[QUOTE=dontskipthecafe;8029364]
More questions!
So, my friend and I both have TBs. Hers has phenomenally terrible feet, and mine has decent-but-still-delicate feet.
Friend is definitely considering trying Easyboots once the ground softens up and seeing if her gelding can grow some damn foot. His shoes are nailed and glued to kingdom come, and he hasn’t managed to remove them in a while, but the farrier commented last time that his hoof wall is really, really pathetic. I mentioned the Easyboot possibility, and he said that might be a really good idea once there is no longer ice everywhere (we’re in Massachusetts, bleh). He said that the horse is likely to be sore as hell for a while, but it might help him strengthen the wall.
This horse cannot go barefoot. We have tried. His feet pancaked and he limped around like he was dying. It was awful. Does anyone have experience with Easyboots for TBs or other breeds with delicate little feetsies? Or supplements that actually work?[/QUOTE]
I work 5 minutes from an EasyCare, so of course EasyBoots were the choice to use since we could quickly and easily get a variety to try. Like your friend is considering doing, I went shoeless NOT because I wanted my horse barefoot but because his hooves were in such terrible shape that as traumatizing as I find the transition with a horse whose hooves are in bad shape it was an investment in his long term soundness. My guy had hoof walls which wouldn’t allow him to wear shoes longer than 6 weeks, but couldn’t really support new nails every 6 weeks. My farrier was ONLY removing toe, and he still had very long toes and his heels were underrun. His sole was so soft if he stepped on a firm dirt clod he would limp. So he really wasn’t sound as it was, and taking him barefoot was a drastic measure to try to help him long-term and prevent a bowed tendon or ligament injuries due to the very incorrect hooves as well as of course prevent long-term damage to his hooves.
When we pulled his shoes off initially, my farrier did NO trimming. He already didn’t take off any sole or extra hoof when shoeing to try to help my horse, so when he went barefoot he had 6 weeks of growth to help protect him a little. Trims were very, very minor and every 2 weeks just to work on shaping the hoof over time. I think within a week we were working in boots again, and my horse was comfortable as long as he had the boots on. We used the Gloves in an off-standard use - using two pads inside to add extra cushion for him. I think he was more comfortable in that than shoes because of the protection it gave him. Over two years later, we’re now working barefoot all the time at my trainer’s, and occasionally at my house - I have a gravel/sand combo footing which wears away too much hoof but he’s very comfortable on it as long as I don’t ride in it enough to wear his hooves down. My horse is more sound than he has been in his life, I believe, but he still has difficulty if we get too much rain and it softens up his hooves. This is a horse who I would put shoes on in a heartbeat if he had the walls to handle it and I could have him on a very short shoeing cycle. He is still getting trims every 2 weeks to continue trying to shorten his toe. Absolutely do NOT let your friend use a trimmer who will try to make it an “ideal hoof” right away, because that’s how trimmers cripple horses and make a really bad name for all people who take horses barefoot. We also left the outer walls longer than many do - they seem to help the internal hoof sole develop over time according to what my trimmer has seen. We didn’t x-ray to compare sole thickness, but 2 years ago I could easily press in my horse’s soles with my week hand, and now it sounds more like a rock if I hit it with a hoofpick. Big, big difference - and yet he’s STILL not where I want. But he’s better than where he was with shoes and was almost immediately - and he’s much more likely to stay sound long term.
Good luck to your friend - it is HARD. Trying to take a horse barefoot for remedial problems which already exist reveals just how bad they are, and personally I think can be horrifying. Boots are the only way to handle it humanely, in my mind, as well as making sure to never take much off at once, and be patient. My rule now is if my horse is at all uncomfortable barefoot, I won’t ride him even with boots because he has improved so much. But at first, he had to be in boots most of the time - and was more comfortable in them than he had been in shoes.
