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The Sound Barefoot Horse... Transitioning Tips


Each shod-to-barefoot transition is unique, and I caution people to be conservative and not try to rush your horses "Gravel-Cruncher" potential. The best way to get any horse to become optimally sound barefoot is to get a conservative trim, have Epic, Boa or Old Mac boots ready, and ride in boots until your horse is landing heel-first when trotting on your home terrain.

Horses with a history of soundness issues will usually take longer to transition, but not always! I've had horses whose feet were horrible while shod - crumbling and chipping - become sound barefoot on all sorts of rough trail in a matter if a few months.


When To Transition?


Epic, Boa and Old Mac hoof boots are effective hoof protection and are easy to use, so they allow owners to remove shoes and continue riding normally.

Thanks to these great boots, the question of "when" to take the shoes off becomes a matter of owner convenience and ensuring the horses living environment will support an easy transition.

Don't take shoes off right before an important event, because it usually takes at least a month for the foot to adjust, but don't put it off until your horse develops problems either.

The Best Season? Early Fall!!

The ideal shod-to-barefoot transition takes place after your finished with your serious competitive or recreational season.

You can definitely ride while you transition - it helps your horses feet develop - but you want to be in a position to let him relax and get used to not having shoes. Any transition is accelerated by conditioning your horses feet while riding in hoof boots, so if you transition while the weather is still good enough for regular riding, you will end the winter with better feet.

Abscesses are another reason why it's best to start a transition in the early fall; these painful hoof infections are more likely to occur if your horses foot is compromised by any form of laminitis and has a stretched white line, and chipped or flared walls. Those conditions, combined with standing in a bacteria laden mud soup, increase the odds of your horse developing an abscess.


Environment


If your horse has spent a lifetime in shoes, or has very poor wall or sole quality, it's important to evaluate the environment he'll be living in so that you know how easy his transition will be.

If his living environment is hard and rocky, it will probably make his feet tender initially, and will result in super strong feet long term. In a case like this consider changing his environment by adding areas of deep smooth gravel, sand or shavings, or consider a temporary move to a gentle environment that will allow the transition to be a smooth one.

The ideal transition environment depends on the individual horse; ideal is usually lots of room to move (a large paddock or a pasture) combined with a variety of different footing surfaces.

Here are what different footings do for - or TO - your horses feet. The best environment contains many of these different surfaces.

Soft Grass, Dirt or Shavings - soft surfaces cushion your horses feet if they become tender or bruised, and encourage movement that's essential to stimulate the sole and encourage the development of healthy sole, heels and walls. On the downside, too much soft stuff doesn't challenge your horses feet to toughen up.

Deep Smooth Gravel - This is one of the best surfaces for most bare feet because the deep gravel acts like a bean-bag, distributing pressure evenly. The hard gravel toughens the hall and sole while it burnishes the edges of the wall. Horses love to roll in gravel, so if you keep your horses at home, consider adding a gravel pit to your paddock or pasture.

Sand - There are many types of sand, from very soft beach sand, creek sand to manufactured sand made from lava, granite or other rock. Sand is usually a hard surface, and while it distributes pressure, deep gravel is preferred by most barefoot trimmers. Some types of sand cause hoof wall to peel, so check locally to see what effect it has before making a major investment to upgrade a paddock or loafing area.

Packed Road base - Sometimes referred to as "road fines", road base consists of crushed gravel up to an inch in diameter mixed with "fines", a rock based sand. Laid properly and compacted, this combination of rocks and grit becomes a hard packed surface that drains well and sheds water. It's a great surface for developing tough hooves.

Mud & Water - Horses often like to stand in mud and water. Sometimes this helps a horses hoof condition, but more often, it can encourage over softening. There is some controversy about the benefits of regular hoof soaking, so work with your trimmer and investigate it's benefits for your horse. Feet that have a very hard packed sole typical to areas like San Diego and Arizona benefit from the moisture because it encourages dead sole to shed and overlaid bars to loosen and lift.

Deep Crushed Gravel - This footing has sharp edges but it's great for feet that can handle it, and most barefoot horses whose feet have passed the stage where they are tender benefit from having this footing available. Horses with very tender soles or wall separation caused by chronic laminitis may have trouble on it. The depth (4 or more inches) distributes pressure, and the rough surface buffs and toughens the hoofs surface. Sharp gravel is more likely to become wedged around the frog, so check feet regularly.

Hard Flat Surfaces - Hard firm surfaces like mats, concrete or scraped dirt offer horses with concavity sole relief. As long as these surfaces are smooth, they are relatively easy for most horses with healthy feet to travel on, but horses like terrain that offers sole support, such as pasture and 1/16 inch deep gravel.

Shallow Gravel / Gravel Paddocks - Gravel laid over hard dirt (as is normally seen on roads and parking lots) has most newly unshod barefoot horses picking their way gingerly... it isn't a good surface to house a barefoot horse on initially, although most barefoot horses with healthy feet handle it easily after they've been barefoot several months.

Shale - Shale can be hard on horses feet when they just come out of shoes, but is good conditioning for fit feet. This is okay to have in a pasture or field as long as your horse has other footing choices; shale packs hard and results in a flatter sole. Watch for cuts in the frog or heel bulbs.

Large Rocks & Boulders - Smooth rock in the soil is good for horses whose feet have passed the stage where they are tender.

Many horses that start out in shoes need to develop the back of their feet (the digital cushion behind the heel bulbs) prior to being sound barefoot. Shoes "protect" this area to the extent that it remains immature - or reverts to that condition. The secret to getting the rear foot developed is to encourage the horse to weight it fully by making the back of the hoof very comfortable to use, and the challenge is that horses with immature or weak rear feet tend to land toe-first to avoid weighting their heels directly. Pete Ramey suggests using stiff neoprene foam (the type used for stiff western saddle pads) in the heels of boots to support maximum heel weighting.

Also according to Pete and Dr Bowker, the foot appears to be conditioned not so much by terrain type as by repeated weighting and un weighting...

 
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