Better Off Barefoot

The Natural Hoof Care Advantage

Natural horsemanship practices today go hand in hand with natural hoof care—together they are unbeatable!   

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Comments

[rich and nicole creek]

howdy tom,
let me first say how much we miss ya, and your knowledge on a reg basis! i was doing some research about barefoot and luckily found your site, how cool. i have a couple of ques. tradition has been barefoot for a little over a year now, is on over an acre of turnout(more coming,need more land cleared) free choice grass and some timothy pellets to mix some flax in. he gets reg trims and i will do a little upkeep in between. my que is should he still have that dished out toe, its better but still there. and his heels are not looking good. he is sound on our rocky turnout, and we still use boots on trail rides, riding out on foudy ranch so its really rocky. am i just trying to rush his feet more along than they should be? on another note tradition had another eye episode this summer, we caught it fast and it cleared up fast! joe has also been barefoot for almost a year, and is doing great! but same with him should his feet look more like a wild hoof, or is it just going to take longer after a long history of shoes,bad diet, and immunizations? mabey a different type of trim? i look forward to any input. you are doing great things i hope someday we can get up to see you, and see what you think of there feet!!thanks tom

[te2184]

Hi, I've got a question to which I'm having trouble finding answers. My lovely, sweet, gentle 14 yr old very non-dominant gelding began the transition to barefoot about 8 weeks ago. He seems less stiff and I feel an enormous relief to have the shoes off. The one thing that I'm a little concerned about is his personality. He has gradually become more aggressive toward other horses. Where before he would avoid conflict, he now will engage in serious ear-pinning, biting attempts, and half-hearted to hearty kicks with the horse he is turned out with. It occurs sometimes with provocation, sometimes without, but in either case, I never saw this behavior before. Do you think it's because he's in pain or because he feels better?