Transitioning an OTTB to Barefoot & Maybe Trimming Myself Eventually?

[kande04]

@BoyleHeightsKid

Learning to trim is great but is only a small part of the equation. You can’t trim your way to a healthy foot.

Agree, which is why I don’t obsess about the trim, as I think adequate nutrition and movement are way more important than the trim. In fact, given enough movement there’s actually no need to trim at all, because the horse will take care of that himself.

I still trim some of mine due to time constraints, because it takes a few minutes to take off the extra hoof with the nippers vs hours to take off the same amount of hoof on the trail, but there are a lot of additional benefits to the latter so I do as much of that as I can. Right now I have 2 horses and a mini I trim, and 2 that self trim, but I’m hoping to get to the point where they all self trim most of the time.

[Scribbler]

I read one person’s account of trimming her own two horses. She did fronts on one horse one weekend, rears on same horse next weekend. Then week 3, fronts on second horse, week 4 hinds on second horse. By which time she was ready to do horse #1 again.

I can rasp a bit but I haven’t managed to cut hoof, maybe I need a sharper knife.

One home trimmer I knew cobbled together an excellent foot rest for her horse and taught him to leave his foot there quietly. Then her energy could go to actually trimming with both hands not trying to trim and hold up the foot.

Another idea is an electric Dremel grinder.

I am a bit spooked by trying to hold a hoof between my knees especially as I don’t have a leather farrier apron

[carman_liz]

I would not try to trim yourself as a routine,but my two can go about 8wks between trims since I bought a radius rasp, the black model, and when they start getting long in the toe I just rasp around a couple times once a week. Usually about 3 wks after their trim is when I start. Mine are at home as well but luckily one of my old farriers who now works a regular job still does horses on the side. It is great that he can come on evenings or weekends since it is only ever 8wks or so and works with both our schedules.

That being said, my senior has a permanent upsidedown V in the center of his one of his fronts so I have to keep that clean and if it starts getting bad I get my farrier here sooner. After you get your guy comfy barefoot, if he will be comfy barefoot, rasping around the hoof every so often and using a good hardener and a boot will be your saving grace. If you have any other at home looking barns in your area or know of any ask them who they use, how often, check with your local tackshops or feed stores or fb pages. Paying extra for a good trim ever 8 weeks or so may be worth it for ya!

[ChocoMare]

Thanks @BoyleHeightsKid and @Heinz 57 !!!

Anyone can learn but: You must have the self discipline to truly LEARN all the anatomy, what constitutes a Healthy Hoof and how that hoof SHOULD work. It’s not just picking up a rasp and having at it. Study GOOD, healthy hooves so that you know what one should look like, how it should operate. This way you won’t fall for counterfeit.

Love the original Pete Ramey videos as a good starting point. Note however, Pete himself says he’s come much farther in his understanding since then and it’s due for a big update - but it’s still a good foundation.

Study Paige Poss’s info at http://www.ironfreehoof.com/ - especially the pictures. I printed out every single one and kept it all in a binder.

Also highly recommend James Welz’ info at https://www.thehorseshoof.com/ - This has had the most impact on how I trim and why I trim what I do–especially when it comes to rehabbing the “typical” OTTB of long toe/underrun heel etc. – most notably, how bars are trimmed

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I started out doing my own horses only because my farrier/trimmer was moving too far away and I just did NOT trust any other hoof care practitioner in my area. One of the best things I’ve ever done for my horses.

Then I got “noticed” by a local eventing barn owner who asked me to trim her daughter’s OTTB mare who desperately needed rehabbing out of shoes. That kicked off my business, Four Square Hoof Care, and now I trim 57 horses every month as a part-time job. The income covers my horses’ expenses

So, you never know where it’ll take you!

EDITED TO ADD: I also highly recommend you have a good trimmer to oversee your work for a while. Even if it’s long distance, send them pictures and ask questions so they can guide you over time. That’s exactly what Heinz57 and I have done.

[B-burg_Dressage]

Thank you all so so much for the references! I will look into them all.

