I had a problem with my gelding last year, poor guy
had nothing, plus he has a problem with white line, so what was left was bad.
My farrier was great. We pulled his shoes, and
slowly let him develop a callus at the breakover. I took off (with a hoof rasp)
any toe until just before the callus, keeping it as close as possible. I walked
the poor guy on the hard, smooth ground (concrete floor) for 1 hr a day. I fed
him bute for 2 months to help with the misery.now, 1 year later he
amazingly has grown a great foot, the walls are thick and the heels are wide and
well supported. He is an old horse, so the foot naturally was slower growing.
The main thing was to improve the circulation to the foot. Well it ain't
pretty at first, but it works! I still keep the breakover no more
than 1 1/4 from the point of the frog. that is the magic place for him. The
"natural" trim is the way to go to get the foot healed up and the heel off the
ground.
I do have a TB for whom it is not
the ticket. in the words of Freddy Garcia, the best farrier I know: " The
barefoot trim is great for every hoof, but not great for every
horse." Try it, but be prepared for abcesses and misery for a bit.
