Going barefoot for the winter

[ilovereining]

My horse has possibly showed signs of white line disease. All of the information I can give is in that section of the site, and called "Lack of Professional help". I was thinking about going barefoot for the winter. I'd like to now, but it isn't an option until the show season is over. My main reason for this is so that I can keep a closer watch on her feet. I don't know very much about it, so are there reasons for and against doing this? Or anything else I should know? Thanks

[Jeanie Connors]

There are a lot of good reasons to go barefoot! Personally, I think it's the way to go anytime, not just for the winter, and it has many benefits too, beyond being able to keep a better eye on your horse's hooves. There are a number of *good* barefoot sites around (yes, it's true fellas, there are some good barefoot sites out there ;) ) that will give you a lot of info about going barefoot successfully, year round, and how it can help various hoof troubles, like white line disease :) .

[calshoer]

Most of my clients go barefoot in the winter. A few cannot for various reasons. Such as the if foot is just too poor of quality for the living conditions and it would traumatize it too much, or they have some pathology that needs the therapy or support of shoes. Or they will still be doing their same summer type jobs where they needed shoes.

The whiteline can be usually treated better barefoot, UNLESS it requires a large resection of hoofwall. In that case, then supportive shoes are needed to keep the foot held together (literally) while missing a lot of wall.
Patty

[Phil Armitage]

Going barefoot for the winter is an excellent idea. We do it every winter with our horses unless I have too much ice in the paddocks then I put borrium shoes and snow pads on. Why wait until winter to get the whitle line problem solved. If this is truely white line decease then you need to address it now starting with calling your Vet. White Line is a serious problem that continues to spread in the horn eating it away. Over time the hoof wall will be seriously compromised and could lead to founder. I have treated white line with White Lightning, it penetrates the hoof very well killing the fungus. I do not know if it will be effetive on every horse but it is a good way to start without being too invasive on the hoof. It worked on the horses I have used it on.

[ilovereining]

Well, the problem here is I'm not positive that it's White Line.. Actually, I don't even know if a section of the hoof wall would need to be removed or not.. The farrier insists that the problem is gone in the back, and that it was never in the front.. However, I thought the front looked worse. I'm not planning on waiting until winter to fix the problem. If I find out that the problem is there for sure, the shows can wait. During the winter, I wont have as much of a need for shoes. I'll still be riding, but the ground in our arena is suitable, and I can wait until spring for things like stops that need shoes. I think her feet are pretty strong and flexable overall, but hey lack proper trimming and care. I rode her today for the first time since she was shod (talked about in my other thread, "Lack Of Professional Help" under White Line). She still seems a little short strided, and I still think too much may have been trimmed off as an attempt to get rid of the problem..
My only reason to not go barefoot for the winter is that it would require more trimming. Normally, that would be fine, but I'm just not sure if it's being done correctly.
I really know nothing about it, so any tips are appreciated. And would it make sense to get the shoes off as early as possible, before the ground freezes and hardens? Just thought maybe her feet would need to get used to it before this, but I don't know. Thanks a ton :D.

[John Barney]

Why do you think it would require more trimming? Barefoot they actually wear some foot down. Also hoof growth tends to slow in the winter.

JB

[ilovereining]

Well, I didn't exactly mean trimming.. Sorry, More like maintenance.. Wouldn't it be true that without shoes, there would be more chances of flares and chips, that would need to be trimmed off?

[Jeanie Connors]

Yes, things like flares and chips are more likely to become visible if the horse is barefoot....but things like flares and chips will result from an unbalanced trim, which has no business having a shoe applied to it anyway ;) . Ultimately, in most cases, if you have flares or chips, there is something wrong with the trim that should be addressed.

Also, the more time your horse has to toughen up for going barefoot before the ground freezes, the better of she will be once it does.

[John Barney]

Jeanie I disagree with you statement about flares and chips. The most common reason is the horse owner not having the feet trimmed when the are due. Flaring ,chipping and hooves breaking off are natures way of self trimming. I find it starts to begin at about 2 to 2-1/2 months. By three months they are bad enough for the owner to think about calling. Improper trimming can also cause problems but I think neglect is most common. The horses I do every 6 weeks to two months have no problems , the ones that are three or four months or longer( when the owner is feeling guilty) are a mess. Sometimes the quarters break so high they are low after the trim. For the original question, if you keep your horse on a regular schedule you should be fine. Don't wait until the ground freezes to go barefoot, they do need some time to adjust. Also tell you farrier he might want to leave the feet alittle longer for the first time, your horse might wear more than you think.
Good luck.

JB

[caballus]

JB .. I agree with you about owners neglect HOWEVER, I disagree about the trim. Trimming for maintenance of CORRECT balance is also paramount to chipping and flaring. Wall that are left too long will flare and eventually chip - yes, MN's way of trimming the hooves (self trimming). Imbalances lead to pressure points that lead to cracks etc. ...

Horses hooves wear according to the ground on which they live on a day to day basis. This is part of the reason so many people have a hard time with barefoot horses being sore. The horses live on soft pasture and then are expected to go out onto rocky trails with no ouchies. That's just not going to happen. Horses will self trim very nicely if they live on rocky, hard, firm ground. Here in the Northeast where we have softer ground in the pastures (read wet and muddy) the hooves grow at a phenomenal rate and if they're not trimmed every 4 - 5 weeks, flares and cracks and chips begin to occur. If the horses are RIDDEN or WORKED regularly on dry, hard ground then its not such an issue, of course. Then 6 - 8 weeks is conceivable by all means. Also, horses that are stalled many hours do not have the opportunity to self-trim, either, and their hooves are weaker simply because the uric acid in the urine eats away protein AND because the pine shavings that are used dry out the hooves horribly. This, obviously, equals not-so-healthy hooves.

Need to take in the location of where the horses are kept in along with everything else - capabilities/skills of the trimmer, owner vigilence and care, diet, MOVEMENT (that's a biggie) and, of course, the horse's individual conformation, metabolism and all the rest.

:) --Gwen

[Jeanie Connors]

JB, you're right that neglect will *also* cause flares and chips from an overgrown hoof. Sadly, I've seen flares and chips passed off (*many* times, not just once) as "normal for this horse", and the farrier trims the hoof and while the chips are most likely trimmed off, the flares remain, sometimes for years. :( No, it's not a good way to trim, but it's more common than you may believe.

[ilovereining]

Well, where I live, she will mainly be put in three places all winter. Her field, which is completely snow covered, her stall in the worst of weather, and when ridden she will be in our indoor arena, which has pretty soft ground. It doesn't seem to me like her feet will get much chance to wear down on their own. Does this mean I should have the farrier out more often than usual to trim her? Or, will the conditions be normal, and allow me to stick to the regular schedule?

[caballus]

I would arrange for every 4 week trims if your horse is staying barefoot. Making sure that the trim is correct in that the walls are brought down to sole callus level and the front toes are rockered and all hooves are rolled all round.

--Gwen

[John Barney]

As Gwen said four weeks would be great. However six to eight might work as well. I find that is more acceptable to most people (financial reasons probably). Depending on how much you ride that indoor arena may wear the hooves more than you think. Dirt and sand are abrasive.

JB