Okay so I am (hopefully) going to broach the subject of barefoot with the farrier tomorrow. I've been umming and ahhing over it but I think it's the right thing to do at some point, though any time she is out her stable she will have boots and pads on so it's not truely barefoot. (For those of you who don't know my horse has had heartbars put on, incase you were thinking she was already barefoot).
I've changed my thinking on her feet. Instead of focussing on the fact that the bones have sunk/rotated I am now visualizing the bone being in the right place but the entire hoof capsule having shifted. Therefore to achieve a functional foot she needs to grow a whole new hoof capsule in the right place around the bone. How new hoof wall is growing in should determine this and we should aim for this to grow down to the ground in a straight line. At the same time the heels should remain as low as her feet allow so that there is no pressure lifting P3 and forcing it down towards the sole.
She also needs to build a thick, calloused, concaved sole to "push" P3 up and help it sit parallel (or close to it) to the ground. I don't feel this part can be achieved easily in shoes and that walking in boots and pads will be the easiest way to achieve this.
Is my thinking true? I don't want to be babbling all this if it is wrong! I don't expect shoes to come off tomorrow, I'm not ready for it anyway as I'll need to buy some new pads.
Thanks for any input
I've changed my thinking on her feet. Instead of focussing on the fact that the bones have sunk/rotated I am now visualizing the bone being in the right place but the entire hoof capsule having shifted. Therefore to achieve a functional foot she needs to grow a whole new hoof capsule in the right place around the bone. How new hoof wall is growing in should determine this and we should aim for this to grow down to the ground in a straight line. At the same time the heels should remain as low as her feet allow so that there is no pressure lifting P3 and forcing it down towards the sole.
She also needs to build a thick, calloused, concaved sole to "push" P3 up and help it sit parallel (or close to it) to the ground. I don't feel this part can be achieved easily in shoes and that walking in boots and pads will be the easiest way to achieve this.
Is my thinking true? I don't want to be babbling all this if it is wrong! I don't expect shoes to come off tomorrow, I'm not ready for it anyway as I'll need to buy some new pads.
Thanks for any input
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