out on the 3.5mile lane route, and Sundays extending our range to 15miles over lanes, fields and stony tracks. I still allow my pony to pick her way where the tracks are a bit rough, after all she knows what she is treading on now, and she has come back sound every time. That was until last weekend (23rd Aug). I went for a hack with my YO. Who on a tight schedule, pushed us fairly quickly. Add to that the horse she was riding spooks without notice, so we frequently found ourselves face to face, or nearly squashed. A saddle fitting on monday (the pony has also been on a diet), and trim on Monday evening, we were due to go for a gallop around the fields on tuesday. I thought she felt a bit strange on the way out of the yard, but it was only when I asked her to trot on the tarmac, that she showed up short on the right front. So we turned and headed for home. The following day, the shortness was alot more exaggeratted, but as teh vet was coming thursday to give her boosters, decided to wait and see what he had to say. The verdict was a bruised toe in her right front. I can only put this down to the patch of rubble we found our selves on when our fellow hackee decided to pull a paddy at an open track. The vet suggested that it may be through kicking her stable door, but as I am not there in the mornings I have no idea what happens, besides we don't get told anyway. This is the worst she has been so far, and I think from now on, I am going to stick to going out on my own so we can go at a pace which is comfortable and helpful to her feet transition.

She is now sound on soft ground, but is feeling her right foot, even where there are a few stones.

One thing puzzles me...why use sharp edged stone for paths, etc. Surely they are more prone to getting stuck in things, tyres, shoes, etc only to be carried away?????

McTimony verdict

2009-07-06T14:31:00.002+01:00

Well, again its been a while. The footy pony has been on a diet, and is finally begining to loose weight. The farmer isn't terribly impressed with my dust bowl, and the yard manager keeps muttering about sand colic. I could understand that if a) she was prone to colic and b) if I was grazing her on a beach dune or somewhere like Frensham Ponds in Surrey. Sadly, she is on concrete like Somerset red clay.

I had a McTimony practitioner, Helen, look her over a week ago today. So respected that I didn't even get to finish her double-barrelled surname before my vet was saying "yes, go right ahead, she is excellent". OK...cool. Helen was very interested in the transition to barefoot as she has decided to take her 30 year old mare barefoot, whom she still competes at dressage. All through out her assessment and treatment, Helen could find no tell tale signs of foot pain. So although, my pony is footy, less so now the fructans going in are minimal, we both reached the same conclusion. We have become so used to ridden horses not feeling what is under them, that we tend to over-react when the sense of feeling returns, and assume that they are at risk of going lame. In actual fact the horse is learning to feel with its feet once more.

First snag.

2009-06-19T10:36:00.002+01:00

I finally got around to reading barefoot books by Pete Ramey and Jamie Jackson.... I think my pony may have become slightly underrun on her heels, so is probably walking a little on her toes. That said, her hind feet are definately beginning to shorten from 13cm long by 10 wide. We will take another measurement on the 20th July when Sam is back to trim. I went on a 3 and half mile lane hack hack yesterday. The last time we went out (2 weeks ago), Tansy struggled with the stones. Since then she has been taken off the paddock she was in and turned out for an hour at each end of the day on a paddock seeded for ponies. The rest of the time she is out on a wood chip school with an Arab for company. The arab is allowed no grass due to azoturia, which is controlable if she is not allowed rich pasture. That Tansy was able to cope with the trip out yesterday all points to the pasture being the root of the problem, so this weekend we are creating a bare paddock area for both Tansy and her arab pal. The farmer doesn't like the idea, but then our ponies are not dairy cows, and as it is only for the spring/summer months, that paddock can be left to recover over the winter and the bigger horses will then graze it down for us in the early months.

The next thing I discovered was that a little collection of stones had worked their way into the white line quite deeply close to the heel where the bar comes in. I managed to pick them out with a shoe nail, but there is some sensitivity there and it looked like the beginning of an infection. Fingers crossed I have nipped that in the bud. More after the weekend....

Hoof Boots...are they a compromise?

