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Barefoot Hoof ???

7K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  my2geldings 
#1 ·
Hi guys!

Most here know that I own a Clydesdale. Well, I've actually wanted to trim her feet myself using the natural barefoot methods of today...I currently have a nice farrier though and I have not yet attempted to trim her myself. However, I am seriously thinking about it now!!

I am wanting to buy her easycare boots. However, when I measured her feet for them, her front feet are so flared, they're too big for the largest boot size. I am soo sure that they would fit into the boot without the flares though!! FLARES!! ARGGG!! My current farrier does not address them to my knowledge

One of her feet is soo not right looking...This is a picture of her front right foot. It is weird to me and I think it is growing to one side. It is not wearing right.

Tell me what you think? It was trimmed on Jan 28, so about a month ago. She is done every other month.

The bottom picture I took today. The picture of the hoof from the front is the same hoof but an older picture. I just want to show you the unusual wear of the front. It is WORSE now.


Ohh, and please pardon the poop!

She's never gone lame or anything but I am not happy with her feet...


...


 
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#2 ·
Looks like she's breaking over to the outside of the hoof. She does need those flares addressed but she has healthy frogs and a decent sole to work with, so I'd go ahead with a barefoot trim. That would get rid of the flares and you would be much happier with the overall appearance of her foot, and get it balanced so it doesn't breakover to the side again.

She already looks ready for a trim, so 8 weeks might be a tad too long for her at this point to wait for the next trim, with her flares and all. Get those tidied up and balanced and she would probably do fine on an 8 week schedule.
 
#4 ·
The flares do need to be addressed. It should only take a few trimming to get rid of them and to get her foot to start growing in a more natural position. It looks like she needs her hoof trimmed closer than what they are trimming. I would probably do barefoot and have her trimmed every 4-5 weeks to keep her feet from flaring. After you trim her 5-6 times every 4-5 weeks then you should notice a huge improvement in the flares.
 
#5 ·
the off center breakover is most likely due to her leg, not the hoof, and therefore can not be corrected. just like some people put more pressure on the outside or inside of their foot and rollover their big toe or pinky, a horse will also breakover differently. from what i have read about natural trimming as titled (admittedly little) it is how i was trained though they didn't call it natural trimming, they just called it the right way :) and thus far, trimming in that way, i have been unable to create a "perfect hoof".
i dont see "flares" on your horse's hoof. i see naturally unique shape, but not actual/problematic flares.
looks to me like your farrier is doing a lovely job and you have nothing to worry about.

btw, i am a certified farrier with 3+ years real world experience with many different breeds and disciplines.
 
#6 ·
From 1st pic you obviously have lots of flares on left and the toe (from 2nd one it's also obvious). It's strange that so much grew in just one month.. Do you have very soft ground? If not looks like your farrier doesn't address the flares.. :(

As for trimming yourself... Well I had this experience (my horses didn't tolerate anyone else for while, so I ended up getting books, video, and help from barefoot people and learn natural methods from Jamie Jackson, KC la Pierre, and Petey Ramey (if I remember correctly the last name)). It's not that tough, but the worst part of it - it's hard in sense of horse weight, bending back, and how much strength you have to put to rasp away the flares. I'm not very strong person, unfortunately, so it took me LOTS of time to do one horse (especially in the beginning) and back problems couple days after the trim. And my horses were rather small 2 year olds (you have Clydes, which obviously weight much more lol!). So when my horses calm down I started to look for farrier. BTW, it's also very important to understand how to balance the hoofs, which is not that easy for unexperienced person. Not like I'm trying to talk you away, but you have to really consider everything before putting money in hood (expensive) hoof stand, good quality instruments, etc.
 
#7 ·
truely i do not see what flares you are all talking about. that is the finest draft hoof i have ever seen without shoes. the hoof wall is a uniform thickness all the way around including through the quarters which indicates the shape is NOT flared, but simply the shape that particular horse's hoof should be. if you try to rasp off the "flares" you will majorly decrease the strength of the hoofwall at the quarters and risk developing cracks and chips.
i BEG you, do not attempt to trim your horse's hooves yourself without ample training from a qualified master farrier. there are so many aspects of hoof, leg, and horse to be considered when shaping a hoof you can not possibly learn them all by reading books or articles, these are things that one learns through experience or the instruction of one who has had that experience.
also, it is very physically demanding to trim a small, well behaved horse. it is excessively more demanding to trim a large draft because all draft breeds have a tendancy to lean because their bodies are too heavy for them to support comfortably on 3 legs. thanks to the humans for selectively breeding them too big for their own feet.

ok, im done, i'll put away my soapbox, i hope i have not offended anyone, i certainly didn't mean to, i just think you should leave well enough alone. afterall, you didn't say your horse is sore or lame or stumbling, so i assume that is not occuring?
 
#9 ·
FehrGroundRanch said:
Feathers you could just send her my way and not worry about her feet at all :D Are you feeling better?
lol! That would be nice! Yes, I am feeling better now but I sound horrible!! Thanks :D


The ground here is ROCK hard! However, she is in a sandy pen.

