"Rocks for the Health of your Barefoot Horse"

Howdy Friends,
 

Yup I’m a believer that all horses can, and should go unshod for their highest health. Not only foot health, but overall health of the horse from blood circulation to shock absorption and posture and body awareness. I acknowledge there are problem cases, that for a time may need extra effort on our part, but I maintain unshod is best. I agree boots are sometimes a great thing and there are several excellent boots out there today.

Kessy strolling happily to her run-in on her river rock.

Transitioning to barefoot takes a little time, you might read my thoughts HERE.  Maintaining a healthy barefoot horse is easy, but may require a few management practice alterations. Changes such as trimming, most barefoot horses should be on a 3 week schedule, you might read about that HERE. I also believe many folks can learn to trim their own horses, which is both rewarding and cost saving. Another adaptation to consider is housing, I’m a huge proponent of the “Paddock Paradise” or Track System, you can read more about it HERE. Sometimes people give up on going barefoot because they cannot, or don’t want to adopt the few easy management changes. But I promise they quickly become routine and in the end save down time, money and stress—for you and your horse.

One BIG management practice so important to barefoot horse health is giving your horse enough rocks. Yup, give ‘em rocks! To walk on.

Kessy's rocks cover the lower half of her run-in, and to her water tub. She walks on them each time she comes and goes and drinks. Saturday thinks the rocks feel good on his feet too.

A common catalyst to barefoot failure is, horses stay in stalls with little movement possible, or wide open grassy pastures, or pastures, paddocks and turn-outs with only soft footing—Then the rider asks the horse to carry them on trails with gravel, stones and rocks. Of course the horse will flinch, perhaps protest, but the failure lies at the hands of the caregiver, not the barefoot horse. The horse needs the opportunity to create those rock-crushing solid healthy feet, which is easily done.

Rocks must be provided for the horse to walk on. Some folks call the rocks “pea gravel,” or “river stone.” Whatever you have available in your area consider mixed “round” stone no larger than 2 inches with stone 1 inch and perhaps a bit less. Not fine screening, or crushed rocks with sharp edges. Even if your home turf is dirt, sand and grit adding rocks will improve foot health.

Kessy's feet in the stone. I recommend about 2 inches deep to encourage the massage action.

Walking on rocks does SO MUCH for the horse’s foot health, exfoliates dead tissue, cleans mud and manure should that be present, and even massages the foot, aiding in blood circulation and mobility far above the foot. The ancient Greek Xenophon (c. 430-354 BC) first pointed out that “naturally sound hooves get spoiled in most stalls,” and in his classic work “On Horsemanship” advised measures to strengthen horses’ feet including, “palm sized rock beds for horses to walk on.”

I maintain, for my mare Kessy, an area of rock that starts in her run-in and extends outward about 30 feet. I just refurbished it the other day, the rock do gradually drift away and sink in so maintenance is required every now and then. About 2 inches deep will do the trick. They should be placed where horses frequent such as the water supply, as Kessy’s is, and as I do directly on the route to the run-in. Many folks with track systems have several locations along the way the horses walk through.

Here you can see the rock path ... Kessy givin' me a little lovin'

I hope you’ll consider giving rocks to your barefoot horse.

Gitty Up, Dutch Henry 

P.S. - If you've not yet purchased my book, "It's for the Horses: An advocate's musings about their needs, spirit, gifts and care," find it here www.itsforthehorses.com  

"Let’s Talk About the Barefoot Horse and Trim a Little"

Howdy Friends,
 

A few emails and facebook questions this week suggested I revisit the barefoot trim again. We’ll cover only a few key points here, but it might help.

My mare Kessy's beautiful bare foot- Great sole, wonderful healthy frog.

Let’s remember caring for and riding a barefoot horse is more than simply removing shoes, though that is of course the first step. Barefoot horse care is a different paradigm, one that puts the horse first—perhaps that is why so many people find it difficult, in that there are a few things needed to be done differently. At first these things may seem too much bother, extra work, but in time after the initial changes it is actually less work, less money and of course more healthy. Read "Barefoot Paradigm HERE-

Housing and exercise are paramount. The horse must be able to move about, and not only in grass. There should be dirt, stones and rock. Pea gravel is excellent. I’m a huge supporter of what Jamie Jackson created, the Paddock Paradis, track system. In it horses move about at will on a track, have free choice housing, no stalls and limited grass. Hay feeding stations and water placed strategically to encourage movement. This is so much better than big grassy, weedy pastures or fields. When you think of a horse in big grassy fields, think overweight man on the couch gorging on potato chips and cookies. You can read more about PADDOCK PARADISE and horse healthy housing HERE.

