Hello All,

Yesterday, A buddy of mine had a family emergency and I filled in for him at a sale barn that I have never worked at before. When I got there, I was late due to the late notice I got about filling in. An older gentleman rode up to greet me. I noticed three things. 1..His gear was WELL worn. It looked like it was taken care of, but he rode a whole heck of a lot and you could tell it from his gear. 2..His horse was broke to death and really rode around nice. 3..His horse was barefooted. Later, I noticed all three horses he brought were barefooted. I thought it strange that a guy would bring three barefooted horses to work all day on alleys, half of which were grooved concrete, and half were really rough gravel.

Now, I got there late, but including the time before, during , and after the sale, I sat 16 hours in the saddle, save for a 30 minute lunch break and a few times that I jumped off to help out on the ground for a minute or ran to the restroom. I never saw this older guy off of his horses, except to change mounts. I also never saw any of the three horses take a solitary lame step. All three horses had good looking feet, free of cracks. At least I didn't see any. I asked him about how he got by with having barefooted horses. He smiled and told me that he works at two sale barns weekly, does day work at the ranches he lives near, and team ropes every chance he gets. He said he hadn't put shoes on any of his horses in seven years. He told me it was called NAtural Hoof Care. He invited me to look at his horse's feet and I did. The trim was a little bit different, but the hoof looked healthy, albeit harder than any other sole and foot I have ever seen, except on mules maybe. He said that at first he used those rubber Easy boots for a while. He said that at his other sale barn job the concrete is VERY slick and he uses the boots for traction.

This all interested me very much, as I have been contemplating learning to shoe my own horses because it cost 80 bucks a head around here, there are always scheduling issues, and most importantly, I can't seem to find a farrier that both does a good job on the shoes AND handles the horses to my liking. I generally get on to the shoer more than the horses. I had one guy start screaming and swinging things at my horse. It was because the farrier pulled the horse's rear leg WAYYY out to the side. THe horse naturally was uncomfortable and he pulled away from the shoer. Before I could do or say anything, he hit the horse with his rasp, and started yelling. After I was very, very close to being in my first fist fight in 15 years, I told him to leave the place and don't even look in the rear view mirror and erase my numbers from his cell phone.

So has anyone here had any experience with leaving their horses barefooted? Is this stuff for real? I looked around on-line and found a few sites that were limited in actual information and some of the folks doing it seemed a bit (please nobody take offense as, it is certainly not intended) for lack of a better term, "fruity." Is there any good places to read up on this. Are there people doing this widespread, or is it just a few wackos? Now considering the locals here call me a wacko for not owning a tie down, yet team roping anyway and in a snaffle bit, wackos aren't always wrong in my opinion, but I don't want to start pulling shoes just yet. Call me an interested skeptic.

[ June 06, 2007, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: alleyrider ]

Hey there alleyrider, I haven't had my horses shod in 10 years, although I admit I am just a leisure rider most of the time, I did race in speed events up until 2 years ago when my momhad open heart surgery..........you see, she is VERY competitive, and I knew if I went, she'd go, and the thought scares the daylights outta me...but back on subject....there are a number of natural trim sites, some good, some not so good, almost all of them subscribe to the belief of NEVER shoeing...I'm not one of them, per say. I do belive there are certain horses with special needs that do need trimmed. However, let me tell you about my mom's TB....he had worn shoes from the time of age 2 until she bought him at age 8......she had them pulled and went barefoot, but stayed to soft grasses and ground 95% of the time..yes, he was very tender at first, so she kept his riding to a minimal until he slowly adjusted....that has now been 2 years. He can ride most anywhere now, except gravel..but he is improving and he rarely misteps anymore or acts sore. His hooves have hardened and have gotten much healthier then when he arrived.
My mustangs? Only had Metawa shod once ever for a hunting trip, I know now that he never needed it as his feet can handle any terrain I've ever taken him over without a single problem...even subsequent hunts.....10 mile trailrides over a variety of ground types, gravel, parades on pavement, etc and so on....
So to end my long babbling, lol, I thnk it boils down to starting with a horse that has healthy feet, or close to at least, and consider your own weight and the work you'll be asking...then start slow so your horse can adjust...I'll try to find a few of those sites for you, but you might do a search for the "mustang trim" (which is what I prefer, I have a how to file on it in my old computer, but not this one) as well as natural hoof care.
Lona

Here's a list for you:

Putting the wild horse foot shape to practical use
http://www.naturalhorsetrim.com/Section_11.htm

Riding Horses Barefoot
http://www.naturalhorsetrim.com/Section_18.htm

Barefoot for Soundness
http://www.barefoothorse.com/

Strasser Hoof Care
http://www.strasserhoofcare.com/

The Horse's Hoof, News for Barefoot Hoofcare
http://www.thehorseshoof.com/

On the pro shoe side...
http://www.americanfarriers.org/

And finally, from my yahoogroup files.....

