167. Making Progress...

This evening i took Spice out for a walk as i hacked her out yesterday for the first time in weeks so didn't want to ride out twice in a row being that i have only just got back on her. She was brilliant on her hack yesterday and just as good if not better this evening. She started off a little unsure but soon relaxed and was 100% responsive to my cues. :) I was really pleased since it was the first time i'd been out with her on my own for weeks and we actually went for longest walk we've done so far. It's great seeing this kind of progress as it reassures me that i am doing the right thing. Her hooves are also looking great at the moment so fingers crossed they stay that way. :)

118. Barefoot Trimming

Today Spices crack (which was only just dangling on yesterday) finally came off just in time for the trimmer to give it a trim so i am pleased to say they are looking a lot prettier. :) Now that the crack has grown out i expect and hope that Spice's lameness on that hoof will subside as otherwise it would indicate that there is another problem besides the crack which was causing her to be lame. :( However, having lost half of her heel and a chunk of her wall it is hardly surprising that she is tender on it. I would hope that by the end of the month she would be sound again (providing the hairline crack above, where the second abscess burst) does not turn into anything larger. Fingers crossed it doesn't!

I will be so glad when i can finally ride Spice out again. From my experience so far I would strongly suggest to anyone considering going barefoot to wait at least 3 months before riding out on roads and to only do this when they are sure the sole has grown thick enough to provide sufficient protection against punctures. I can't help but think that if it weren't for riding out barefoot so soon after Spice had her shoes removed none of the above would have happened. If i could go back in time i'd definitely have used hoof boots but...you live and you learn.

I found a brilliant website the other day which sells lots of natural based products specifically for barefoot hooves... http://www.barefootbasics.co.uk/products.htm

117. Patience...

I haven't had much to report lately as due to Spices hoof i haven't been able to do much with her. However, the good news is the crack has almost grown out to the point where it is only just hanging on so i am hoping that tomorrow Sarah (our trimmer) will be able to just file it off and give it a good tidy up. Fortunately, the sole is looking surprisingly healthy in comparison to a few weeks ago with some good thickness. So it will just be the wall which has come off with the crack which will need time to build up. Hopefully, once Sarah has been Spice will be more comfortable and as of next week i can start long reining and lunging her again. If i do this for one month she should then be fit enough to ride again.

I have decided to buy some hoof boots for her for when i ride out on the roads so that at least for the summer she has added protection as although her soles have really built up it has still only been 5 months since she was last shod so theoretically she is still in her transition phase.

The hoof boots i have chosen to buy are the easy-care glove boots, i like the fact that they look quite flexible and that they are also rated as one of the easiest hoof boots on the market to put on.

http://www.easycareinc.com/our_boots/easyboot_glove/Easyboot_Glove.aspx

87. Groundwork, Hooves & Magnesium Update...

Today i took Spice for a 15 minute walk around the village and she was absolutely brilliant, so trusting and so attentive. Every day i take her out i see how she improves. I definitely think the magnesium has had an effect on her too. It was quite windy today but she remained calm and relaxed from the moment we left the yard to the moment we got back. When i think back to how nervous and agitated she was when i first tried to lead her away from the herd i realize just how far we have both come. I can't wait to ride her out. Her hooves still seem to be holding up well which is good so my aim is to start riding her out daily for 30 minutes at a time so they get used to walking on hard ground. The last time she was shod was back in November so she has now had almost 5 months of growth. I can't believe how quick it's gone. I am hoping that within 3 months i can hack her out daily for 1hr at a time with no problem. The loveliest thing about doing things with Spice is knowing that she actually enjoys doing them she stands at the gate waiting for me to arrive and even after i've given her food still stands there almost as though she is waiting for me to 'catch her'. But I never want to get to the point where i have to 'catch her' i like the way we seem to 'catch' each other. :)

78. Barefoot Trims & Horse care which way is the right way?

Sometimes i wonder why professionals can't just agree on the best way of doing something and do it. It surprises me that even professionals in the same field of work have such different ways of doing things and makes me wonder as a horse owner how can you ever be sure which way is the right way? Just doing a 2 minute search on google i managed to find five different methods of barefoot trimmimg...

