Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Den 30. aug 2005 kl. 12:33 skrev Sarah Simmons:

> This all started last September when I pulled my
> horse's shoes to give his feet a "rest".  He was

was it iron shoes you took off ?


> pulling a shoe on practically a biweekly basis back
> then because (I thought) of all the mud he was turned

I dont understand. Do you mean that the iron shoe is
forced seperate from the hoof, usually because the
back legs steps on the back of the front legs, cathes
the iron shoe and then when the front leg moves ahead
the shoe stays put, seperating the hoof and shoe, often
resulting in some damages to the hoof?

My horse did that, and as a result i started trying various
forms of rubber boots.


> out in.  After 6 weeks of being barefoot I noticed my
> horse's feet looked really bad, like he had foundered.
>   He was also very sore.  I called my farrier out and
> he said, "Yup, looks like he foundered!" and then I
> called my vet out for X-Rays and advice.

What did the vet say? did he founder?



> I just don't know what to do about my horse's feet.
> My vet is the one who reccomended Pete Ramey and his
> barefoot "Natural Horse Trim".  They suggested him so
> strongly they made me feel that he was the best
> choice.  They are the only reason I got Pete Ramey and
> left Merlin's shoes off.  Otherwise I would have let
> my normal farrier keep working on him and put
> corrective shoes on him.

i think it is easier to make corrective shoes from iron rather
than making/using correcting rubber boots.


> My husband and I have bought a new home and will be
> moving Merlin in October.  I was thinking the other
> day that when I move Merlin I might start using the
> farrier at the barn there and having shoes put back on
> him.  He only started being sore after I took his
> shoes off!!!  And Pete said he had foundered before
> that so ...?

it is common that horses are more sore, and acts like they
are walking on burning coals when you just remove the
shoe. The horse, just like you gets used to wearing shoes.
As a result you will most likely have to use iron shoes for
ever, or rubber boots for some time when riding (maybe
forever)

i heard that once a horse founder it is more likely to do it
again. Thus i dont think it foundered because you took
off the iron shoes.


> I mean I understand the theory behind having a
> barefoot horse, and I understand that nailing a shoe
> on a foot opens the foot up to infection from the nail
> holes, causes a lack of shock absorbtion and more
> concussion on the joints, etc.
>
> On the other hand, Pete did tell me that it would take
> ONE WHOLE year for him to get to where he needs to be
> with his feet, and that includes one whole year on
> this diet, which we really only started a month ago.
> So I feel like I need to give Pete more time.  I mean,
> why would the vet and so so many other people around
> the world be reccomending barefoot horses if they
> weren't seeing some great benefit from it?  You know
> what I'm saying?

I switched to rubber boots 13 months ago because my horse
repeatedly lost iron shoes making more and more damage to
the hoof. 15 month's ago the damage was so much that the
farrier said that iron shoes could not be mounted for some time.
And then the horse was sore walking on forest roads made from
small rubbles.
So i started looking at various rubber boots and settled on the
original easyboot, mainly because they were cheap, and unsure
if they would work i was reluctant to spend alot of money. But they
did work. The horse was no longer sore, and could be used as
before. Occasionally the horse lost an easyboot. This was 4-5 times
in a month of 1 hour daily riding. Some months later the hoof started
chipping off at the area where the teeth bite into the side of the hoof.
I tried flattening them and putting gaffa tape above it, but then the
boots almost fell off. My horse as very vertical hoof sides, so your
experience my be different.
I started looking at other options, and settled for boaboots since the
original easyboots was hard to put on. However the boaboots did
some chaffing/rubbing on my horse, even when i used the gaiter.
Besides this the wire started breaking. Most likely because of my
usage. I like jumping, so i jump over stuff, and both broken wires
was because the wire got caught in some sticks while jumping.
So i started looking again at other boots, and settled for easyboot
epic, as i believed the design errors in the original easyboot was
fixed. And it seems like they were fixed.

I got my epics some weeks ago, and they are the easiest boot
ever to put on. Very easy. And i have not lost it yet. The teeth in
the side are covered by plastics from the manefacturer, so no
problem there. However, i do get a little ammount of chaffing
occasionally, but i dont think i have to worry about that. I'll see when
i have used them for some more time. But right now i prefer epics
over any other boot/iron shoe.


> Merlin's feet cause a tremendous deal of grief for me.
>  I want to do the best thing for him, and pretty much
> everywhere I read online and everyone I talk to tell
> me they think barefoot is best.  *sigh*  I would not
> be keeping him barefoot if he was sore 24/7.  He is
> sound on soft ground and in the grass.  He seems to
> only be sore on gravel and pavement.  We will really
> see once we move him because their little paddocks at
> the new place are very dry and hard with nowhere near
> as much grass as he is in now..

That sounds exactly like my horse. No problems in the fields
but he doesnt like gravel. I would recomment trying easyboot
epic. Perhaps if your horse has the right size hoofs, you can
even try their new model easyboot bare.
I feel your grief, i had the same thing with my horse when he
had hoof trouble.


> What do you think about his feet?  I mean to me what
> really sticks out is that he was NEVER SORE until I
> pulled his shoes off last September.  I always want
> the best for my horse.  I am open to just about any
> suggestion at this point.

you might want to check this site.
    http://www.tribeequus.com/boots.html
they have compared various forms of boots.




JonB

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