Questions
1. Is barefoot for all breeds of horses and for all situations?
2. Can horses go barefoot all year round?
3. Why do some horses become sore immediately
after removing the shoes?
4. What is a transition period, why do horses
need it and how long is it?
5. When do you know when the transition period
is over?
6. How does the natural trim help Navicular?
7. Why is it that only domesticated horses suffer
from hoof ailments?
8. Do horse boots interfere with movement or
shorten the stride?
9. Do horse boots twist or fall of easily?
10. Are the parts for the boots replaceable?
11. In what ways does a natural diet help horses
and their feet?
12. What is Flare?
13. How do horseshoes cause damage to hooves?
14. How often does the natural trim have to
be applied?
15. How is Thrush treated?
16. How long does it take for flare or wall separation
to be corrected?
Answers
1.
Is barefoot for all breeds of horses and for all situations?
Yes absolutely, there are no breeds of horses with weaker hooves than
others and all horses can and do live out their lives well while being
barefoot. There is no difference genetically between our domesticated
horses and the wild horses roaming the world.
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2. Can horses go barefoot all year round?
Yes, horses were intended to go barefoot everywhere including in snow
and on ice. In fact barefoot horses have more traction and feel on their
barefeet than they would if they were in shoes and corks. Their frogs
and bars are intended to provide natural traction.
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3. Why do some horses become sore immediately
after removing the shoes?
Horses become sore for a number of different reasons. The reasons range
from having unbalanced feet, thin soles, flares and soft feet. Flares
can be part of the cause for soles to stretch out thin, incorrect trimming
and the removal of sole callous also plays a big role in sole thinning.
Horses can also be sore if they were shod for a long period of time
or from a young age which inhibits the lateral and fibro-cartilages
from being sufficiently grown and strengthened.
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4. What is a transition period, why do horses
need it and how long is it?
The transition period is the period of time that a horse needs to adapt
to either not being shod or to recover from lengthy periods of unbalanced
trimming and poor hoof form. Horses need to slowly adapt at their own
pace and heal any damaged tissues that may be present inside the hooves
through natural diet, movement and the correct trim. The transition
period varies from horse to horse, by their current hoof conditions
and whether they were shod for long periods or not. The use of Horse
boots during the transition period makes it much easier for the horse
and rider and there will not be an interruption in riding. Transitioning
a horse to barefoot does not mean you have to give your horse a break
for any specified amount of time. To the contrary actually, the more
the horse moves the faster he/she will recuperate!
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5. When do you know when the transition period
is over?
Generally, once a horse is comfortable on all types of terrain including
rocky gravel roads etc. The horse has completed his transition period.
This can take anywhere from 6-8 months to a couple of years. However,
horses even with severe navicular symptoms can be quite comfortable
and rideable almost immediately with boots on and pasture sound within
6-8 weeks this timeframe does vary again.
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6. How does the natural trim help Navicular?
The natural trim always strives to bring the hoof back to its ideal
shape and form that is intended for any given horse. Traditional methods
of helping navicular include but are not limited to raising the heels,
corrective shoeing with the use of egg and heart bar shoes. The problem
with shoeing is that it causes peripheral loading meaning it takes the
weight bearing off the soles and places all the weight only on the walls. While hooves are peripherally loaded they are forced into a locked broken back axis between the 2nd and 3rd phalanxes. This broken back axis causes the navicular bone to be sandwiched between p2 and p3 and this becomes under constant stress. When the horse feels pain in the back of the foot he tries to relieve it by landing toe first while moving but this incorrect locomotion exacerbates the conditon. As well, peripheral loading causes tension on the bones the tension contributes to bone loss and a reduction in bone density.
When these "corrective" methods fail, the horse’s nerves may be cut to numb the pain and that usually
does not last long, as the nerves will grow back. Eventually after futile
attempts with these various traditional methods have failed, the horse is retired
to the pasture, or even euthanized.