The Strasser Method
Natural Balance Hoof Care
Martha Olivo
The HPT Method
AANHCP The Wild Horse Trim

Spice has her next trim in just under 5 weeks so i really hope that by this time her abscess has fully healed. Due to there still being a hole in her sole i have to be careful about taking her out on the roads for at least two more weeks otherwise i risk it getting punctured and re-infected. So it's a bit of a waiting game. The podiatrist who came and trimmed my friends horses hooves today said that the best thing to do with abscesses is to just leave them and let them heal naturally rather than digging a hole and draining it there and then but what do you do when you have a vet standing in front of you with 7 years experience saying the opposite and a horse that is so lame they can't walk?

At the minute i am feeling a little frustrated with all the contradictory advice/literature. It seems the more i ask and the more i read sometimes...the more confused and uncertain i become...and i'm guessing i'm not the only one...

60. Applying the last poultice day 12

Quick update on spices hoof abscess, it's almost finished draining now i think as there was only the smallest amount of puss on the poultice today so with any luck it will have stopped draining by tomorrow. Am actually quite bored of writing about it now...Am really looking forward to being able to do some groundwork with her as i haven't been able to do any for the past two weeks!

59. Saying goodbye to Spices Hoof Abscess - Day Ten!

Hoorah! Spices hoof abscess definitely seems to be on the mend, as you can see from the poultice above the abscess is still draining but hardly anything has come out over the past 24hrs so it is definitely on it's way out. I wasn't sure whether to apply a wet poultice today or a dry poultice but since she has had a wet for the last three days and there's hardly any muck draining i thought perhaps a dry one would be better. She is also far less lame in fact she's walking fine now so all good signs. I'm hoping that we will only have to dry poultice it for another three days at most and that then we will be able to leave it alone and let nature do the rest. My only hope is that it doesn't come back like it did before...I'm not sure how long it will take for the hole which was made to grow out and for her hoof to be sound in general but hopefully the podiatrist will be able to tell me more on wednesday.

58. Day nine of spices abscess...

So, it's day nine of spices abscess and it is still draining...once again there is not quite as much puss on the poultice as yesterday and it is also not as dark but there is still a fair amount.

On the plus side there was no wind and the sun was shining so spice stood still without me even putting a lead rope on her...If only she could be like this all the time...

55. Day eight of spices hoof abscess

So, it looks as though Spices abscess is still draining, there was quite a bit of puss on the poultice but not quite as much as yesterday and not as dark which i am guessing is a good sign. She made it really hard to apply a poultice today though. It was a bit windy and being the skitty horse that she is she just wouldn't stand still. How my friend got the poultice on i don't know. I just hope it stays on otherwise i fear we'll probably be back to square one. I still think if you can go barefoot you should and physically/genetically i think spice can but i fear that the process of getting her may be far more difficult than i first perceived. If she was a quiet natured horse that was calm and had no problems with standing still the job of applying a clean poultice and dealing with the issues of going barefoot would be easy but as she is not and it seems likely that she may get more abscess whilst in transition i am doubting whether or not i will be able to continue this path. Feeling a bit down about the fact that sometimes just doing the simplest of things with spice seem sooo difficult. Yet seconds later she is the calmest, softest and easiest horse to be around...?! SIGHS...

53. Spices Hoof abscess is getting better...i think!

It's day seven of spices abscess and the good news is...it's definetly draining! We took the poultice off today and it was absolutely covered in puss. Luckily i have a blocked nose so couldn't smell it! I am hoping that some more will drain today but not as much as this would suggest that the infection is clearing. As soon as the wet poultice looks clean i will apply a dry poultice to protect the hoof from becoming re infected until it has fully repaired itself. I am also pleased to say that spice is definitely more comfortable than she was the day before and that the rest of her hooves look brilliant, they are not warm/hot and they do not appear to have any splits or cracks in them so all is not bad. I just can't wait until the podiatrist comes, once she has been i think i will feel a bit more confident about the condition of spices hooves.

Well done spices hoof for being strong and fixing yourself. :)

52. Spices Hoof Abscess is getting worse again!

It's now the sixth day of spices abscess and when i got to the yard i decided to have the vet come and see her as she seemed a little worse than she did yesterday and from what i could see on the poultice nothing was draining so i thought there could be a chance that the abscess was still live especially given the fact that she was still lame. Unfortunately i was right they said that the abscess had spread so had to make another hole to drain it (pictured below). I then cleaned it thoroughly and applied a warm wet poultice so hopefully this will help drain the rest of the abscess and all i have to do then is apply a dry one so the area stays clean while it is healing.



