Notes on Tough Transitions

Tough Case Studies:

Lucas's Transition
Nipper's Transition

The most predictable question I'm asked by owners of horses with pathological lamenesses is "Will my horse ever have healthy feet? How long will it take? "

Removing the shoes from an unsound to marginally sound horse doesn't miraculously cure the effects of years of imbalance or poor shoeing. Unfortunately the answer to "how long?? " depends on the horses history, condition, living environment, feeding and exercise programs, and the owners commitment.

When owners follow recommendations carefully, their horses rehabilitate faster with fewer complications. This series is an attempt to collect information that describes what has been effective for many horses with chronic hoof problems, and to consolidate my advice so that its accessible to my clients.

I need to remind readers that I'm NOT "the" expert on barefoot trimming!!! I'm a follower who talks a *lot*, a follower of Jackson, Ramey, Olivo and the footprints of many horses.

I'm still learning, and still have a lifetime of learning stretching out in front of me. I'm a barefoot trimmer with a good camera, some web development and writing skills, many great clients, their sweet horses and a handful of wonderful teachers, including Jaime Jackson, Pete Ramey, Dr Kerry Ridgway, many web sites, a few great email forums and my own horses. Gabby,Shatirr, forgive me for writing more and riding less...

I suggest that all of my clients read the articles on Pete Ramey's http.www.hoofrehab.com web site. It's where I go when I need answers or information. I'm humbled by the ability horses have to overcome years of imbalance and distortion, and by the depth of their owners care and compassion.

Topics

Assessing Level of Soundness When Shoes Are Removed

Barefoot hoof care providers usually aren't vets. It is advisable to get X-rays and a thorough soundness exam before transitioning an unsound shod horse to a barefoot state. If your horse is sound, X-rays are an expense you can avoid, but getting a soundness check will let you know exactly where you are starting.

Be prepared to answer your vets questions about the qualifications of your farrier or trimmer. Some vets are leery of the evolving barefoot market and aren't clear about the different approaches. Some vets have had to deal with horses that were improperly transitioned or radically trimmed, and may feel that some horses need shoes, particularly pathologically unsound horses. Your hoof care provider should be able to interact with your vet to reassure him/her that the horse is in good hands.

Most vets have opinions about barefoot, some are very enthusiastic and others are skeptical. Almost all of the previously shod horses in my Test Case were horses that vets and farrier's said "couldn't go barefoot", and the photo's in these series show how successful barefoot has been for them. It's a good idea to take lots of pictures, because it's easy to forget how bad a horses feet were when the transition started.

Your trimmer or bare footing farrier should be eager to watch your horse move out before and after the shoes are removed and after the trim is finished, and should be able to point out any movement anomalies and explain typical causes.

A good barefoot hoof care provider is in the business of providing soundness, long term or short term, so if a horse is unsound, your hoof care provider should be very interested and have ideas about how to address hoof imbalance problems that cause poor movement. Not all unsoundness starts in the feet, so be prepared to get your vet involved if necessary.

The Transition Process

If your horse is robustly sound without boots - congratulations!

The Myth About Building Tough Feet - When I first started taking my horses barefoot, I was told to ride over gravel and rocky trails barefoot to toughen feet up. It made sense, but my horses feet got progressively more tender until they could barely move in pasture. Their soles were too thin and immature from having years of shoes followed by inappropriate farrier pasture trims and imbalance to move correctly on hard, rough surfaces. Attempting to rush hoof development by riding barefoot when soles are tender will only reverse or extend the transition period.

When I started following Pete Ramey's advice, I booted my horses on all four feet until they had tough soles and good concavity, and months later, I was able to ride barefoot on tough surfaces successfully. I still occasionally boot my horses for tough conditions because I usually can't ride as much as I should.

It takes most un-shod horses several months to a year to develop into a "Gravel Cruncher", and some horses will always need boots on tough gravel.