Navicular pain begins over a period of time when shoes have caused contraction
in the heel area and the horse lands toe first when moving. When a horse
lands toe first all the time, unnecessary strain is placed on the deep
digital flexor tendon as well as the impar ligament which attaches the
navicular bone to the coffin bone. The tendon slackens while the horse
reaches out and when he lands on his toe first, the heel slaps down
afterward, creating a snapping effect on the tendon. This slapping effect
also strains the impar ligament, Repeated movement like this causes
heat, friction and inflammation, eventually leading to burrs on the
tendons and damage to the impar ligament. Once the impar ligament is
damaged, the blood vessels which run through it to nourish the navicular
bone also deteriorate, causing breaking down or demineralization of
the navicular bone and/or the coffin bone.
By keeping the heels short, and encouraging a heel first landing with
the help of horse boots, and allowing the hoof to decontract, the horse
can once again feel comfortable moving. The tendons are being used properly
and there is no strain on the navicular bone and bursa. Some severe
damages may not be completely reversed, however horses with severe damage
can be ridden comfortably with the correct trim and with the help of
horse boots.
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7. Why is it that only domesticated horses
suffer from hoof ailments?
Horses in the wild do not suffer from hoof ailments such as navicular,
and the main reasons are that they get the amount of movement that nature
intended for them which happens to be about 20 miles a day. This amount
of movement ensures a healthy, strong foot internally and externally
and the hooves trim themselves from the wear they get from all the movement.
This natural trimming in turn ensures that the horses have ideal, natural
toe angles. Not to mention wild horses never see a shoe in the course
of their lives either.
Our domesticated horses have it pretty easy. Even the horses that are
lucky enough to be turned out 24/7 on 100+ acre pastures don’t
have to go very far to find their food. It is right in front of them
in the lush grass pastures they live in. When we want to ride these
horses on tougher terrain, we wonder why their hooves can’t stand
up to it and it’s because they most often live day in and day
out on soft terrain and haven’t had the necessary movement and
wear to toughen them up and to grow the necessary fibro-cartilage to
withstand that type of terrain. They also generally have hoof walls
too long from not enough wear and flares, cracks and chips begin to
show.
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8. Do horse boots interfere with movement
or shorten the stride?
No not at all, in fact horse boots improve the movement and lengthen
the stride on ouchy and gimpy horses.
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9. Do horse boots twist or fall of easily?
No, not if sized and fitted correctly
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10. Are the parts for the boots replaceable?
Yes, all the parts and accessories for the Boa boots and the Easyboot
Epics are replaceable. Please inquire with me if you need replacement
parts for boots that you have purchased through me.
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11.
In what ways does a natural diet help horses and their feet?
In depth information regarding natural diet for horses can be found
here www.safergrass.org.
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12. What is Flare?
Flare derives from excess hoof wall that has not been worn off naturally
or removed during the trim manually. If excess hoof wall is routinely
left on the foot, the wall begins to migrate outwards due to ground
pressure on the wall. Flare is very commonly seen at the quarters and
the toes and give the foot a dished shape.
Flare can also present itself in the heels where toes and the heels
have routinely been left too long, so the heel flares forward with the
toe as do the bars. When the entire hoof is flared forward, the bars
appear overlaid and curvy as opposed to near straight or vertical underneath.
Often when flare has been present for some time, chips and cracks can
be seen at the toes and quarters. Flare is painful for the horse, especially
on hard or rocky terrain. Flare or wall separation can also be a result of a laminitic or founder attack which occurs at the coronet band and causes the entire hoof to grow out in a flare.
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13. How do horseshoes
cause damage to hooves?
Here in a nutshell is a brief explanation. Firstly, shoeing a horse removes
his natural weight bearing hoof mechanism. This happens because the
shoe removes the sole, frogs and bars from weight bearing and places
all the horses weight on just the hoof walls leaving no support underneath
the sole and frogs either. Secondly, when a shoe is applied to the hoof,
it is applied when the hoof is in its non-loading or non weight-bearing
state.
