Tobes is having Shoes Off tomorrow - am now anxious!!

sjp1

Well-Known Member
Sep 14, 2009
7,004
462
83
Well, Tobes hasn't recovered from his tendon injury, despite the fact it isn't torn. In fact he is lame.

Farrier has said all shoes off if thats the case, no point in paying to shoe him if he isn't working him, bless him. Tobes is footsore without shoes, but shall get him a pair of boots for travelling up and down stoney track and shall do best to walk him on tarmac to harden his feet up in hand.

Am worried - I lost a horse through a bad foot. But he was a racehorse who had raced for 12 years and had dreadful foot conformation.

Tobes is shod every five weeks as he grows a lot of foot. Tomorrow will be 6 weeks and he seems to be pushing one foot inwards I noticed when he walked up the field to me tonight. Am hoping in the time that he has off and that I can't ride, we could maybe make the transition to barefoot altogether. He is a very trippy horse even on tarmac.

Am worrying about it, clearly haven't got enough else to worry about!!
 
Yay :) Jess grows too much foot in shoes which means she has plenty to wear barefoot without getting sore, and that same wear and shorter toes will no doubt help with the tripping. Even if long term you decided to go back to shoes I think it does them good for their feet to get a break, gone are the days we pulled shoes off each winter.
You mentioned toeing in, this is interesting... http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/balance-is-more-about-leg-than-hoof.html
It helped me stop looking at the hoof alone and start looking more at the bigger picture.
Also I would recommend getting a rasp or riders rasp and have your farrier show you what maintenance you can do between trims, 5 mins of very minimal touch up in between can really help the foot develop
 
Last edited:
Thank you!!! Am feeling heartened! Emailed the lovely Pro hoof lady on ebay who does the minerals who has been very helpful to me for advice today as well - bless her, she emailed me right back and suggested farrier probably perfectly competent to do barefoot trimming as he was the one who suggested shoes off - she is also a barefoot trimmer but a million miles up country. She also let me have a couple of barefoot trimmers in this area in case I wasn't happy. And all I have ever bought off her is some copper and a a long time ago, some Mycosorb - can highly recommend her for information about forage balancing!

Farrier is very experienced, properly balances horses hooves and I am not sure why I am so concerned really!!!
 
She is fabby. Tobes will eat her copper - higher spec therefore less of it, and she said that the grazing he is on is so out of whack, it would be better to balance that rather than try to fed him inordinate amounts of minerals he won't eat.

I shall be moving Tobes back to the farm in the next couple of months, we are at a livery yard now, and obviously they won't be spending money on liming etc!!!

I found her hugely refreshing - Forageplus suggested I feed huge amounts of minerals - none of which Toby would eat, but after sending her our forage reports which Forageplus carried out, she said that no horse would eat that amount of minerals and I was better off improving the grazing.

So nice to actually find someone who is honest and is not after the last buck! She also suggested that Tobes intolerance to feeds could mean ulcers, although he is not a typical candidate, and she doesn't sell anything for ulcers. Sadly for her, has made me turn to her for unpaid advice which she is really happy to give!
 
Wow that does make a change. I've got a new farrier coming in a few weeks but after vie spoken to him I think I'll have a chat with her.
 
Thank you Jessey, I shall look it up - I was actually thinking about learning to do rasping myself - I was on a website today that said the 'mustang roll' was actually a lot of nonsense, and that small raspings were much better.
 
Do, she is fab, and really not about making money out of you, which so many are!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
I found if I just whip round Jess's every few weeks her feet come in to their own, they wear better, chip less and get stronger. Then every 8 weeks or so my farrier does the 'heavy' maintenance :)
 
Is this Pro Earth your referring to?
How long does the farrier feel he needs re the tendon? Guess that's a piece if string question.

Mine has rock hard feet but still finds stones a problem, usually if I worm or she is in season, so that's every month.
I have a bog standard farrier, he is fine as you will be. I have been down the trimmer route and almost ended up like you with a bucket full of minerals. Its just not practical or economical, especially as it was the land that was the problem not my horse!
But all the land in my area is pretty much the same, clay, coastal and my hay comes off it, so that lacks certain things.

I have been doing the maintenance trim for about seven years now, if you haven't got hoof testers get some those are useful to have.
 
I also rasp madams feet between trims - I literally just run a rasp around the hoof wall at 45 degree angle :) I would t personally get a riders rasp as heard reviews the angle is difficult to get. I do pigs feet completely. Trimmer wants to drop to every 16weeks with madam with me doing in between but I'm not brave enough! Her foot structure alters so readily and not in a good way that I would rather pay her to come!

I don't know the ins and outs of the mustang roll, what I do know is for mine it is important that there is a roll - a 45 degree rasp around - the wall that contacts the ground as it takes the presjsure off the wall and stops it cracking. Piggy maintains his own roll but madam doesn't
 
I'm sure he will be fine. Trust your farrier - ours was fab when J had his taken off after his injury. I think thats a good idea - hoof boots for the stoney track. Both my girls are barefoot but still if we go right up to the top paddock which does not get much use, they prefer to pick their way up through the grass verges. They both have good hard feet too, so it just goes to show they can still get ouchy. I am sure Tobes will be fine.
 
Thank you all.

Farrier came today, all shoes off. Tobes made it down the track - was worried I might have to carry him! Have measured for Cavallo boots and they should arrive tomorrow - spent extra to get next day delivery.

Have another appointment for farrier in 5 1/2 weeks to come to trim. Think I might get him to teach me what to do to tidy them up in between appointments.

Farrier said he has seen worse tendon injuries, but that it is a piece of string, might be six months, might be a year, all depends I guess. Anyway, am fingers crossed all will be OK.
 
Bless Tobes, glad he made it down the track though. Rosehips are the old traveller secret to harder feet, just pluck handfuls and feed as treats :) you can dry them too. Hopefully the extra stimulation will get him toughening up and healing fast x
 
I am sorry to hear he is out of action Sally, when you move home with him you should make sure the companion is rideable so you can still enjoy some riding
 
newrider.com