When Do Horses Need Boots? When horses are not moving freely or they are landing toe first in front or goose stepping in back they need boots. Horses also need boots when soles lack adequate concavity. Boots and pads usually increase comfort in the environments your horse is tender in. If horses are tender in their home paddock or stall? Boot them!

Properly fit boots are easy to use with a little practice, and vendors like Easy Care provide educational materials and support if your trimmer isn't available to help you. Boots protect feet with flat soles, weak heel buttresses, sole bruising, white line separation and tender frogs. Horses that are extremely tender can be helped more by adding padding and boots full time for the first few weeks to accelerate their transition.

When Are Horses Okay Without Boots? When the horse has a tight wall connection (no white line separation) and a durable, concave sole and moves eagerly and correctly over all common terrain without boots. I suggest that owners of transitioning horses purchase boots for the front feet and sometimes back feet, then carry or use them on every trail ride regardless of how good their feet are.

When Do Sole Pads Help Transitioning Horses? I put Easy Care Comfort Pads in the boots of most of my coming-out-of-shoes clients; I like their density, the pads make the boots feel tighter, and the cushioning improves the movement of most horses.

When Do Frog Pads Help Transitioning Horses? If a horse has atrophied frogs and has compromised movement, I cut frog shaped wedges out of a foam kneeling pad (sold in garden departments) and tape the wedge to the sole of the boot where the frog will hit, then boot the horse and walk it out to see if it encourages better movement. If it does, I duct tape the frog pad firmly in place in the sole of the boot.

When Is a Horse Completely Sound Barefoot? When the horse is completely sound and robustly comfortable in its feet. I advise that clients carry boots on trail rides at least for the first year, and watch for indications of excessive wear (flat soles) and white line or wall separation.

The bottom line? Riding a lame barefoot horse is disgraceful. Riding a sound booted horse is admirable.

How To Support Good Hoof Development During the Transition

Fight Thrushy Environments - Use disinfectant hoof soaks like Lysol dilution and topical's like Sugardine to eliminate Thrush. I now suggest at least several days of daily 30 minute soaking sessions to all of my clients after the shoes come off.

Why? Horses that weren't soaked as I suggested have had MUCH longer transitions than horses that were soaked! Soaking doesn't hurt, often has a significant impact, and it is simpler and more effective than expensive topical treatments There are several other methods for treating thrushy feet. Products like Clean Trax and White Lightening have their supporters. For more information on Thrush, see my Links Page's Thrush section.

Healthy Hoof Footing - Provide a dry, hard transition environment and clean feet daily. Wet or soft environments can significantly extend transitions, and deep mud or damp footing will delay transitions for months. For more information, see my Passive Footing web page, or my Links Page's Horse Environment section.

Optimum Boarding / Living Environment - If you board or keep your horse at a barn with roads and yard areas paved with large gravel, you may want to consider moving or using boots any time you walk your horse in graveled areas. The easiest exercise footing for recently unshod horses is grass, flat dirt or deep 3/16 inch pea gravel.

Regular Exercise - Provide a turnout environment that encourages the horse to exercise a few hours a day, or provide 1 hour a day of brisk hand walking or riding. Successful transitions are dependent on your horse getting adequate exercise in comfortable footing or hoof boots.

Regular Hoof Care - Pick feet out daily and brush sole with a steel wire brush. Have feet trimmed with a bevel on a regular basis. Clean out any separated while line religiously to prevent rocks from prying the wall out above the separation. Trimming may be needed as frequently as bi-weekly in the first few months, or every 4 to 6 weeks as the hoof matures. Wall that grows long will often flare, which can result in white line separation, wall chipping, coronet flare or excessive sole wear. A beveled wall supports the development of strong heels, a solid frog and dense, concave sole.

Good Nutrition - Diet is critical! High grain / alfalfa diets aren't healthy for your horse, and good supplements support your horses rehab. If your horse has a history of laminitis or founder, has a cresty neck or is over weight, have your vet test it for Insulin Resistance and Cushing's. See my links pages selection of Diet links for more information.

