Dear Dr. Tom,
My horse and I live in Idaho at a dry, high
altitude. The soil is rocky. Horse environment is very fine
pea gravel or sand. Turn out is hard, usually not irrigated. My Peruvian Paso foundered and is making a rapid,
steady recovery and transitioning to barefoot. I left the tradition-- "we all need shoes because
of the terrain" because it was clearly time to CHANGE.
Problem:
I've been told by a good experienced farrier who
would prefer to do a natural trim (rather than a flat trim and shoe) that it is
the rare horse who can manage to go barefoot in rocky environment. He keeps his
horses south on clay footing. He thinks that when we corral our horses here, we
keep them in a seriously ABRASIVE environment, where they walk and shuffle, and
the hoof wall wears down too much and not in the pattern of a horse with
freedom. (This spring we had problems with abrasiveness because the horses
were moved from very wet winter conditions.)
Now, I have to corral my horse approx 20 hours out
of 24 as we watch her founder recovery. Turn out is preferred, but feel I
cannot do so for more than 3-4 hours a day. I do use a grazing muzzle, but for
now am limiting its use so we can observe her behavior/breakage, etc.
Your thoughts?
Is our environment a bad situation for
barefoot?
Hi
there,
Paso
finos generally grow some tough hooves, so I think you're going to be fine in
the long run. If the horse is only out for a few hours, then what she stands on
the other 20 should definitely be well-drained and firm but not as rough. Use
the boots only when needed.
The longer
the horse is barefoot the harder the feet will get. Use your best judgment when
weather is wet on rough ground. Boots will help you get through those
times.
Keep in
mind you're just starting out after your founder episode. Eight to ten months
will tell you better what you'll have down the road. If it's really that rough,
it doesn't sound like a good spot to rehabilitate a founder case. You may need
to use boots a bit more or get some sandy soil mix or pea gravel in. Sounds
like a great environment for horses that don't have foundered hooves, as long
as they keep moving. Movement is protective against founder even in lush grass
situations.
Dr. Tom
T.
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