"Subject: "Strausser method" of trimming

> Thats what its called. The farrier who did Nico for his 1st trim
>uses the Strausser method.
>a lot of people disagree with it. Any opinions here?
All this talk about so-and-so method of trimming makes me
laugh out loud. There must be 500 "different" methods of
trimming out there now and basically they're all the same. There
is nothing revolutionary about any of them that I've ever
seen--when I was young, all good farriers did a good natural
trim. They knew that every horse was an individual and had to be
trimmed/shod according to his individual gait. In those days if
farriers weren't good at their jobs they wouldn't make a living. In
the first three years I lived here, I went through 9 farriers--not one
of them was a decent shoer (or trimmer) and they would blame
the horses for their lack of talent. I finally found a shoer who will
at least try to respond to each horse's needs.
Last spring we met Bergy who promotes the "natural trim"
(hooftalk.com I think is his website). He was laughing too
because he said he had been credited with saying that people
shouldn't put shoes on their horses. He said it was ludicrous to
think that all horses can go without shoes--noting that here
where we live, many horses feet could not hold up as the lava
cinders and sharp-edged sand would just chew their feet off. My
friend has a foundered pony that gets one of the so-called
natural trims (I think his feet are way too long) and she has to
use boots on him because otherwise he couldn't walk. I think
people shouldn't get stuck with one form of anything; not one
trimming style, not one training style, not one feeding program. I
believe we need to analyze every horse and every situation and
go with what is best for that particular circumstance. I try to keep
my mind open to new ideas and not get bogged down in fashion.
It's hard sometimes when public pressure is so heavy but I think
we're better off if we keep our options open.
Cheers . . .
Gale"

Hope that helps.

[ June 06, 2007, 06:09 PM: Message edited by: Mustang Blue ]

allyrider,

Do a search on Pete Ramey he is a farrier that wrote a how-to book on natural hoof care. I saw him on the RFD channel and got the book. I am going to try this type of trimming

Ashley

alleyrider...

Horse and Rider did a great article on this subject last year....some things that i gleaned..

Natural horse care/trim is NOT the same as the Strausser method, and should not be construed as such. (my own farrier has his opinions on the strausser method, and it's not good)

You need to be able to rest the horse...it may take as much as 9 months for the horse to adapt to the natural trim stuff. in other words, don't plan on pulling shoes, trimming and going to work the next day with that horse.

just like regular farrier work, the ability to trim is indeed, an art. look for someone who knows what they are doing.

To echo Betseys reply...look for someone who knows what they are doing and talk to the customers who use him. We just got a horse at our barn who is the result of natural hoof trimming. He is on supplements and rehab due to the damage caused by this "natural" method. It is a very interesting subject to me and I had considered looking into it...but am abit fearful now.

alleyrider,

I have books from both Pete Ramey and Jaime Jackson. I have spent over a year researching and learning about this natural hoof trimming stuff online and am quite impressed with the two mentioned above. Also I have met Ruth Green of http://www.ironfreehoof.com/ and agree with her and Pete Ramey and the "less is more" aproach.

Pete Ramey is a great inspiration for this natural approach. He says that once the hoof is trimmed to what the coffin bone dictates, simple rasping of the outer hoof wall is all that is needed for upkeep. Here is his website: http://www.hoofrehab.com/
He has a ton of info on this site. Get his book and you will learn a bunch!!

Read the above website thru and thru. I can't seem to find a farrier around here that will file the outer wall to a bevel. They all want to leave it flat like they do for a shoe. I have started doing it myself this past month and like that I can do this myself.

I am a believer that God created the hoof to withstand any terrain. Just look at the wild mustangs that Jaime Jackson and others have studied. Look at pictures of their hoofs, they may seem small and strange at first but once you get to know why you'll understand. We have become accustomed to seeing long hoofs and think they are natural or normal. It is us humans that have done this to our horses. Nature would not allow horses to have such long hoofs. They would chip and break until they were of the right length needed for that horse.

Okay, I'll step down off my soapbox now

To Kalo555 - I wonder if that natural trimmer was following the Strasser method, it is really invasive. I don't agree with her methods. A bit too much.

