Hi,
This is actually two problems and I’ll try to make it short. I own a 22 year old Appaloosa mare that I trail ride. She has been barefoot for 10 years or more and does great. In the past, I used Easy Boot Original over rough ground. I didn’t ride last winter (bad weather and I hate cold.) When I started back in the spring she was foot sore. Mostly the front feet. It actually felt like she’d just had shoes pulled. I had the farrier out and he didn’t see any problems. After her feet were trimmed she was 100% again. But, as her feet grew out she became sore again. Had the farrier out and had her feet trimmed and this time there wasn’t any improvement. So I had the vet out and he did a lameness exam. It had poured rain that day so she was only mildly lame. With hoof testers she was sore on the sole at the toe, more the right than the left. Th vet suggested front shoes or boots. I wanted to buy boots locally instead of ordering online in case I had to send them back. I located Easy Boot Trail. The size four fits. But, the weird thing is, I can trot her for 45 minutes and she is fine, very comfortable and the boots stay where they are supposed to. But, if I go to a walk, about 30 minutes later, one or both boots will have rotated. My questions, what can I do to toughen up my mare’s feet and what can I do to prevent the boots from rotating? Thank you!
Managing barefoot horses can be a project. but it can certainly be done. I’ve only had one mule, out of dozens of horses and mules, that I’ve had to shoe in front because I couldn’t prevent the boots from twisting. And I attribute that to his conformation, and that no one makes boots to fit mules so his front boots just don’t fit properly. That may also be the problem you’re having (the boots don’t fit properly)?
I do find it a bit odd that your mare was sore in the spring and trimming improved that, as usually it’s just the opposite? It makes me think that the soreness may not have been hoof related, because taking more hoof off a thin soled hoof generally just makes the horse ouchier.
My strategy with hoof boots is to ride my horses as much as possible without boots, because challenging the hooves is what stimulates them to grow more hoof where they need it, and then if they get too ouchy I get off and put the boots on. My horses seldom need boots except on the hard gravel roads with the stones sticking up, and in the winter when they need calks for traction.
I also don’t trim the horses I ride regularly because they need all the hoof they can grow, and taking any off (even just the ragged edges) seems to only set them up to run out of hoof sooner.
I might suggest that the lameness had other causes, like laminitis from spring grass, and was unrelated to the trimming entirely. Because it is unusual for a trim to make them sounder if they are foot sore.
But it sounds like your horse has always needed protection of one form or another if you needed boots on rough ground.
As for boots twisting - if they can twist, they don’t fit. It may be more apparent at the walk just because it’s not the same motion as a trot so each foot moves differently.
It hasn’t been consistent, but I’ve had boots that were twisting at the walk straighten up at the trot.
I’ve had this boot twisting problem with my mule for over 10 years now, and have tried a lot of different things to try to fix it.
Hi,
Thanks everyone for the information. Last spring my farrier had suggested an issue with the spring grass but my mare was still on a dry lot at that point. She has been barefoot for 8 plus years and has been fine all this time except on rocks/gravel. I really wonder if not riding over the winter messed things up somehow. I do think that she is growing more heel than she used to and that would angle her foot differently and put more pressure on the toe. My vet was puzzled too that she was so much better after being trimmed the first time if the soles are thin.
I rode today with the boots. She certainly isn’t sore with them on. Trotted for 45 minutes. No rotation. Walked for another 20 minutes. No rotation. Took the boots off and she has an abrasion on her right front heel, lateral (outer) side. Perhaps I’ll see how she is without the boots and look into Mueller tape.
I don’t get her feet trimmed on a regular schedule. Her feet grow very slowly. It is usually three months between trims.
I don’t really think many horses, not being ridden hard on rocky ground - or living hard on rocky ground, can go 3 months without trimming. My guess is your problem starts there.
Check out Hoof Rehab Help (group) on FB. It’s Pete Ramey’s page, but there are many experienced professionals and non-professionals with great advice. If you join, take the time to read the pinned post (or Announcements, if you’re on a PC) and post the pics and info requested. Doing that will help you get the best advice.
I think you’re correct in thinking lack of exercise contributed to her soreness. For a horse to have truly healthy, fully functional feet, you need the diet to be right (low carbs, forage first, balanced minerals), the trim to be skilled and frequent (4 weeks ideal in most cases), the environment to be supportive (no standing in mud or squishy pasture 24/7, freedom to move) and exercise to be consistent so the foot is stimulated enough to grow properly. ALL of the pieces need to be in place, though. Miss one or more and nature can’t work like it’s designed to.
Agreed. Especially if she was better after trimming.