2009-06-16T14:14:00.002+01:00

I have just taken a look at the Rockley Farm website. Located in Exmoor it is not terribly far from where I live, and I may give them a ring to see if they have a rehab place available. The boots are working a treat. I have a pair of Easy epics. The idea is to have them tight, but not over tight. I also suspect that the richness of the pasture (it is a dairy farm and the farmer seems to think that ponies need to be kept on knee high grass) is not helping, and is producing the footy tendancies. The problem is, if I have to use hoof boots because she is sensitive in her feet due to the pasture, how on earth am I going to condition them???? The tough bit is that dear Tansy is now only allowed an hour of grass in the morning and an hour in the late afternoon, and if people are using the menage, that is all the turnout she is getting, so the weight is not coming down either. The yard manager suggested I ride more, the only trouble with that being that I am already out with the pony until 9pm (at least an hour and a half of riding at trot with a bit of canter) and both food and sleep deprivation is beginning to take its toll. I'm trying hard not to be suspicious of their motives, as they will charge me £25 an hour to exercise her, in place of providing me with suitable starvation turnout. If push comes to shove, at that price I will be moving to a part livery place where they have everything except the kitchen sink, and the service is full monday to friday with DIY on the weekends.

Looking good.

2009-05-14T14:26:00.003+01:00

OMG!!!!! Went for a hack round the farm last night with some yard friends. I was a bit concerned as she has been feeling the stones of late, to the point where I have ordered some hoof boots. By all accounts it takes 9-12 months for the new growth at the top of the coronet band to have reached the sole...so it will take that long for her feet to adjust.

Having said all that our showing debut preparation is coming along a treat. We even managed a collected gallop!

We are still doing our 3 mile road hack each Sunday, although this weekend looks like it will be cancelled as there is a trail bike day at the neighbouring farm...so probably not a good idea to be out on the roads with trailers laden with quads and trail bikes blasting past. I try not to get annoyed with careles drivers, but sometimes it hard not to blast a string of expletives when vans and towed caravans career past at break neck speeds....oh my kingdom for a horsebox.

2009-04-22T20:58:00.002+01:00

It has been some time since I put anything on this...preparation for the Royal Bath & West show seems to have taken over life in general a bit. I never knew there was so much you had to buy to look smart...as for getting used to a show saddle...my pony is definately an XW and I am feeling it.

Anyway, back to barefoot. The ground is now dry, and my pony's hooves are proving to be as hard as nails. We have worked our way up to 5 miles a week on the roads. That may sound a lot, then again it may sound like not a lot at all. I have also had to consider the lay of the roads. Being 900ft up on the top of the Mendips, every which way is down, with the inevitable back up. The lanes have some very steep parts, which my dear pony tends to waddle her way down dragging her back toes. Fortunately she squares them both off evenly. I have also noticed that she develops her own break over points, just as with being shod. She hasn't slipped once, where she used to even with road nails. She hasn't showed any signs of becoming foot sore, but she does feel the larger stones, just like we do through our shoes I guess. One bonus is that I haven't had to dismount to remove one of these large stones which were forever getting lodged between the frog and the shoe. Her frogs have flattened and hardened, and you can see where the toe callous is beginning to form. All through out I have had no bruising of the soles, we are jumping higher than we were before, and she is far more confident in her stride. I do think it will be another 6 months to a year before her sole conformation recovers fully from being shod. I have found that I have had to do a certain amount of road work each week to actually wear her feet down. I think I would have needed a trim 4 weeks ago without the 3 - 5 miles each Sunday. Trotting also seems to wear more than just walking the whole way. I haven't put on any hoof hardener or conditioner as I was advised that this would only interfere with the natural regeneration processes going on in her feet.

One other thing, the nail holes are nearly all grown out now. Its taken 8 weeks. The barefoot trimmer is back out to us on Monday, so I will get her verdict and report back.

Road trip

2009-03-18T13:29:00.003Z

Finally we got out on the road last Saturday. My pony had a variety of surfaces to deal with, ranging from smooth worn tarmac, to recently resurfaced stony stuff. Mud covered lanes with big stones were also on the menu. We went out with a 17hh Clydesdale who is also barefoot, and has been for 7 years and an ID with shoes on. My pony's way of going was just as if she were shod, if not a bit better. She did wear her toes on her back feet which are now squared off. She also rolled her front feet so she now shows a break over point just as you would see with metal shoes. She picked up a few little stones in her white line which were a bit stubborn about coming out, but as her feet develop back to being without shoes, the white line will become narrower with less chance of these stones getting bedded in. She dealt with teh big stones just as she did when she had shoes on, so no difference there. As for any slipping, there was none. She was a little uncertain to start with, as I guess the ground felt different to the last time she did the route with shoes on.

Last night we went off round the farm both on grass and stony track, and the transformation is becoming more apparent. She strode out with a confidence I have not felt since the early days of backing her, and doing our beginners trips. She is definately feeling more confident in her feet, possibly because she can feel more of what she is walking on, instead of getting a second hand message from her feet. She felt as happy as larry, which in turn made me feel very happy indeed.