I think the most important thing is keeping it completely clean and free of debris so that it can drain freely but with all the mud and rain that there's been up until now it hasn't been easy to do this so i am hoping that the weather will stay dry and help with the healing process. I am beginning to see why people give up with the whole idea of going barefoot. It's a lot more hassle than just wacking on a pair of shoes...will have to just see how it goes i guess, whilst i am still 100% determined i completely appreciate the reasons why many people choose to shoe their horses.

Below is a video i found about how to treat an abscess which i found quite helpful...

51. Spices Hoof abscess is getting better...

It's the fifth day of spices abscess today and i am pleased to say it seems to be a lot better than it was yesterday. The abscess still seems to be draining a bit but she isn't in nearly as much pain with it and she is far less lame. I only hope she continues to improve, I have the podiatrist coming to visit in 9 days time so fingers crossed she will say all is well.

50. Spices Hoof abscess is getting worse...

So, it's day four of spices abscess and she is still hopping lame. :( I feel a bit guilty today because i guess i think that if i hadn't have removed her shoes the chances are she'd be fine. But i know or at least think that in the long run what i am doing is best for her. I just hope she doesn't have too many more abscesses because they're obviously pretty painful.



I am keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow she will look a bit better and be less lame.

I question what i am doing only because i am only going along with what i have read rather than seen first hand and so far all i see is my horse looking miserable and half crippled. I hope i am doing the right thing. :(



On the plus side, at least she still has an appetite!

49. Update on Spices Hoof Abscess...

Today was so messy and muddy. I arrived at the fields this morning to find our horses had escaped for a third time :( so spent the first hour just tidying up after them and mending the electric fence. After being rained on for about one hour my friend turned up to help me apply a new poultice to spices hoof but that didn't go so well as i think spice was certain that we were trying to kill her by putting her in the stable in order to do it out of the mud.

The good news is the puss and muck from her abscess is draining nicely but spice is still very sore and is limping around. :( I hope it starts to feel less painful for her soon. It's not nice having a disabled horse.

I really hope the weather starts getting better soon too. All this mild weather and rain makes for a bit of a mud bath in the fields and wheelbarrows and mud are two things that should never be put together.

On top of this i am feeling as though i am coming down with the flu but apart from that everything else is great. ahhhh

48. Spices Hoof Abscess

So, i said i'd give you an update on spices hooves and here it is....

I arrived at the yard today to find her hobbling along like she was crippled! Luckily i had my friend on hand to show me how to apply a poultice after the vet had been down to lance it but all the same it was pretty horrible to see spice in so much pain.

It's funny because just as i thought spice was making a brilliant transition this happens but i guess it's to be expected after all its only been 4 weeks and i was reading too that sometimes if a horse has had trauma to it's leg in the past where an infection has been present it can sometimes be trapped and unable to disperse due to the hoof being shod and lacking circulation so it can 'hide away' and lurk inside and not come to the surface so to speak until the shoes are removed. So, in view of the fact that both of spices hind legs were sliced by bramble a week or so prior to shoe removal it is quite possible this is what has caused the abscess.

Anyway, I have an expert on hand with lots of experience with abscesses to help me with the poultices so hopefully within a few days it will have diminished.

http://www.successful-natural-horsecare.com/hoof-abscess.html

Below is a video of what spice looked like...

45. Barefoot Transition...

Yesterday i rode Spice out in her new Dream Team Saddle and new Frank Baines girth for the second time and apart from having a little spook at something the horse in front of her spooked at she was as good as gold. We only did 45 mins as i do not want her to get foot sore now that she has had her shoes taken off and we stuck to tarmac surfaces to make it easier on her. I must say so far i am very impressed with her progress. I did not expect to be able to hack out for more than 30 mins this soon after removing her shoes but she seems to be coping just fine. I am really looking forward to the podiatrist visiting and really hope that she encourages me to keep spice barefoot... I can't help but think about the damage it is doing to our horses joints every time i hear metal shoes clanning against the hard surfaces of our roads.

40. Spices Hooves

Just a quick update on Spices hooves...so far Spice hasn't displayed ANY symptoms whatsoever of being footsore and in fact we went on our first ride a couple of days ago less than 4 weeks after removing her shoes and she seemed perfectly comfortable. I have avoided taking her over rough terrain, such as gravel and loose stones but she seems quite comfortable when walking on grass (even when it is frozen solid) and smooth tarmac.