I did talk to the farrier last night when he was out and he went over some of the basics that he does for a barefoot rasp. So I’m going to start lightly practicing between visits. He actually said that it might be good for my OTTB’s hind feet as they tend to try to start flaring after 3-4 weeks. And that if I wanted to keep my other guy in boots for trail rides that it would be necessary to keep them fitting well the whole cycle (he grows a ton of foot). So that’s super positive.

Right now, we’re keeping fronts on the OTTB. I want to make sure I get his nutrition on the right track and put some smaller rock in my dry lot before pulling them. That will give me time to get more comfortable with the rasp.

@ChocoMare – that’s incredible that you’ve had such success!

[ChocoMare]

Good on you for addressing nutrition. What goes in, comes out the hoof!

In the south, we are HIGH iron, lower copper & zinc, so all my horses get https://customequinenutrition.com/co…TU2WEAAPP_1Osc

Low to no sugar. Less than 11% NSC levels in feed. Etc etc.

My OTTB gelding came to me in October 2019 about 170 pounds underweight with HORRID hooves. Changed his diet and started trimming him every 4 weeks to the day. You’d be amazed at the hoof this guy is putting out! Heels backed up, cracks gone.

Holler any time if I can help!

[Rosewatt]

Looks like you’ve got a good plan in the works. Keep us updated throughout your journey. I’d love to read about how your ottb’s hooves come along

[kashmere]

Glad to hear you’re giving it a go! Be prepared to get deeply, weirdly obsessed with hooves :lol: It’s honestly one of the most rewarding and impactful things I have done in the 25+ years I’ve been involved with horses and I’m so so glad I took the plunge!

[Incantation]

I agree with much of what others have stated. Look at the diet, watch Ramey’s videos, get a farrier to help check your work, (in person or via pics/videos), have boots available if needed. I like something I think Ramey said, the horse should be sounder when you are done trimming, then when you started. Keep the heel and toe back, remove flare and keep a good roll on all way around.

Don’t listen to any barefoot zeolites that tell you the horse needs to be sore to heal. Don’t try to force the hoof look like a mustang’s. Avoid advice to dig deep into the bars and cut into the sole. Your horse has thin soles, so don’t make them thinner.

For equipment, I highly recommend the Radius Rasp for keeping a good roll on the hoof. It is easy to handle, and only takes a few seconds to run it around the hoof every week or so, after you pick it, and makes regular trims go much faster. Trim little and often depending on your horse’s growth. It is easier to keep a hoof looking good, then to let it get all out of whack and then try to trim it back into shape. Get a good hoof cradle to save your back, and don’t try to trim all the hooves at once. Do fronts one day, and hinds the next.

[ChocoMare]

Great source for good tools: https://www.well-shod.com/ - Good prices, very fast shipping.

Most of the horses I trim get the job done with a 4-inch Makita Angle Grinder, but for the few that need manual rasp work, I ADORE the Bellota Razor: https://www.well-shod.com/products/bellota-rasp-razor-plus-204.html

It’s also worth investing in a Hoof Jack.

And listen to Incantation above… right on target.

[Heinz_57]

@ChocoMare

EDITED TO ADD: I also highly recommend you have a good trimmer to oversee your work for a while. Even if it’s long distance, send them pictures and ask questions so they can guide you over time. That’s exactly what Heinz57 and I have done.

And I am probably well overdue for a check-in :lol: Although I do participate in several FB groups, but I will add a word of caution to OP about asking for advice/critique on hooves in public spaces like that: you will get tons of varied opinions, many of which will directly conflict each other. It can be extremely confusing until you figure out what style/method works for you and your horse and can discard the “other” stuff that doesn’t fit.

I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but TAKE PICTURES. Tons of them. Before/Afters from the proper angles are SO helpful to be able to look back at over time and see what kind of progress you’re making.

[kashmere]

@Incantation

I like something I think Ramey said, the horse should be sounder when you are done trimming, then when you started. Keep the heel and toe back, remove flare and keep a good roll on all way around.