I can see from both sides. Don't worry, I know there are many things to consider when doing feet. I am careful and I just won't go out there and start cutting away!

I am actually having a different farrier come out and look at her feet.


Here is some more history on this particular foot. My farrier told me he thinks it is a club foot. He thinks it developed line seperation
last year and she was shoed to treat it. I don't know if it truly had seperation but the white line was 'not' well connected. No, she did not have seedy toe or white line disease. The shoes did not really help either. When they were pulled, I thought the seperation looked worse.

I have noticed a difference in her movement. She is more clumsy and just 'weird'. Not stable.

Look at the picture. Do you see her right front foot (it is the same pictured above)? Do you see how the toe is pointing up and how the whole foot is at a different angle?

Is something wrong?



This is the picture of her LEFT front hoof. In other words, the other one! Notice the big difference in wearing, growth, and shape!







Weird!
 
#10 ·
ok, NOW i see it. i thought both feet looked like the first picture. from the upward curve of the hoof i would guess laminitis/founder. has it been x-rayed? it can happen to only one hoof if it is due to localized damage/trauma, rare though. from the picture it looks like maybe the feathers are thinner on that hoof too? OR it could be an old injury going arthritic, since the weird hoof is still flat as rasped while the normal hoof shows rounded edges indicating full use/pressure. less use/pressure could also result in flares (which on closer exam of the front angle shot i saw, missed it the first 3 times because of all the hair X-\ still not as scary as the upturn of the toe though...)
 
#11 ·
Whooo, no, I never suspected founder in that hoof. I might look at it closer and investigate. It does not have a definite look like a foundered hoof does. In other words, there is no line in the hoof where the founder actually happened. It just takes an unusual 'curve' upward. I have not had the foot x-rayed..it is possible though :shock:

I suppose an injury is possible. I don't recall an injury in the leg or foot but,once again, it is possible.

She is not lame by any means. She loves to trot and run!

But obviously, something is wrong. It is really bothering me.

I am scheduling an appointment with a barefoot farrier. He seems to know his field pretty good. As do you emilou423!

Hopefully, it is a problem that can be solved.
 
#15 ·
Hmm. I'll prolly suggest just to make the trim time shorter-more often. I would say, about 6 weeks or so. Well, I would defanitantly not get her feet trimmed over 8 weeks. :shock:

Like people have said, the flares do need to be checked out. And boy! Those frogs and the base around the hoof looks pretty healthy! What I've seen over my experience with horses and their hooves, some one them, have REALLY badly cracked hooves. Like, REALLY bad. :wink:
 
#17 ·
FGR- She was 17.3 in her prime. However, in her age, she's lost a lot of fat/muscle on her topline and she measures around 17.2 now....

My2Geldings- Thanks...No, my farrier never mentioned her flares... :shock: Yes, many heavy horses have flares. Some farriers think they need flares. Others say flares are no big deal...others say flares are horrible...everyone has a different opinion.

I personally do not think flares are a good thing. :|
 
#20 ·
LOL!! You like clydesdales do you? I really enjoy the breed in general... :D :D She's like my big 'dog'. I even take her for walks on occasion. :lol: She's just a big sweet potato!

It's funny, I've never had a soundness issue with her. However, I have noticed that she seems to be getting more clumsy and she trips a lot...even when she was just trimmed. She might be hiding something though....I hope it's just a bad trim that sent her toe upwards...
 
#21 ·
I have noticed a difference in her movement. She is more clumsy and just 'weird'. Not stable.

Look at the picture. Do you see her right front foot (it is the same pictured above)? Do you see how the toe is pointing up and how the whole foot is at a different angle?

Is something wrong?



Ok -- look at the photo here and look at your avatar... that speaks volumes. Huge difference.

I have been trimming my horses hooves for 2 years. As a teenager, our family also trimmed our horses hooves. In your first post, I see a lot of bars, alot of excess sole and definitely flares. In this post, I see too much bar and high quarters (kind of the inside and outside edges). I'm definitely, definitely no expert, but I would not tolerate that kind of hoof care from anyone that supposedly knows what he/she is doing. Hope it went well with the new farrier today. Your previous one may have been "nice", but wasn't looking after your horse. Please let us know how it went and post new pics!
 
#22 ·
The new farrier was VERY Friendly and he explained many things to me! I really think he knows what he is doing!!

Look at the difference!! Her front feet are coming to be the same size again and her back feet are looking more normal!! All of her feet look so much better with this first trim. My farrier said that it will take a few more trims to get them more normal but we're off to a good start!

This is the first hoof that I was complaining about...the one with the upward toe. This foot looks weird after the trim but stil... it is much more even and a whole lot more functional.



Look at the difference here. The left pic is of course after the trim...the right is an older pic that shows the foots old look. I like the new look better. This poor foot had a lot of bruising in it and my farrier even found a hidden abcess under the dead sole. Notice the flares have been addressed!!




I am happy with the results of this first barefoot trim. I wasn't able to get more pics but I will maybe tomorrow.
 
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