She has a couple of cracks from where the nails were placed on her hind leg hooves but this really is minimal and can only be noticed when you pick her hooves out. She has slight flaring on all four hooves where the white line has obviously been damaged due to being shod but this isn't too exaggerated and should begin to decrease once she has had her first trim. Spice is still on a low sugar diet which seems to be aiding her transition and is only being lightly worked at present.

Only 3 weeks left till she has her first barefoot trim so we will see what the podiatrist thinks then....

13. Going Barefoot...

Spice in her new pasture...24/7 turnout as it should be and our first chance to try going BAREFOOT!


Once i had moved Spice to her new pasture where the turnout was 24/7 i knew i would have a much better chance at attempting to go barefoot. So, I changed her diet from a high sugar haylage she was used to having at her old yard to a low sugar haylage and changed her scoop of high sugar pony nuts to a scoop of high fibre low sugar alfa beat and a handful of chaff. After one month i then decided to book an appointment with my podiatrist. I'd seen the same podiatrist a couple of months earlier at my old yard but at that point she recommended that i leave spices shoes on as all of her hooves were warm and had a strong pulse indicating that she could be laminitic - she'd mentioned that the main reason why she felt spices hooves were likely to get sore if her shoes were taken off was due to her being on a high sugar diet due to the fields being fertilised and also therefore having a mineral imbalance such as magnesium deficiency due to the fertiliser used.

So, on the 22nd January 4 weeks after arriving at our new yard, having left her shoes on for 10 weeks (which would give the hoof the chance to grow before attempting to go barefoot the podiatrist came to assess Spices hooves for a second time. Much to my surprise, she was delighted with Spices hooves and was not reluctant in the slightest to remove her shoes - the temperature of the hooves had returned to normal and her pulses were now as they should be - weak. So, within a matter of minutes i had a barefoot horse! So far Spice has not displayed ANY signs of soreness and only slight cracking has occurred on the back hooves. I have been recommended by my podiatrist to walk her on hard smooth surfaces i.e tarmac twice a week for 30 mins or 4 times a week for 15 mins and so far all is good. It had now been 15 days since her shoes were removed so her hooves have now had 3 months to grow. However, since the hoof takes approximetely 8 months to replace itself i anticipate it being a further 5 months before they are in 'tip-top condition'. Fortunately though this fits in with what i want to do with her and will prevent me from becoming impatient with her progress so i see it as a blessing. The podiatrist is next visiting on the 3rd March (6 weeks after shoe removal) so i will update you as to how her hooves are doing then....

During my research, I found the following articles useful when deciding whether or not to go Barefoot...

Nutrition is one of the most important things to get right, with any horse.

With a horse that is barefoot, it is essential - you can have the best trim
in the world, but if your horse is not getting the diet it needs, its all wasted!

Dietary problems are often the main cause of footiness in horses, and barefoot horses are no exception. Your trimmer is the best person to advise on diet, so talk to him/her first of all - it is too big a subject for this site alone!

A horse’s diet should be based on forage - in fact most lightly worked horses need only grass, hay or haylage, plus minerals. Let your horse’s condition be your guide, and if you need to feed more, opt for low starch, high oil feeds.

Check vitamins and minerals - provide a free choice supplement, and ideally have your forage analysed to check for deficiencies. Avoid cereal/sugar based supplements.

Avoid mollassed feeds, and scrutinise ingredient lists; “low sugar” is not the same as “NO sugar”!

Variety is the spice of life! Forage that has lots of varieties of grasses, rather than one species, is usually better. Beware of forage that has been heavily fertilised, or treated with fungicide/herbicide.

Beware of too much grass - footiness due to high fructan levels is extremely common and can occur in ANY horse, including fit horses. It is a particular danger where magnesium levels in forage are low - either naturally or due to nitrate fertilisers.

Be especially careful in spring and autumn, and monitor your horse’s performance, restricting grazing if necessary. High doses of drugs (wormers, hormone injections, steroids etc) can also cause hoof problems.

Magnesium deficiency can show up as footiness on hard or rough ground, and many diets (equine and human!) are deficient. You can safely add magnesium in various forms and your trimmer should advise you about dosage, availability, and the best form to feed.