Don’t listen to any barefoot zeolites that tell you the horse needs to be sore to heal. Don’t try to force the hoof look like a mustang’s. Avoid advice to dig deep into the bars and cut into the sole. Your horse has thin soles, so don’t make them thinner.

Quoting this to agree and reinforce! A horse who is mincing around miserably on thin soles is not going to be inclined to use their foot properly - so not only will you have a sore horse, you’re inhibiting progress by not taking advantage of the increased bloodflow of a hoof that’s allowed to be fully loaded and released. Horse comfort is number one. I think this is why many folks try to go barefoot and end up shoeing again - there’s a feeling that soreness is a part of the process, when truly it never should be.

Boots and pads are your best friend in this situation. If I were you, I would plan to keep your horse shod for one more cycle - next time the farrier is there, get measurements of your horse’s feet right after a fresh trim (pictures of a ruler laid lengthwise from toe to back of frog and width-wise at the widest part are your best bet, since boot brands seem to all measure slightly differently, especially on the length). Do your research and decide on a boot brand (there are so many awesome reps, I’d definitely recommend working directly with someone rather than ordering from the boot company itself), get your boots ordered, and when you’ve got them in hand you can get your farrier back out to pull shoes and put a good bevel on the walls for you to reduce leverage forces and limit the chance of too much cracking. Then you can put them directly into the boots and kick your rehab off to a good start.

Don’t be afraid to play with padding - firmness, thickness, material, padding cut out around the frog - or additional padding under the frog… every horse is different. While I was healing my guy’s gnarly central sulcus thrush, I had to be careful that padding didn’t put too much pressure on his frog - I kept his heels a bit taller than usual and made sure my padding was thin and relatively soft. Now that he’s finally not miserable in the frog, I am increasing firmness to stimulate frog growth and caudal foot health.

It’s the best feeling to see them moving out better when you figure out the right boot/pad combo. Well. Maybe second best. The best is when you can start to take the boots off in the right footing and see them moving happily heel first!

[BoyleHeightsKid]

B-burg you are getting some EXCELLENT advice good luck. I’m so glad I took the plunge and decided to learn myself. I’ve helped my horses so much not only with the trimming but with the change in nutrition. I have to say the diet change, treating thrush and whiteline helped them the most. My place was once mined for coal and is high iron. I feed the same copper/zinc supplement Chocomare does and I’m very happy with their hoof health.

and yes… TAKE PICTURES that will help you see how their feet change and will help you gauge if you’re headed in the right direction or not.

Lots of good stuff here
https://www.hoofrehab.com/Articles.html

[MzCarol]

I have been trimming my own horses for 8 years now because all the farriers i tried in my area left toes too long and heels too high. My horses were tripping all the time so i knew something wasnt right with how they were being done. I was fortunate enough to come in contact with someone online who mentored me using the method from the Equine Lameness Prevention Organizarion (ELPO). They use the latest research and detail the trimming procedure along with several articles. The site is fabulous and neither my grade stock pony nor my Arab X have ever taken a lame step or tripped since. Neither have ever worn shoes at 14 and 10 years old. When we trail ride they wear boots and do great with them. They are outside 24/7 except in horrid weather and my Arab shows jumping barefoot.

Enzo our OTTB who came to us in Nov after ending his track career in Oct immediately had his shoes pulled and has been barefoot ever since. He turned 4 in April. He was ouchy for a couple weeks while his feet adjusted to the freedom from the confines of shoes but he does wonderfully now. When we get him on trails he will wear boots too for comfort. He is on Focus HF for the extra biotin and lysine and its really helping to grow out the flakey hoof to a much stronger one. His souls are very pancakey but hopefully we will get some concavity with frequent trimming as the feet remodel. If not thats ok and we will watch to make sure he is comfortable. He definitely moves better with proper toes, heels and breakover.

I highly suggest you visit the ELPO site. Good luck!

[Scribbler]

One thing when you start rasping bare feet and really looking at hoof balance, is you will see that the hooves change almost daily, for better or worse. There is natural wear especially if you ride without boots, and you can see whether the horse wears the foot evenly or not.

