Barefoot feet cracking

Lilyherm

New Member
Mar 26, 2022
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854D4CE3-75A1-4D4C-84AD-7B79425BDC83.jpg567A9A12-7ACE-4CA9-AD2E-D7433021E1DA.jpgHi, my horse has always been barefoot on the back and about a year an a half ago went barefoot on the front, since going barefoot on front she was always a but foot sore on the hard ground after getting them trimmed. About 9 months ago we changed farrier and he insists she doesn’t need her feet trimmed until every 12weeks as it’s good to leave some hoof. However the last couple of months her feet, mainly the front, have been cracking lots and chunks have been missing, I’ve mentioned to him before about maybe putting the front shoes back on but he is not very keen as she can be a cow for him (although not nasty). Is it worth finding someone who will put shoes on her or shall I just try an get him to trim when he comes every 6 weeks instead? He doesn’t seem to bothered by the cracks normally.
 
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It may be a controversial and unpopular option, but I would consider leaving longer between trims or maybe not trimming at all? The cracks and chunks you describe are the result of the horses feet naturally trimming, it may not look pretty but it serves a function and develops a foot that it in tune with the horse. The book ‘Feet First’ is an excellent read and advocates this approach. My horse was completely self trimming for the last 3 years of his life and with the support of my vet he developed feet to work for him. I haven’t met a single person online or in real life who does this, but it worked for me and I would do it again.
 
I have one horse who is completely barefoot and has not be trimmed in the 6 years ive owned him. He barely grows any hoof. I have another who just has front shoes. He used to be trimmed every 8 weeks on the front. My farrier only occasionally trimmed his backs. I had a few issues in his back and my vet recommended i change farrier because his feet were not being trimmed and kept balanced and coùld be contributing to his issues. He is now trimmed every 6 weeks fronts and backs. He grows hoof like billow. Both horses are on the exact same diet. So its only age and genetic make up that mean they grow different hoof rates.
Neither of mine have had cracking issues though.

Are you on facebook. There is a barefoot fb group you could join. There is advise on there on trimming and rolling the feet so the pressure is taken off the cracked areas to allow them to grow down. It might be worth you posting up pictures of the feet there. I think there is a post on there also that tells you how to take the pictures so that people can assess from various angles to give advise.
It is stressed that a good diet is also essential to aid with helping foot condition.
 
Feet crack and break when they are too long, you need the feet trimmed more regularly or accept the breaking and hope it doesn’t break in such a way it causes lameness (the way the left foot is breaking in the picture looks like it could become problematic).
 
Feet crack and break when they are too long, you need the feet trimmed more regularly or accept the breaking and hope it doesn’t break in such a way it causes lameness (the way the left foot is breaking in the picture looks like it could become problematic).
I didn't see the pictures when I wrote my reply, but I have to agree that the cracking in that left foot is worrying. When my horses feet cracked and fell away, it was only the 'excess hoof' that he was naturally shedding and the cracks never went right up the foot like that. What breed it your horse? The picture makes me think of Hoof Wall Separation Disease (HWSD) that connermaras in particular can suffer from.
 
I don’t think hwsd presents like that generally, hwsd looks like severe white line disease where the hoof shells up. To me that looks like a crack caused by leverage from the length, it need’s relieving to prevent it running further up.
 
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