Spice is currently having ad lib high fibre low sugar haylage, one scoop of happy hoof, 45ml of magnesium and a 45g of a herb mixture (specially for hooves) including Clivers, Meadowsweet, Rosehips, Garlic, Kelp, Nettles, Mint. Links to some of these products can be found below...

http://www.spillers-feeds.com/en-gb/united-kingdom/SpillersHorseFeed/products-and-stockists/spillers-fibres/happy-hoof/

http://www.feedem.co.uk/horse-117/horse-food-185/spillers-236/spillers-horses-laminitis-13038.htm?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=13038&utm_campaign=froogle

This photos show high desert in Arizona - the sort of terrain which crafts the incredibly strong feet of wild horses.

The land here is very dry, and very rocky...typically there is less than 10 inches of rain per year.

Hooves in this environment become amazingly capable, but its a far cry from the UK!

In the UK, we have totally different conditions - Exmoor, for instance can have 70-100 inches of rain per year.

In this environment, horses won’t naturally develop “rock-crunching” hooves - this is partly because of the wet, soft ground and partly because their diet is much richer - we grow grass!

But we need our barefoot horses to have rock-crunching “desert” hooves so that we can ride on rough, stony ground, and on roads, not just fields and arenas.

The solution is to mimic much tougher conditions, so that hooves become stronger too.

You don’t need to make huge changes - you can provide dry, stimulating, abrasive terrain by keeping a horse in a stable or shelter for part of the day, and you can restrict grazing by turning out in a dry lot with hay or haylage instead of a green field.

You might even be able to create a track, which maximises movement but limits access to grass.


We know that too much turnout on lovely green grass is NOT terribly good for hooves, but its good for our horses to have the chance to move freely and socialise.

Instead of turnout in fields, putting a track round the edge of the field is a simple way of restricting grazing and encouraging movement. This idea was first mooted by Jaime Jackson, who has written a book called “Paddock Paradise”.

My horses, and Sarah Braithwaite’s have been kept on tracks for a number of years and thrive on it.

Tracks can be as complex or as simple as your space and budget allow, from a simple cordon of electric fence around the edge of a field to a system of interlinked yards over multiple different surfaces.

The essentials are enough space and feed stations to prevent bullying, good shelter and (ideally) varied surfaces to stimulate hooves.

If you are laying a track for winter use, you will need good drainage and a surface which doesn’t poach, but if you only need to use your track in summer then you can get away with just fencing round the edge of a field.

The trick is to be inventive - waste ground, old yards and areas of hard-standing are all great ways of providing varied, well-drained surfaces - and they come cheaper than “pony paddocks”!

Thankfully due to the variation of the Uk Climate our grass paddocks change with the seasons so that what may have once been a soft spongy grass paddock can quickly change to a rock hard icy paddock so we are somewhat lucky with the english weather because whether we keep our horses on grass or not they will still expereince the sensation of different terrains which will help strengthen our horses hooves.

The trim we use is consistently effective and safe, and non-invasive, allowing us to have happy horses, with balanced feet, that are as capable, or more capable of high performance than they were when shod.

A UKNHCP trimmer/farrier can give you good advice - a trim is individual to each horse - you can’t set “rules” as every hoof is different.

A trim for a hard-working barefoot horse is not the same as a pasture trim - the aim of the two is different, and a pasture trim will not normally be adequate to optimise hoof health in a barefoot horse.

Having said that, there are an increasing number of farriers who have experience of barefoot performance, and its worth talking to your farrier first.

Here are our top tips:

Trimming

• When choosing a trimmer or farrier, look for someone who has many successful barefoot horses on their books.

• Expect a good trimmer or farrier to ask about your horse’s diet, environment and exercise, and to advise you on changes if necessary.

• Your horse should be as or more comfortable after a trim as before (the exception is a horse with a metabolic disorder or a poor diet).
• Your trimmer or farrier should have professional indemnity insurance and should work co-operatively with other professionals.

• A good trimmer will handle your horse kindly but fairly, and will take time to answer your questions.

I chose to use a barefoot trimmer rather than a farrier as i had read and heard that farriers only know how to do a 'pasture trim' which is not appropriate for a horse which you intend riding out.

The website address of the barefoot trimmer i am using is: http://www.sarahoofgirl.com/ She is absolutely lovely and is highly competent both at dealing with horses in general and trimming. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

I was recommended to her by my friends equine sports therapist who is also excellent: http://www.horse-back.co.uk/