Diet is important. Limited grass, no grain and no sugar. All forage diet is best. Horses are designed for forage, and yes a horse can and will gain weight on all forage diet. HERE is my mare’s diet.

The trim. Keep it simple. Don’t be intimidated by all the talk out there how difficult it is to trim a barefoot horse. It is not. And yes you can learn to do it yourself. First thought, if your trimmer also does iron shoes, I suggest you find another. If a person can see the wisdom of nailing shoes on a horse, they cannot truly grasp the biomechanics of the horse and horse’s foot. I have been saying that a long time, and I keep seeing things happen that make it even more true to me. Preparing a hoof for a flat shoe is totally different than seeing the whole horse, the sound hoof, and the two cannot be blended.

Trimming schedule should be every 3 to 4 weeks. The horse should walk on the sole, not the hoof wall. Very few horses can go 8 weeks without the hoof wall becoming too long and therefore stretching the lamina. Even a little stretch is bad stretch, much of the health of the foot lives in the lamina. If you need to use a nipper the trim has gone too long.

Filing Kessy's hoof- takes about a minute a foot ... 

Trimming is best done from the top down with a file, not a nipper. If the 3 week schedule is maintained it is very little effort. For Kessy it takes me about a minute a foot. Never pare or scrape the sole, ever. Almost never trim the frog. The frog should touch the ground. No more than one third of the foot should be in front of the apex of the frog.

No horse should ever be lame or tender footed after a trim. You should be able to trim your horse and immediately go for a ride. You can read more about a simple maintenance trim HERE

Transitioning from shod to bare does take time. Six months to a year for riding. But there are many great boots out there today, so don’t let that hold you back. You need not lose a day’s riding while transitioning.

A barefoot horse will enjoy better hoof health, of course, but will also enjoy better health overall. From legs, tendons, joints, muscles to even their organs. The free hoof is able to absorb the shock as intended, not transfer shock to parts of the body never designed to absorb shock. A bare hoof will also pump blood as it is designed to, to and out of the foot bringing nutrients and removing toxins—that’s why barefoot horses feet always look better than shod feet, and do not need hoof supplements and paint on products. Read "Why Barefoot?"HERE

Kessy loves her Paddock Paradise!

Having a barefoot horse is today not as mysterious or difficult to understand as it was 30 years ago. We know have the evidence of many thousands of barefoot horses and their caregivers in all disciplines. I find the growing acceptance of the barefoot horse wonderfully exciting, for the horses’ sakes.

Kessy's pretty and healthy feet

Gitty up, Dutch Henry

"Practices For A Healthy, Happy Horse - Just My Thoughts"

Practices For A Healthy, Happy Horse

Howdy Friends,

These practices are offered as my point of view, as a horse lover, advocate and admirer. Not a clinician, veterinarian, or specialist of any kind.

Kessy, Miss Kitty and Saturday together at one of  Kessy's slow hay feed nets. They stroll the paddock paradise known as "Kessy's Wood" together.

Horses will get along, as many of them prove over and over again, with less than ideal conditions and treatment, but that does not mean they are happy, healthy or thriving. In my opinion we owe it to our horses to provide for them with as natural a lifestyle as we can possibly provide. Each of us as owners or caregivers have limitations placed on us by such things as economics, lifestyle, jobs, property, riding disciplines, and more. Our efforts must be to do the best we can within our own circumstances for the physical and mental health of our horses.

Basically we could sum up a lot of the healthy, happy needs for our horses in one sentence. "No shoes, no stalls, no grain, limited grass, and seeing everything from the horse's point of view." That's pretty much my focus; to me those are the most important things to the secret of a happy, healthy horse.

No shoes. Friends who've been following me here on our Coffee Clutch, or on facebook, already know I'm adamant that all horses can go barefoot – and will be healthier for it. All the arguments against it, to me, fall short, and lay in the camp of seeing it from the human's perspectives, not the horses. Of course a few things must be done differently, and that may take more effort than some are willing to devote. See Why Barefoot?

No stalls. This includes no stalls with small paddocks or pastures. The only time a horse should be confined to a stall is illness, traveling (shows, performances, etc) or other special short time circumstances.  Even if space to roam is an issue, the Paddock Paradise or track system can turn an unhealthy half-acre paddock, or unwholesome 2 or 5 acre toxic lush grass pasture into a playground for health and contentment. This only takes a little effort to set up, and then it's there forever, and can be constructed anywhere, even with limited funds. See Paddock Paradise.