Bad weather stops play

2009-03-08T19:08:00.002Z

The planned short hack to see how my pony will get on with road work didn't happen. Howling gails, sleet and hail showers making the ground look slightly reminiscent of the snow at the beginning of february...both my friend and I decided to leave it until next Saturday.

Having said that, however, I did have my weekly lesson on Saturday. Normally, she feels like she is going to slip in canter when on a circle. This week she felt less likely to do so. Her pace also feels subtly different, and her canter has more boing. Whether this is due to having her shoes taken off, is open for debate at the moment. The yard manager stopped to chat with my instructor to say she thought my pony was "less boring" to watch. Again, how much this is due to my not over working her and making her school sour, and how much is due to the shoes coming off is up for debate. She also jumped really well and thoroughly enjoyed our hours work out.

My instructor is very pro-barefoot, and only shoes her warmbloods if they prove unable to take the work without shoes. As such I feel I am in very good hands, as she is on the ground watching us every week, she will be the first to spot anything that isn't quite right.

We are barefoot!!!!!

2009-03-03T09:24:00.003Z

Ok...so there I was expecting to be told that I would need to buy some hoof boots, that I would need to feed x, y and z.... but no. The shoes came off, the pony walked and troted on concrete, and stony ground...no sign of her "feeling" her feet at all. The horn is good, her soles are thick, the only thing I need to be awarte of is that as her feet grow, the nail holes will cause a certain amount of disruption. The white line will also become thiner as the hoof returns to its unshod state, but apart from that absolutely no issues. And best of all, my dear pony dozed off. For the rest of this week (weather permitting) I am going to school and ride around the farm. We will then venture out on Sunday morning to do our weekly trip on the lanes. It will be interesting to see if she slips (which she did even with road nails/studs), and if she drops her hip every now and then.

Of course I do have to give credit to the farrier who has shod her for the last year and a half. If he was not as good as he is, we would not have been able to go barefoot so easily. But I do also have to give myself some credit...feed wise, I have been giving her everything she needs for tough healthy feet for years. I think I may even buy shares in Hilton Herbs. Seaweed and Nettle are both very good for feet, by all accounts, even if I have been feeding it for a diagnosis of anaemia after a bad flu/tet jab reaction....far better than redcell.

Best of all, my barefoot trimmer, also being an artist, has taken away one of my dear pony's shoes to paint up and put a wee portrait of her on each tip. I will keep posting and will let you know how we get on out on our little hacks.

2009-02-27T10:45:00.003Z

Well, so much for posting weekly...lol. Since my last chat I have discussed barefoot with my instructor, a BD accredited judge. I was half expecting a horrified response, but to my surprise, not only is intructor all for it, keeping her own dressage horses barefoot as much as possible, but is also going to lend me some books on the subject. I have been warned that I might become obsessed with my pony's feet by people that have already converted to barefoot and gone through transition.

I am still a little concerned about it all, not least becuase of the wide variety of hoof boots on offer. Fortunately there is an online retailer that does hire them, so you can try before you buy to see which fit the best. So roll on Monday...

Anticipation of the Journey

2009-02-12T15:24:00.000Z

Hello,

Well, this is it...I have made the decision to have an assesment done. Can my pony go barefoot? That will be something I will find out on the 2nd of March when I have a visit by an Equine Podiatrist.

No doubt there will some people who will wonder why I am choosing to do this, so I will give you a little background. My pony is a New Forest, whom I have had the privilege to own for the last 8 years. Since her first shoeing in 2004, and particularly since we moved to Somerset, she has become more and more reluctant to have shoes on. She now won't stand still for the farrier unless I hand feed her treats. How much of this is dislike for what is actually going on I am not sure, but take away the treats and her behavoiur is even worse. Farriers have always told me what good strong feet she has, but have also sucked their teeth and the mention of her going without shoes.

Having had time to read around the subject, for which there now seems to be much more proven information available, I feel I am ready to take the plunge. I am not planning to compete my pony this year, and possibly not next year either, as I want to buy my own transport to get us out and about, so its now or never for the barefoot transition challenge. What restrictions/conditions I will be under to gain the most benefit for my pony by going barefoot, remains to be seen and will only be known as we actually start. I may be looking at investing in hoof boots and supplementing her diet with hoof building herbs. What I thought I would do here is give a weekly update on how things are going...