I have an OTTB. He's just turned 8 and is 17 hands. He's an awesome horse, super athletic, but with horrid TB feet. He has badly crushed, underrun heels. I tried to leave him barefoot last August and he ended up dead lame due to the heels (not soft feet, but the crushed/underrun heels left him like standing in heals that are on backwards, so they pulled on those leg tendons and were hurting him). I would love nothing more than to help him go barefoot as shoes are hurting our budget and, well, I'm not a fan of shoes. He also has very soft soles, and here in FL w/ our super wet ground it's hard to keep shoes on him in the summer. He's constantly pulling off shoes.
Does anyone have any advice on what to look for in a farrier to help him with this? Or know of anything I can do to help him? Should I look for certain trimming technique? I am using him for dressage.
I'm attaching a pic of his front feet last August when we tried to go barefoot. These pics were taken 5 weeks after the shoes were pulled.
Does anyone have any advice on what to look for in a farrier to help him with this? Or know of anything I can do to help him? Should I look for certain trimming technique? I am using him for dressage.
I'm attaching a pic of his front feet last August when we tried to go barefoot. These pics were taken 5 weeks after the shoes were pulled.