MANAGING THE BAREFOOT HORSE.

For a horse to grow the optimum hoof, one capable of meeting all demands made on it, he needs to live as natural a lifestyle as possible. The style of trim is only one small part of that. More important are his diet, environment and lifestyle. Here are some aspects of managing horses that can be changed from the traditional to more natural.

GRAZING.

The idea that grass is harmful to horses is one that is difficult to accept. After all horses love lush green grass. But allowing them to eat it all day is like allowing a person to eat nothing but donuts all day. Bear in mind that much of our UK grazing has been improved, ie. re-seeded with grass species chosen for maximum meat and milk production in cattle and sheep (animals that are not known for their athleticism, or expected to live a long and active life). Whereas horses evolved to thrive on forage that is sparse and low in nutrients.

Above left: American feral horses on natural grazing. Above right: Dartmoor ponies thrive on low nutrient moorland grasses. Below: The sort of grazing we have been taught to consider ideal.

It is common for a horse to do well barefoot during the winter months, but to become footsore in the spring. The spring grass is higher in sugars and causes inflammation of the laminae and soreness over rough or stony going (basically the horse is suffering from very very mild laminitis). In this situation there are 2 options; restrict grazing or shoe the horse. Shoeing doesn't cure the problem, but does stop the horse being as aware of it (by reducing circulation the shoe has an analgesic effect). Grazing can be restricted by keeping the horse on a bare paddock and providing hay to ensure he gets enough roughage, stabling during the day and turning out at night - when grass is lower in sugar, or using a track system.

TRACK SYSTEMS.

 A horse in a field leads a fairly sedentary life, he has no need to move far as his food is all around him. Movement is essential for circulation and development of the shock absorbing structures of the hoof (digital cushion/lateral cartilages), in the wild horses travel 15-20 miles a day.

To encourage more movement a track can fenced around the outside of the field. Water provided in one area, shelter and hay in others. The horses naturally keep moving around the track exercising their feet and bodies as they go. For more info read "The Natural Horse" and "Paddock Paradise" both by Jaime Jackson 

Photos courtesy of Sarah Bell www.successful-natural-horsecare.com

Above are photos of an all weather track system where stone/hardcore has been put down. This means not much grass grows and the track can be used during the winter. This is an ideal way to keep horses, but is expensive to set up, and is only an option if you own your land. We rent land from a farmer who would not be happy if we started covering his grassland with hardcore! Therefore we set up a grass track in the summer months. We fence a track around the outside of the field. The grass gets eaten down to virtually nothing, vastly reducing the horses sugar intake. Roughage is provided with hay. The middle of the field rests over the summer. A cut of hay can be taken, then the grass is left to grow. The horses graze the whole field in the winter when grass is lower in sugar and safer for them to eat, and because it was rested there is plenty of winter feed, which makes up for the hay that was fed during the summer.

WORMING.

Some horses can be sensitive to chemical wormers. In the barefoot horse this will be seen as increased sole sensitivity or soreness over stony ground. In extreme cases worming has caused laminitic episodes. Worm resistance to chemical wormers is becoming an increasing problem for all horse owners. Worm counts are recommended before routine worming to ensure chemicals are not given needlessly. Others measures to control worms are removing droppings from fields every couple of days before the eggs hatch, rotation and resting of fields, and grazing with sheep or cattle, as horse worms are killed by the their digestive systems.

FEEDING.

Start reading the ingredients on feed bags. It is surprising how many feeds contain molasis, which is sugar and bad for feet. Avoid feeds containing syrups and Moglo (another form of molassis). If the bag does not list the ingredients then you have no way of knowing what you are feeding your horse. Be careful of feeding cereals, these are usually only needed by hard working horses. Stick to high fibre feeds such as unmolassed sugar beet.

The best way to ensure the horse is getting the correct balance of minerals is to have your forage tested, and a bespoke supplement made up. I can offer advice on this process. If forage testing is not practical use a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement, or alternatively good natural sources of vitamins and minerals are seaweed, linseed and brewers yeast. 

Avoid sugary or molassis based treats and stable licks.

HOOF BOOTS.

Hoof boots are usually needed when a horse first comes out of shoes. If a horse is flat footed or thin soled, or has a stony area to negotiate (even is it is just the path to the field) I won't remove the shoes unless the owner buys boots at the same time. It just isn't worth risking bruising the soles. Briused soles will really set back the transition process and can develop into sub-solar abscesses.

Sometimes they will always be needed for rough and stony going. It is worth having them fitted by someone experienced. www.easycareinc.com manufacture a range of boots. I stock renegade and easycare boots to ensure that I can leave new customers comfortable and ready to ride right from shoe removal. I have found the Renegagdes and Easyboot Gloves and Epics (below) to be very effective. But there is lots of choice and some models fit certain hoof shapes better than others. If you don't have a trimmer who also fits and sells boots then www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk hire boots so you can try before you buy.     

CLICK HERE for more info on hoof boots.                         

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