Transitions Take Time

Horses typically need 6 months of wall length to grow out the distorted and damaged wall. Nails damage hoof wall, no matter how well shod or how balanced a horse is. Nails puncture the hoof wall, which is comprised of laminated layers (think of plywood), and the holes allow water, dirt and bacteria to invade the inner layers of wall surrounding the nail holes. Imbalance and flare aggravate nail hole damage.

Transitions take time because the damaged and under-developed areas of your horses feet need to heal and grow strong. The only good way to "rush through a barefoot transition" is to follow the basic advice to the letter, get boots and pads for all four feet, and exercise your horse frequently and adequately. The more effort you put into your horses transition, the more your horse will get out of it.

Getting a good trim is important, but make no mistake, all of the other elements are equally important. Neglecting any aspect of a transition program will sabotage a transition just as quickly as a bad trim.

Transition Requirements have a greater impact when you are trying to restore the soundness of an unsound horse.

Keep Your Horse Comfortable & Moving!

One of the key transition requirements is comfortable, correct movement which stimulates healthy hoof growth, particularly in the rear foot. The ideal is to provide good footing in the horses living environment (flat, dry packed dirt; sand; deep pea gravel or covered mats) and boots. There are many types of boots to help horses move comfortably and correctly.

Transitions can be particularly uncomfortable for horses who were lame or tender before beginning a transition, and even horses diagnosed with navicular, side bone and ring bone may eventually be sound - once they are transitioned to barefoot. Their feet need to develop before that happens.

Protective boots like Soft Rides are suited for chronically lame horses because they replace metal shoes with superior sole protection and dense padding to encourage use of the back of the foot. They work well in large paddocks for day and night wear, but aren't suitable for riding. If you decided to use boots around the clock, check the boots every 8 to 12 hours to ensure that they aren't rubbing. Always be careful with boots in extremely hot environments and in the direct sun on hot days.

Early phase hoof discomfort is often caused by stone bruising, thrush or abscesses. Some of the discomfort a horse experiences in early transition phases may be due to thin soles, hoof remodeling or development.

Sometimes it takes a trim or two for a trimmer to get a particularly tender horses feet comfortable. I have several chronically lame horses with very sensitive feet, and I can tell you that it's very challenging to keep these types of horses comfortable through the early stages of a transition. I hope they all have "normal" feet at some point in time - feet with good sole concavity, healthy frogs and heels and solid walls- but these horses started out very unsound, so even their current soundness in boots is a big win. Whatever the cause, your trimmer or vet should be able to help you assess why your horse is tender and make suggestions on how to mitigate the symptoms.

Abscesses are particularly painful, and an an abscessing horse may act as if his or her foot is broken. When my clients describe an abscess, I suggest that they soak the foot in warm Epsom Salts water several times a day. I personally never dig abscesses out, preferring to soak the foot and encourage the abscess to vent naturally. See my Abscess Page for more information, and contact your hoof care provider with concerns or questions.

Responding To Skeptics Concerns About Barefoot

Questions about the prospect for discomfort should be discussed with your hoof care professional before shoes are removed so that you understand potential problems and are prepared to rectify them.

Once the shoes are off, take a good look at your horse and be honest with yourself and your skeptics about how comfortable or uncomfortable the horse actually is and why.

Under what circumstances is your horse uncomfortable, and how severe is that discomfort?
Does the discomfort go away when boots or boots and pads are used?
Do you use boots adequately?
Is the discomfort worse than it was when the horse was shod?
Has your hoof care provider been consulted about it?

Do your skeptics have a valid reason to be openly concerned, or are they just defending their chosen form of hoof care? You should be able to openly discuss your concerns with your hoof care provider, and may want your skeptics to come to a trim to ask their own questions.

