[drivingpairs] barefot trimming
- From: Hzlax@xxxxxxx
- To: drivingpairs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 16:20:13 EST
Since Helen asked, be happy to response and share my experience. I drive my
pair of 17 hand Holsteiners barefoot since over four years including
competitions and it works good here. We always had them barefoot behind since
when we
first got them as 3 year olds (they now turn 14), and would only put shoes on
behind when going to big competitions where we weren't sure of the ground
conditions and if we would need studs, so wanted to be prepared for that with
holes
drilled to put studs in. At home we would pull the hind shoes again. Once a
year we would also pull the front shoes and turn them out to pasture for 4 - 6
weeks. Over four years ago then, when we brought them back from their
pasture vacation on advice of our farrier we decided to wait and see how long
they
could go before putting the front shoes back on. Well, and we are still going
:-)
But I don't think this works for everybody and all other conditions. It
depends very much on the feet, the footing, the amount of work, the climate,
moisture etc. Ours are working 5 times a week for about 2 hours. We work
mostly on
wood chipped trails, plus some grass, some hard packed dirt and some
blacktop. We are in S. California where we have it dry - e.g. no rain usually
from
about April through Dec., yet since we are close to the coast it's not desert
dry, so the feet do not dry out too much. In the winter saison, like right now,
when we do get some rain and things get wet, I need to watch it a little more
and be more carefull on how much I drive them on harder surface. But in general
I think my amount of work on our surface seems to be just right. Less work
and the feet get softer, more work and they can get too short.
I do not have any special knowledge about barefoot trimming, but year round I
keep my rasp handy and I go over the edges a little all the time when I see a
little chip here or there, kind of like most women do with their fingernails.
I also rasp off a little on the toe when it looks like it's getting a little
long, as well as take off some inside flair on the hind feet, etc. I have not
needed a farrier for a trim in all that time, as it seems I'm handy enough
myself with the rasp. Our vet is also our farrier, and when he is out I just
ask
him to take a look and tell me if it all still looks ok. The feet do look very
good, the heels are spread out a little and not squeezed so tight together,
as often shoes will do. The walls are much stronger now then they were before,
the frog is healthy and touching the ground, but yes, they can get a little
ouchy when they step on a some little rock pebbles, just like we do when we go
barefoot, especially now, in the rain season when the feet are a little softer
due to the moisture. But when it gets dry again the feet are hard enough that
even driving marathons in AZ over some rocky gravel roads did not bother them.
Nevertheless, I always ran the risk when I competed on Advanced level and
needed to pass the pre-competition vet check on hard surface, that if they
would
take a wrong step on a little rock pebble to or at the vet check that they
might appear a little ouchy or uneven or even lame. So at times we were asked
to
trot twice, but usually on the second jog all would have been back to normal
again and we were never spun. But still to avoid that risk once before going
to an Advanced Competition I thought about having put on shoes in front again.
When my farrier came out to do it, he looked at the feet and said, it would
be a shame to put nails into them again, and his vote would be I should try it
without. So we did and were ok. I did have some raised eyebrows and questions
from Ground Juries on it occasionally, but since the rules do not require
shoes, and more importantly, they all had to agree that indeed the feet really
did look very good, they then always accepted it.
So for us, our horses, and our conditions this is working well, the feet are
healthy (and last but not least I save a lot of money too), but I am not
saying that this would be the best concept for everybody. It all depends on
your
conditions. But try it out, first with just the hind feet, and see how it
goes.
Hardy
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