My mare wears her front toes into a nice mustang roll so we never get long toes, but her quarters don’t wear as much so we can get quarter flare.

She cleans out her own bars unless we are always riding booted, in which case she sometimes gets uncomfortable with bars growing plus boots. But a good turnout buck and run session in the sand pen will take her bars down.

She tends to pronate behind and put more stress on the lateral quarters.

All of this is completely idiosyncratic, no two horses are alike. But once you start really looking at the feet and working with the natural wear patterns, it’s really fascinating.

[ChocoMare]

Some I’ve helped rehab out of shoes:

-Tobee - Came under my grinder as a 6 y/o that couldn’t hold a shoe if his life depended on it. We changed his diet, got him out 24/7 on varied terrain and trimmed every 4 weeks to the day: https://www.facebook.com/ChocoMare/media_set?set=a.10202854656622451&type=3

-Jeffrey - 18 y/o Percheron/TB cross. Had been shod for many years. Low level eventer. The pictures speak for themselves: https://www.facebook.com/ChocoMare/media_set?set=a.4292113456046&type=3

-Percy - 16 y/o Thoroughbred (yes, TB even tho he looks QH’ie ) The worst rehab to date I’ve been able to help with. Had been shod since he was 3. Had every shoe known to mankind nailed on… full bar, backwards, heart-bar etc etc etc. Owner was < > this close to donating him to UGA to learn on before euthanizing. This horse is also metabolic. https://www.facebook.com/ChocoMare/media_set?set=a.10208618748201138&type=3

It can be done. Will it happen quickly? No. Depending on how long the pathology has existed, it’s at least 1 to 2 to even 3 years to completely rehab. Damage takes a long time to correct.

Fix the diet, fix the environment, fix the exercise and fix the trim - and NEVER stop learning. We have so many things at our disposal to help our horses heal that does not involve steel and nails. Boots galore, FormaHoof ( https://formahoof.com/ ), Keratex, DuraSole, etc. Do your own research and become your horse’s advocate.

[kashmere]

@ChocoMare - I love your case studies! Lovely work. My documentation leaves much to be desired (also this horse is juuuuust learning how to stand still, which doesn’t help :lol:) but I got a little bit verklempt the other day looking at the digital cushion development we’ve achieved! It took five full months to heal the gaping central sulcus infection this guy came with which required leaving his heels longer to protect that veeerrry sensitive situation. At the end of May I was finally able to start lowering the heels and adjusting management to get some proper stimulation of the frog and DC - here’s pics showing end of May (the really lovely blurry one :lol:) and just a few days ago.

It’s pretty cool what a few weeks of landing on the heels can do for a horse!

[ChocoMare]

@kashmere

@ChocoMare - I love your case studies! Lovely work. My documentation leaves much to be desired (also this horse is juuuuust learning how to stand still, which doesn’t help :lol:) but I got a little bit verklempt the other day looking at the digital cushion development we’ve achieved! It took five full months to heal the gaping central sulcus infection this guy came with which required leaving his heels longer to protect that veeerrry sensitive situation. At the end of May I was finally able to start lowering the heels and adjusting management to get some proper stimulation of the frog and DC - here’s pics showing end of May (the really lovely blurry one :lol:) and just a few days ago.

It’s pretty cool what a few weeks of landing on the heels can do for a horse!

SO much better!!! Well done on the timing. Always trust your gut on when to take down heels and to do so slowly.

I’m working on a VERY high heeled/contracted paint gelding. Like 8 miles high! :o Wish we’d been documenting his progress thru photos cuz you’d be blown away. Took quite some time for his heels to start spreading and that skinny frog to start developing from underneath. He’s starting to now realize he can push with his rear end and not fall over his fronts!

[IPEsq]

Learning some rasping technique on your horse’s hind flares is a good place to start. For one, it’s hard to do harm when you are just trying to take some flare off the quarters, but you can get a feel for how much pressure you need, what angle to hold your rasp, how to hold the foot (ps. get a Hoof Jack). And I agree with starting by doing a little bit (likely you won’t have the strength/coordination to do a lot at once) but more often.