4 weeks is not “ideal” - it depends on the horse, the work they are in, and their living conditions. 5-7 weeks is a typical trim schedule but there is a range. Mine are best at about 6 weeks; they would not be ready for a trim every 4 weeks.
Even if the feet appear to grow slowly they really need to be attended to at least every 8 weeks year round. there is much more going on with the foot than just toe growth during that 12 weeks that can really affect her overall soundness.
The boots rubbing sore spots on her can’t be helping. Any reason you just don’t try front shoes suggested by the vet?
My horses go from spring to late fall without trimming unless for some reason we don’t do our 5-6 miles/week (same ride every Sunday). In fact, they often run out of hoof by August because they self trim too much off. Then I put them in boots for a few of rides to let the growth catch up with the wear, and then back to barefoot until winter.
The issue here is soft, wet pastures/pens and hard gravel roads. If they were coming off similar footing their hooves might be better conditioned for the gravel roads, but soft hooves on hard, abrasive roads wears a lot of hoof off.
Wow - I ride 5-10 x that much, and my horses’ hoof wear has never outpaced growth on a six week trim schedule.
Not all horses have the same kind of feet. That’s the whole point. Sounds like Kandes horses ought to be wearing shoe or boots all the time if they are outpacing their growth with one ride/week.
Agree. I wasn’t saying it wasn’t so, just that it is very odd. I’d work on a way to get the horse standing on dry ground and address diet, were that true of my horse. I know that isn’t easy. I’m in east TN, land of mud and rocks. It’s a struggle, but a worthy one. One caveat - I pick my horses for personality first, and hoof quality second. That does help. But I have gotten several horses with far less than optimal feet (rescue or leases, not ones I have bought) barefoot sound with great trims, good lifestyle, lots of riding, and an excellent diet. Boots as needed, always, for every horse, but rarely needed once all that is in place.
i have a mare that had a stifle issue and i took her to the university veterinary teaching hosp for xrays. While there, they did a VERRRRRRy comprehensive movement analysis, culminating in them taking xrays of her front left hoof. Seems that she has a shallow hoof sole. Recommendations were to feed hooflex or one of several other hoof building supplements. Problem is, she is unwilling to eat ANYTHING that smells the slightest bit odd. Even if i pull food from her for the day. Nor will she drink water with anything in it! Soooooo … my farrier suggested i mix 1/2 turpentine and 1/2 iodine and treat her soles every day. I have also been told that the time of the year and the moisture conditions of the ground are at play …and that when we have a lot of rain and mud her soles will become more soft and will affect her more. I have not tried boots because the head surgeon at MIZZOU said that the focus to make her feet stronger should more use of her feet not less. So…all that said, i injured my back and have just now gotten back in the saddle. I haven’t ridden her in a year! I’ll check back when i do.
Why would anyone want to use boots before the horse needed them? Horses do a much better job of balancing their own hooves when they self trim, so it makes no sense to me to put any kind of protection on a hoof until the hoof needs it.
Some of the barefoot endurance riders ride many times that much too, and their horses’ hooves continue to get stronger and stronger.
I think it depends on the footing, how you ride, and the horse.
A friend of mine rides a small Arab and that horse can go forever barefoot, which I think is because she’s “light on her feet” so picks them up and puts them down without moving them much on the ground.
My mule OTOH, is heavy on his feet, slides his hoves along the ground, and uses one side way more than the other.
The horse I usually go out with does better, because he just puts his hoof down and picks it up with very little sliding, and he uses his entire hoof more evenly. So even though he carries more weight and has a genetically weaker hoof than my mule, he doesn’t wear off as much.
You said “[I]In fact, they often run out of hoof by August because they self trim too much off”
[I]Sounds like they need them. At what point are they uncomfortable and at what point do you notice?
Or, put another way - “why would anyone want to wait until after their horses have self-trimmed too much off their feet to offer them protection?”
As for self-trimming being better - that’s utter BS. Most horses do not have perfect conformation and perfect working conditions. The chances that they balance their feet better by themselves is unlikely, at best. Just go look at some BLM mustangs. My farrier has a BLM cadaver hoof where the horse died from sinking founder at the age of 6-8. Not exactly the standard I would use for my own horses.
If this were true, farriers would have been out of business 200 years ago.[/I][/I]
If that were true, you wouldn’t be having this issue, right?
Self trimming might be effective for horses that live on vast, varied terrain. I don’t think it’s a viable option for most horses living confined to relatively small pasture type settings.
Unless they’re managed so that they’re ridden on the kinds of footing that allow them to self trim.
