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Post by easychoice on Dec 3, 2010 22:53:34 GMT -5
I had Tony's shoes (front) pulled today for the up coming winter weather. I couldn't ride him late in the day because he was very sore. It was painful to watch him walk over the frozen dry lot as I brought him in. He didn't get much better on the softer arena ground. So I untacked him and put him back out. Farrier left a little extra on his feet so it wouldn't be a difficult transition. I do put boots on him if we're going out side the arena and they seen to help. Anyone else have this problem and how long does it take to settle down?
Thanks
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Post by Deb on Dec 5, 2010 8:14:20 GMT -5
The tenderness of being newly barefoot varies from horse to horse. It is a common occurrence and it is painful for us to see our horse in discomfort. Something you can do to help toughen his soles is to use as strong an iodine that you can find on them. Veterinary Iodine is about 12% where betadine is about 8% iodine or so. Tony's feet will toughen up just fine.
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Post by jenarby on Dec 5, 2010 13:31:51 GMT -5
If you are in an area where the ground is choppy or has a lot of gravel and then freezes, don't expect him to feel better until the ground is softer. I think winter is one of the worst times to try a horse barefoot. A lot of people do do it though because they don't ride much in the winter and it saves money. However, I wouldn't suggest it. If he's sore after a week or two of being barefoot, put the shoes back on.
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Post by CC on Dec 5, 2010 14:45:29 GMT -5
You can try using keratex but even my full time barefoot horses will get a bit sore on frozen lumpy ground. And we have a couple that just can not go without front shoes year round.
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Post by niaru on Dec 5, 2010 17:49:56 GMT -5
I agree with Jen. I pulled my poor Morgan's shoes (against the advice of my farrier) in November, thinking I'd ride her only in the indoor so she'd be fine, but the ground was frozen and she was miserable in turnout (big pasture, herd situation). I waited about 2 months, she didn't get any better, the shoes went back on and she was fine. I am lucky she didn't bruise or abscess. Live and learn...
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Post by Pam on Dec 5, 2010 22:31:24 GMT -5
I pull my horses shoes every winter BUT I do it well before the ground freezes. Here in NY, the ground usually starts to freeze around the end of Nov, beginning of Dec so I have them all pulled by the beginning of Nov at the latest. That gives them a few weeks to acclimate before the ground gets all hard and lumpy. If I can't get them off by then, I wait until the ground is covered with snow. I've done it this way for many years and never have any problems. I'm really surprised that your farrier didn't have you wait since it's so late. If Tony doesn't get better within a week, I'd seriously think about putting his shoes back on for another cycle. By the time he needs to get them reset, there should be enough snow to cover the hard, bumpy ground and you should have better success pulling them. In the meantime, get yourself some Crossapol and paint the bottoms of his feet a couple times a day. It's the best stuff I've found for hardening and toughening the sole. If you can't find it, another thing that is good is Jim Ricken's. If you have a track nearby, the track tack store will have it as it's popular for racehorse trainers, especially SB. Use it the same as Crossapol. Paint both on the sole only, not the frog. |
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Post by easychoice on Dec 6, 2010 0:10:27 GMT -5
Thanks everyone, we got 4.5 inches of snow yesterday and I already see an improvement. I will keep an eye on him and if he goes sore again I will put his shoes back on. We have an indoor arena and attend fun shows once a month - I try to ride about 4 or 5 days a week so we'll just see how he does for now.
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Post by deheresmint on Dec 6, 2010 20:19:24 GMT -5
I would like to add..
I've used old mac boots for turnout on a horse during winter that could not hold shoes. At night when he came in to the stall the boots came off. He was a TB, but lived in a quiet herd, so it wasn't like he was running around and kicking up his heels.
In that situation he fine booted.
When the ground thawed I would remove the boots and always put them on when the ground froze back up.
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Post by easychoice on Dec 6, 2010 23:28:01 GMT -5
I was wondering about that. I rode Tony in his Cavello (sp) boots today ad he was better (still a bit off). But took them off after our ride. He didn't want to go back outside afterward which is VERY unusual. I noticed he tip toed his way around the paddock. I'll try leaving them on and see how that goes. Do you think he'd be ok after a week or so to take the boots off while turnout? BTW Tony is the instigator of play in his herd.
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Post by animaldoc on Dec 7, 2010 12:01:13 GMT -5
Some horses just can't go barefoot - mine is one of them. When he broke his foot last winter (with shoes on) we were horrified to see (on radiographs) that he has the thinnest soles imaginable (which is not uncommon in OTTB). So for him being sore without shoes isn't a matter of "toughening up" his soles - he's actually walking on his bone. So for him, not only is barefoot painful, it's dangerous since he could break his coffin bone again......
Anyway, I agree with the others that MOST horses will toughen up and be OK on most surfaces pretty quickly after the shoes are pulled, but if you think your horse needs shoes, or he doesn't get better pretty soon, there's no reason to pull his shoes in the winter. (And like others said fall/spring are sometimes easier times to go barefoot since the ground is softer.)
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Post by easychoice on Dec 8, 2010 0:00:05 GMT -5
He wanted to play in the snow today, but wouldn't come up to the dry lot/paddock because it's bare and frozen. Farrier comes out again in 3 weeks so will make the decision then. Thanks again for all the feed back, you all are great!
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Post by easychoice on Dec 31, 2010 1:10:46 GMT -5
Well we put the shoes back on. I guess he's just one of those TBs that can't go without:(
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Post by CC on Jan 1, 2011 19:47:36 GMT -5
Aww, don't worry. You are wonderful for doing what he needs!
Basil cannot go without 4 shoes! And as much as I would have loved to have left my 4 yr. old barefoot, as he got older and heavier, he also just could not do without front shoes.
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Post by easychoice on Jan 5, 2011 12:52:02 GMT -5
I guess it just comes with the TBs. Tony has his front shoes back on and is doing well.
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Post by lokilion on Jan 7, 2011 10:11:49 GMT -5
Zephyr had his shoes pulled about 6 months ago and was very sore for about 3 weeks after his trim. Farrier came back trimmed him again and again he was footsore for about 2 weeks after. This third time he was trimmed he is hardly sore at all. The farrier who I trust completely said it takes time for their feet to harden up, but overall he is actually growing some heel now which he wasn't before. It was painful to watch and I did buy Cavallo boots to ride him in which do work very well. I also use Keratex religiously on his feet and that seems to make a huge difference too. The ground here though is pretty soft so he can do it. I probably would not let him go barefoot on hard ground, especially newly barefoot, and the shoes will probably go back on this spring when I hopefully get him out on some trails.
Riding him in the boots for short periods has been fine but I don't think I will take him on longer rides with them on. They are fairly heavy and I think they put more stress on his legs than necessary.
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