No grain. That's it, simple. Horses are designed to be forage eaters. Grain, and today's high potency grasses, do bad things to the insides, and the attitudes, of a horse. Again they can deal with it, but it will eventually take its toll. Don't you think it's odd the epidemic of ulcers? Slow hay feed nets positioned at several locations offering low sugar hay around the clock, will promote movement, health and clear headedness conducive to solid relationships, health and happiness .

Limited grass. We've touched on this, but the normal pastures filled with lush grass, or patches of grass mixed in weeds are as toxic to horses as fast food and overstuffed couches in front of televisions are to humans. Again, make it your mission to have horses under your care thriving in a track system. Horses, even in big pastures with other horses, move about 5 miles a day, or less. Horses in the wild move 20 and more miles a day ... Horses benefiting from a track system mimic the movement of wild horses. Health benefits are seen within weeks of making the change.

Seeing things from the horse's perspective. Housing, feeding, riding, training, everything ... the horse must come first.When that drives every thought and action of a horse owner or caregiver things take a paradigm shift toward a healthy happy horse. When that shift occurs, everything becomes easier, no matter the discipline the horse and human play in. I see having a horse as a part of my life as a privilege, and every horse I've ever known has given freely to me their friendship, time, energy, willingness and spirit ... I feel I owe them nothing less.

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry

"For A Beautiful Barefoot Trim – Keep It Simple"

Howdy Friends,

Kessy's never had shoes in her twelve years. She came to me at seven with a few issues. I trim her feet every three weeks, I feel for healthy bare feet most horses are best served with a three or four week schedule. The eight or ten week schedule is far too long and can encourage flares and stretching of the lamina or white line. Yes there are some horses that can go much longer, Pete Ramey says in his book he has one who needs trimming only twice a year, but for most horses and situations I feel three weeks is best. I maintain Kessy's feet with a sharp rasp, do all the shaping from the top down, holding the rasp on a good angle so we get the good bevel, or mustang roll, as Jamie Jackson calls it. In full disclosure the photos in this story were taken after Morgan Whitmer trimmed Kessy, she has been for the past three trimmings while I heal up from heart surgery. Every thought in this story comes from what I've read, seen and experienced, and by that formed my own opinion. I share my thoughts with the hope some folks may benefit, but they are my thoughts so feel free to disregard.

Kessy's fronts after trim. Look good right? She's such a great gal ... Now look closely you'll see on both front feet a faint line running up from sole, in the center of her toe, to the hair line. Her feet, while barefoot, had not been properly maintained before she moved in with me, and back then she had flares, chips and long toes. She also had thrush right there in the center of her toe on both feet, and two of those famous cracks. I cleaned it and packed it with cotton soaked in diluted batadine, stuffing the cotton up with a nail, for months until it grew out. But see the damage it left behind.

While rasping, from the top down, I only work on the area to bevel, and angle my rasp to get that nice bevel of about ¾ of an inch. I never rasp down over the entire hoof to "clean it up," as we see so often, that removes precious live material important for sealing, growth and hoof health. I look at the sole before I start, clean it with a brush, not a hoof knife.

Kessy's hinds post trim. It took me 6 months to get her hind toes correct.

Another opinion I have is we clean our hoofs far too often and thereby strip away important live tissues put there to guard against disease and infection. If the horse has room to roam with pea gravel or other hard surface she will keep her feet clean, and healthy. I think I clean Kessy's feet twice a year with a hoof pick, some years not that often. From the bottom I judge toe length, heel growth, balance, heel bars etc. I only trim the bars if they are long enough to fold over, which is rare for me indeed.

Kessy's RH bottom post trim.Don't you love that sole and frog?! No nippers or hoof knife will touch this sole.

The view from the bottom tells me most of what I need to do. Then I set her foot down have a look at balance, position and angle, and start rasping at the toe. The toe is my guide as, if the horse is well maintained, she will always tell you where it should be by wear. No more than one third of the hoof should be in front of the apex of the frog.

 

Measuring Kessy's LF we see her hoof is 5 inches - her frog apex is 3 and 5/8 leaving exactly one third of her foot ahead of the frog apex. Perfect. Be sure to check this on your horse.