Most of my clients describe conversations they have had with their friends, vets and associates about the advisability / sanity of barefoot transitions, and while they are comfortable with their decision to take their horses barefoot, they feel challenged by the skepticism and advice offered by people who see their horse slow down when it gets to a patch of gravel when walking around the barn without boots. I invite folks to watch me trim and ask questions even though it slows me down.

I suggest that all of us accept this sort of 3rd party skepticism as the price we have to pay for being on the leading edge of a new approach to hoof care. It is usually well intentioned and use of boots will ensure that others don't have a reason to be concerned.

Horses *can* be hurt by invasive trims! There are many reports of horses being over trimmed, radically and unnecessarily, by well intentioned trimmers who were trained to use techniques now thought to be invasive . The best response to skepticism is to use a conservative trimmer with a history of being able to help horses like yours, then follow the necessary transition requirements and wait the skeptics out. Let your horses emerging soundness speak for you.

Refer to Pete Ramey's web site for good articles that describe heel height, frog maintenance and sole management, and ask your prospective trimmer how their techniques compare. I'm not a member of AANHCP yet, but AANHCP certified trimmers are very conservative, and are usually safe to try, but they are all individuals; use your judgment! Several other certifiers / trainers teach invasive trimming techniques, but what it comes down to is that training and technical application are two totally different things. I was certified by Martha Olivo, whose methods can be very invasive, but I practice techniques taught by Pete Ramey, and am typically a conservative trimmer.

Every horse's transition is unique. Hoof care providers aren't clairvoyant or psychic, so while they may have more expertise with tough transitions than owners, they can't miraculously make your horse sound or unsound. Hoof care providers trim feet to the best of their ability, most of us fit boots, suggest padding and give advice, but the bulk of the care and management of newly unshod horses is in the hands of their owner.

Owners realize this, and it's natural to worry when friends or observers comment on how a transition is evolving. Remember this; discomfort shouldn't be ignored. Observe any discomfort your horse experiences and communicate with your hoof care professional - it's part of the process.Know your horse, and communicate what you know effectively.

If Your Horse Isn't Moving Comfortably Without Boots After Six Months...

Early discomfort occurs because the horses feet need time to develop and toughen, but if your horse isn't moving well on good footing without boots after six months and was not chronically unsound at the beginning of the transition, and if you have provided an appropriate diet, environment, exercise on good footing (flat, dry dirt, sand, deep pea gravel or or mats) or in boots, you need to question the situation.

Again, going barefoot isn't the miracle cure for a chronically unsound horse, but horses that were sound in shoes are usually able to become fairly sound barefoot without boots on good footing. You may have an unusual horse, but you may need to sit down and brainstorm the situation with your trimmer and vet.

A vet work up is advisable at this point, because the problem may be internal to the foot or leg.

If horse is uncomfortable being walked without boots in the stable area because the environment is unusually harsh, it doesn't mean that your horse can't go barefoot, it means he still needs protection in that area. Some stable roads and yards are surfaced with large gravel or stone, and if your horse can't handle the surface comfortably after several months barefoot, that barn may not be an appropriate place to keep your horse; the gravel may simply be to coarse.

We all hate moving from what may be an ideal barn for us, but if it isn't working for our horse and we can't modify the environment to suit our horse, moving is advisable. Barefoot isn't a quick fix or miracle cure, it's a lifestyle change for your horse.

If your trimmer repeatedly makes your horse tender, question them about it! They may not have the sensitivity to work with your horse, or you may need to revisit how well you have met the above transition requirements.

Top Five Transition Challenges

Thin / Flat Soles

Horses that have had their soles rasped or trimmed with a knife usually have very thin soles. Wall flare contributes to thin soles by pressing the sole downward when the flared wall is weighted. Thin or flat soles are the main reason many people assume that their horses can't go barefoot, and thin soles are easily "cured" by a good bevel, good hoof balance and lots of exercise in good boots.

