How To Increase the Size of Your Horse’s Feet:
A Status Report on The Great Barefoot Experiment
Wendell Berry is a fascinating farmer, poet and author who
writes prolifically about a way of living he values. He believes in the
interconnectedness of life through sustainable agriculture, the purity of food,
husbandry, healthy rural communities and a connection to place. His poems are divine, and he just published
Leaving, his first book of poems in five years.
I’m not a tree-hugger and I don’t eat organic food every day
(although I know I should). But I do think
Mr.
Berry’s wholesome philosophy translates well into better understanding the principles of managing a barefoot horse.
Here are two interesting topics for you to ponder.
Gaining One Boot Size
in Six Months
One of the four horses participating in our barefoot experiment has actually increased by one boot size in six months. Rocky’s front hooves have grown from 00.5 to 0. He’s only 14 hands so the hoof to height ratio is not bad.
Before: Rocky being
sized using a Fit
Kit six months ago.
After: Rocky in Gloves
at a training ride last Sunday.
I attribute this change to the following four conditions:
- The heels on this horse were significantly contracted. Before pulling the shoes, his feet were contracting and there was an abundance of toe (one obviously goes hand in hand with the other). His hoof capsule has benefited from the opportunity to spread out – and his frog is bigger, wider and flatter.
- Regular work. This horse has regular work every few days, even if it means lunging him in the round-pen when time doesn’t allow for miles on the trail. When he was going through times of sensitive feet, he would wear Gloves for 12 hours a day while out in the paddock.
- Regular rasping. One of the tips we got from Duncan McLaughlin was to work on bringing back the toe every few days. Depending on growth, we have been beveling his toe right back to the white line at least once a week. We rasp the hoof from below first, then from above. Bringing the toe back has really helped the heel spread out.
- Strict
attention to diet. This horse balloons in weight if his diet is not
properly managed – and he becomes foot-sensitive if he gets too much
starch.
Rocky’s foot today.
Which is the Right
Candidate For Booted/Barefoot?
Don’t assume the only barefoot candidates are the ones who
have tough feet. Think again: sensitive footed horses are the very ones who
might benefit most from an alternative approach.
Redford
is another interesting case: I resisted pulling his shoes because he was always so sensitive in rocky conditions. He has had his share of adjustment challenges throughout this process. But now his white line disease is all but grown out and his feet are looking balanced and tough.
I took him out for a couple of 12-mile training rides in Easyboot Gloves last weekend. I don’t like to tempt fate just before a multi-day ride, but this horse has never felt so sound – even when he had shoes on with pads and packing.
Discovering my own
connection to place.
Put Your Boots On
Wendell Berry’s poems honor investment in quietness, solitude and watchfulness on the world. That should remind you of the kind of fulfillment you reap from a good ride on a solid horse. So put on a set of Gloves and get out there. Maybe I’ll see you on the trail.
Keep up the bootlegging!
Kevin
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