When the hoof is on the ground it is in loading or weight-bearing state,
it is expanded and at its largest size. When the hoof is not on the
ground holding the horse’s weight it is in its contracted or non-loading
state. When a shoe is nailed onto the foot in a contracted state, then
is expected to stay contracted during the period of time the shoe is
affixed to the hoof. The natural hoof mechanism is for the hoof to expand
and contract with movement to allow proper blood flow into and out of
the hoof to the rest of the horse as well as to allow engergy dissipation and shock absorption on landing impact.
This expanding and contracting not only allows proper blood circulation
but also creates the proper growth of necessary fibro-cartilage internally
to support the weight of the horse. The movement grows and strengthens
the tissue and the blood flow feeds and nourishes the growth. When you
remove or inhibit the important expanding and contracting hoof mechanism you remove
the internal strength of the hoof capsule. Sort of like a use it or lose it effect, if the hoof is stuck in a contracted state the parts that aren't being stimulated my movement will become weak and atrophied and not fit to carry the weight of the horse as nature intended.
Eventually the internal tissues will be damaged and later die off. You
will then begin to see hoof pathologies such as abscessing, navicular
changes, pedal osteitis, ringbone, sidebone and even mechanical founder. Other weaknesses also result
from shoeing such as thin and weak soles, frogs and bars not to mention
thin, brittle hoof walls. These things contribute to sole bruising,
pedal osteitis, toe first landing etc. All hoof pathologies are direct
results from broken down hoof mechanism due to one or a combination
of any of un-natural shoeing, un-natural diet and un-natural riding
practices.
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14. How often does the natural trim have to be applied?
It really depends on the horse, what time of year it is and
what the current condition is of the horse. For the horse first starting
out on the natural trim the ideal trim cycle is every 4 weeks, most
often they are only trimmed every 5 weeks if their hooves are in fairly
good condition. A recommendation is given at the first natural trim
of what the trim cycle should be for any given horse.
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15. How is Thrush treated?
Thrush affects the frog quite negatively and if left untreated
may cause the horse a considerable amount of pain. Thrush is a bacterial
infection that will eat away at the frog, or any other tissue that is
old and ratty and can lead to further damage. A frog that is badly infected
with thrush will be thin, ratty and weak and the horse can display pain
with movement in the heel area causing him to land toe first. Thrush
can be treated with commercial preparations such as Clean Trax, but
it can also be treated with regular old Lysol all purpose cleaner without
phenol. Lysol (usually yellow in colour) can be used diluted in warm
water in soaking the hoof to kill the bacteria/fungi that cause thrush
and other superficial infections of the hoof.
Soaking directions:
with Lysol/Warm water mixture as follows:
2 tablespoons per soaking boot, (Davis Soaking Boot or Easyboot Soaker
may be used) of Lysol to ½ cup warm water for 20-30 mins 1-3
times per week depending on condition of infection, this is a general
guideline. Specific recommendations can be given upon assessment of
the condition. As I know that Lysol does not eat live tissue, I am aware
that some clients may have used more Lysol in their preparations and
it appears their horses’ hooves have cleaned up more quickly than
the original expected timeframe.
Pete Ramey also has a new method that he is using which is very effective in dryer conditions and with severe thrush infections with deep central frog sulci. He mixes 1 part triple action antibiotic cream such as Polysporin and 1 part athlete's foot creams such as Tinactin in a bowl and puts that into a syringe, it is conventiently kept in the syringe and squirted into the sulcus or anywhere around the frog as needed after throughly cleaning out the hooves. I have had several of my clients try this and it has worked very quickly!
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16. How long does it take to grow out imbalances?
The amount of time the hoof wall takes to grow from the coronet
down to the ground is known as a hoof growth cycle or HGC. An HCG can
take a horse anywhere from about 6 months give or take to about a year
give or take. This timeframe really varies from horse to horse and other
environmental factors such as time of year, lifestyle, diet, amount of exercise, whether there are other bodily issues such as chiropractic, muscular, conformation or even dental issues. Common flares can take as little as 1 or two trims or up to a HCG to be removed but deformities
such as a laminitic hoof with wall separation higher up on the foot, pidgeon toes, club foot and severe under-run heels could take many more than one HCG to be corrected.
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