Wet, Tender Hooves

Hi Dr. Tom,

I'm a good friend of Karen Chaton's and after listening to her praise
"the barefoot way of life," I decided to pull my horse's shoes last
September.  He is an 11 yo Spanish Mustang gelding (he appears on the Easycareinc. header, the bay sabino).  I've had him since he was 2 1/2 and he has always been shod until last September.  He has well formed, but relatively small, hooves and the only problems he's had are an occasional abscess in the winter.

We live on the Monterey Peninsula of California so our winters are
rainy and mild.  Dino lives in a 3/4 acre paddock where the soil is
silty, sandy river bottom.  The soil drains well, except for right
around the feeders, but stays soft year around.  I ride in the park
right next to where he lives, but in the park, which goes up a mountain,
the soil is decomposed granite so the trails are always firm with some
rocky places.  In the summer the trails are like concrete with loose
grit on top.

Right after I pulled his shoes, I was able to ride him barefoot in the
park with no problems.  That continued until our rains started in
November.  Now, he is really acting tenderfooted when I ride him
barefoot.  We had a dressage lesson yesterday at our local trail &
saddle club.  We started in the hard-packed carriage court, but he acted
so tender that we moved into the dressage court where the footing is
partly ground rubber.  He moved perfectly in there.  Out on the trails,
he is always wanting to go to the edge of the trail where the dirt is
softer.  He moves much more hesitantly and short strides rather than his
usual long stride.

Obviously, I can put his Bares on whenever I ride him to protect his
hooves, but I am wondering if that will be enough.  I have comfort pads
in the front boots and am waiting for another set of pads to put in the
rears as well.  I am planning (hoping!) to do a 2 day ride in the mojave
desert in February and a 3 day ride about 200 miles south of me (also on
the coast) in March so I'd like to know what I can do to protect his
hooves, and also if there is anything I can do to strengthen them in our
wet weather.  And I guess my biggest question is whether riding him when his feet are so soft will hurt him.

Thanks!
L

Hi L,

It certainly does sound like your horse has some tender feet.  Definitely use the boots with the pads in them and I think you'll be just fine, especially during wetter weather.  I'd have to see the horse or pic's of the hooves to give you more of an idea what's going on.  Many horses that have previous damage done from shoeing are quite "contracted", and they don't appreciate their hooves having much mechanism.  When it's wet weather, the hooves bend and torque A LOT more, and these horses really start to complain, because they feel so much more of the damage that is inside.  Sometimes even in boots they will continue to be sore because of the damage.  Shoeing them makes them temporarily quite sound, because the metal, rigid shoes shut down so much of that bending/flexing of the hoof capsule.  The good news is that most horses will heal to a large extent the longer they stay barefoot, and it hasn't been very long at all since you pulled the shoes.  One to two years will still be bringing better changes to these horses.  Of course it's very important he not be trimmed aggressively right now, also.

Keep up the good work,

Dr. Tom T.

Comments

[mary palumbo]

Hi, I have just started doing LD 30 endurance rides
with my six year old paint who has always been
barefoot. I boot him in the front, epics or bares and
leave him bare behind for the rides. I only boot him
at home if we're going to be doing a lot of trotting
on dirt roads. He does still get ouchy on gravel. At
what point would you recommend booting behind? I would
like to do a fifty at some point but am concerned
that's too far without hind boots. We live and ride
mostly in New England. Can I use an epic or bare
behind or is it best to foam a boot on so there is no
gaiter? Thanks for any suggsetions. Mary