One more thing-- here are a few yahoo groups that I learned alot from:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/barefoo...yguid=122931701

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BarefootTruth/

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/natur...yguid=122931701

Well, I might as well get on the band wagon.
We went to a Pete Ramey 2 day seminar last year and have a certified Natural trimmer. For our horses, we are extremely happy with the progress of their hooves. Our trimmer is more than a hoof trimmer, we discuss the whole horse, nutrition, environment etc.

You've been given several great sites, but I would recommend going to the hoofrehab site first. The one Allhorses50 gave you.

If interested, there was another natural hoof care thread under "General Issues" last post 12/01/06. There is some pretty good information and opinions there too.

Good luck!

I am trimming my guys barefoot now. Two have been barefoot all their lives. I only put shoes on one because I was hoping to get some reining lessons, but that fell through.

Now gratned my guys don't get ridden much anymore but I will not use shoes on them. I'm ordering some new Easyboot Bares this week for my one horse who is still a bit tender in front, just the way she's built, I think, but she's getting better.

Be sure to read as many of the different trim styles as you can and learn about hoof form and foot anatomy so you can better understand each method's 'why's .

I like Ramey, but I didn't understand his 'less is more' theory only really applied to horses already with close to perfect barefoot form. I messed my guys up by NOT taking down the bars, and they impacted. I have a mentor here now who showed me the results and how to really trim the bars and sole properly.

Getting better and learning more all the time here about barefoot trims, and I'm proud of it.

I own a Mustang and only had shoes on her once (because I didn't know any better). I have had quite a few half Mustang/half QHs and have never had any of them shod. I had a Strasser farrier out one time and I'll never have him again. The sole of my horse's hooves grew out like a mushroom - it was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Of course, the farrier himself wasn't very competent which didn't leave a good impression with me. I haven't found a farrier in my area who does a job that I'm pleased with, so I now trim my horse's hooves. The biggest thing I would say is don't dig out the sole! I scrape out anything dead, but nothing more. After that I trim the hoof wall down even with the sole and rasp it smooth. Trimming the frog down a bit is good also. Whatever works for you is great, but that's what I've found to be most effective with my horses. I have never had anything besides hairline sand cracks, and I've had very few of those since I started trimming this way. I would still check out the websites given earlier.

OK, here is my opinion:

Genetics play a very important role in this barefoot deal. Any horse can be barefoot as long as a shoe subsitute is used (easy boots, swiss boots, ets) but not every horse has the genetics to be ridden barefoot without boots. When was the last time anyone said they wanted to breed to "so and so" horse because he has good feet?......NEVER.....why do, typically, TB's has shelly walls and bad feet, they are bred for speed, nothing else.

Be careful with this fad and make sure you don't do damage with your horse.

Two of my horses and me are in one of Jamie Jackson's books. I consider him a good friend, but we disagree on some areas. for myself, I'd rather put shoes on a horse than mess with boots before every ride. Shoes have been used for centuries, there must be a good reason why. I have some horses that go shoeless and bootless, and some that wears shoes. Again, it depends on the horse.

Competent Farrier work is the answer.

All of our horses have always been barefoot. We did get a TB who had shoes when we got him, we pulled them first thing. he was tender for a few days but after he adjusted he was quite happy being bare foot. The two paints we have now are great barefoot. My gelding has the most incredible hard feet. Never a misstep, on gravel or pavement or rocky terrain. Some horses need shoes I will agree, but many do fine with out, think of when we were kids and we went everywhere barefoot. We could run on pavement or gravel and never cared. When we get older and constantly wear shoes we can't step on a rock without wincing. Same basic concept.

To add to this topic, I've been using the NHC method for about a a year now and have had great results. All 3 of my horses are now barefoot and doing great. I had to seek the help of a NHC practitioner to help me with my geldings right front since it was a club or founder foot. He was growing an excessive amount of heel and no toe and his growth lines very distorted. It has now been 10 weeks, his heels have been lowered by over a half inch and he will stand more square than I've ever seen him while in shoes (he's been barefoot on the rear for about 4 months) his growth lines are starting to even out and looking healthy.

I've kind of modified my trimming method, not how I trim but the tools I use. I found this on google video:

Grinder hoof trim

I use a right angle air grinder with a 2 inch 36 and 60 grit pads. All I can say is it sure speeds up the process alot. It doesn't replace all my tools but sure is a nice addition.

I made a video to post on youtube but haven't got it all edited yet.