It takes several months of beveled trimming and solid hoof wall to allow for the development of a healthy, concave sole with adequate strength to support the "bony column" (the coffin bone and leg) and lift the sole above most gravel and debris.

Again, a wall bevel is a prerequisite for concavity! As a flat edged hoof wall grows long, it either flares out to the sides or flares forward into a long-toe-underrun -heel conformation. When this happens, the middle of the wall bends inward as excess wall length pushes the sole against the ground with each step, wearing down the sole.

A good bevel rounds the bottom of the wall so that it doesn't flare; instead, the beveled edge transfers pressure upwards from the walls edge towards the center of the hoof, encouraging the development of concavity and preserving the developing sole. It's important to find a hoof care provider who knows how to bevel the edge of the wall correctly.

Contracted Heels, Atrophied Frogs, Thrushy Frogs

Many horses coming out of shoes have atrophied frogs and weak heels, digital cushions and lateral cartilages, and **many** have some thrush, particularly horses with tightly contracted heels. Contracted heels have several causes, and rehab is the result of a good trim and diligent owner maintenance.

Maintenance therapy includes having your hoof care provider trim the frogs loose flaps and open any cavities. The owner needs to soak the foot regularly until all signs of thrush are gone, then provide dry footing or deep pea gravel to insure that the thrush stays gone. Soft footing like shavings holds moisture and encourages thrush to develop.

I suggest that clients follow Pete Ramey's recommendations for treating thrush, essentially using a Lysol dilution soak for 30 minutes a day until the thrush is eradicated. There are other treatments that range from Sugardine http://www.horsekeeping.com/hoof_care_and_lameness/treating_thrush.htm to the use of White Lightening Thrush Products http://www.grandcircuitinc.com/products.asp?cat=57

Several horses in my care had suffered from a "wry foot" conformation for several years as a result of deep thrush infections. A Wry Foot develops when the horse uses the outside of the foot exclusively because thrush or frog pain has made the frog intolerably sensitive. These feet have overly worn outer walls and long inside walls. Treating the thrush has consistently restored soundness.

Laid Over Bars / Under-run / Under Developed Heels / Long Toes

All of these conditions are the result of imbalance and excessive horn length. The combination of excessive heel height and long toes makes weighting the heel painful, which results in toe first movement and a sway backed stance that distorts the whole foot so that it appears to be stretched forward. The entire foot is flaring forward.

This condition is tough or impossible to reverse with shoes or pads, and can be reversed or controlled with regular barefoot maintenance.

Thin / Weak Walls

Most horses with thin hoof walls either have extreme imbalance or have had their walls excessively thinned by farrier's trying to remove flare from feet that are unnaturally long, or by harsh use of the rasp to remove clinches. Many horses coming out of shoes have walls that are 1/32 of an inch thin in the side quarters, where shoes were nailed on, at ground level! Most of these horses walls are 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick in 3 to 6 months.

Horses usually have adequate wall density for their conformation within 6 to 8 months of qualified barefoot trimming, a good diet, exercise and environment. Some horses feet aren't strong enough to be barefoot in rocky environments and may need boots for trail riding.

Walls, Walls, Walls, Walls, Walls!!!

When hoof walls grow too long, the wall bends, flares and splits. Flare is most often seen at ground level, where the wall stretches out to a bell shaped base, but it can also be seen in the growth rings, where excess wall length causes an upward flare in the rings and coronet band, usually in the side quarters. When the wall flares, it stretches away from the center of the hoof. When the stretching destroys the integrity of the White Line, it results in something termed White Line Separation.

White line separation is the bane of transitions, and transitioning trimmers and owners wait for 4 to 5 months for the wall to grow a solid hoof wall with a tight white line connection.

Wall distortion includes:

dished walls - excessive wall length causes one side of the hoof to bend inward or bulge outward
wry foot - horse wears the outer walls excessively
cracks - can be the result of coronet or tubule damage or wall imbalance
white line separation - a result of flare, requiring regular trimming and careful owner maintenance.