If the bottom inspection tells me the heels are slightly out of balance, or a flare wants to start (which is never in my case, but wanted to mention because often a flare will tip its hand on the bottom before even showing an angle change on the hoof wall.) I angle my rasp even more sharply in those areas to thin the wall more there so she can wear away the wall that needs to go, and shape her hoof naturally in a way best for her. Now it goes without saying the horse must have room to roam, not a 20 by 20 paddock or stall, but that's a story for another time.

And that’s about all I do. I do not trim the frog, or pare or scrape the sole. That again removes precious live, or dead tissue, there for a reason. It will wear away naturally when she moves about. I rasp the wall even with the sole so she walks as designed on her sole, not her hoof wall. That helps prevent that ugly black line around sole and hoof wall which can allow disease and infection into the lamina, and of course allows the suspensory tissues within the foot to remain tough, vigorous and strong and not weekend by excessive stretching ... and builds rock tough soles.

Here you can see the arch in Kessy's RH hoof wall.

One last thought about rasping only from the top down and following the hoof, in that way I can maintain the natural arch in Kessy foot. Yes the hoof wall does and must have an arch, something that cannot be maintained by rasping flat across the bottom of the foot.

Of course trimming is only one part of a healthy barefoot horse. Housing, exercise, diet and health care all are equally important. I've thought about writing this little story for a while now because there seems to be a lot of folks making barefoot trimming too complicated. It's not. Keep it simple, leave the bottom and soles alone ... And as Pete Ramey says, "Take care of the toes and the heels will take care of themselves." I recommend both Pete Ramey and Jamie Jackson's books.

Kessy says thanks and have a fun day.

 Have a wonderful barefoot time and Gitty Up, Dutch Henry

"Not All Horses Can Go Barefoot"

Howdy Friends,

We keep going back to the thought that not all horses can go barefoot. Personally I don't agree with that, but what if it is true? Could it also be true that a lot more horses could thrive going without iron shoes nailed to their living tissue? Could it ever be healthy to drive nails through the lamina, pare the sole and force undo stress to the suspensory tissues, send shock and vibrations to parts of the body never designed to deal with shock and vibrations? Could it ever be healthy to restrict blood flow to the hoof, leg, tendons and even organs?

Kessy loves her paddock paradise

We hear it said what works for some does not work for all. Some folks say let me alone I know what is best for my horse. Other folks find themselves in boarding situations with peer pressure. Sometimes folks are just trying to get their horse over a situation or condition then they'll go barefoot.

It seems there is always someone to suggest sticking with the tried and untrue iron shoe. A horse needs shoes for, this or that and a whole bunch of other reasons, they say.

Admittedly it can be a whole lot easier for the human to just keep shoes on a horse, or if we have a lameness, or founder issue to go back to shoes, than it is to go the holistic route and go, or stay, barefoot. Yes it might take more management, different housing arrangements, diet and exercise than just sticking on shoes, for a while. But who does that serve? The horse or the human? In the end the barefoot horse actually takes less effort to manage, and costs less too. And is far more healthy for the horse.

There are so many well documented ways to care for, feed and hose a barefoot horse, no one need go it alone anymore. If you are in the midst of making the transition to a truly healthier horse, or struggling with the challenge of a founder or laminatic horse, do yourself and your horse a favor. Before settling on the thought, "Not all horses can go barefoot," talk to friends who ride, show or compete barefoot. Don't seek advice from folks who shoe. There are as many excuses for why a horse must be shod as there are horses. Seek advice from those who live the barefoot life.

Going barefoot is more than just pulling shoes. It's diet, an all forage diet is best. It's housing, a free access run-in is best with room to romp in a limited grass playground; the semi-new idea, started by Jamie Jackson, "Paddock Paradise" is best, some folks call it track paddock, promoting movement over varied surfaces even in limited space. Healthy horses should never be confined to a stall or tiny paddock, movement maintains a healthy horse, and hoof. And it's hoof care. Proper hoof care means trimming every 3 or 4 weeks, done correctly by a trimmer who understands the biomechanics of the horse's hoof and the entire horse. If a trimmer also does iron shoes, get another trimmer.

I may be considered stubborn, or even foolish, but I truly believe every horse can, and should, go without iron shoes. Sure some may require a variation of footing in their playground, (deep sand for a founder horse) different trimming schedules, boots to ride or other specialized management, but so do shod horses. Just consider the plethora of different kinds of iron shoes out there.

Not every horse can go barefoot? Yea, I think they can. And should.

Gitty Up, Dutch Henry