To Shoe or Not to Shoe.....That is the Question
This is Bambi's story. It worked for us. I'm not saying this is for everybody, but I have 4 horses and none of them will ever have steel shoes again.
Bambi is a 12 year old AngloAraLoosa (1/2 thoroughbred, 1/4 arab and 1/4 appaloosa). Angloaraloosa seems to work.
When I bought her, she was 2 1/2 years old. I had her shod and the farrier mentioned that she had typical Thoroughbred feet. Thin walls and low heels.
Since I ride a lot, I kept her shod all year. Her hooves seemed to be a little long in front and it appeared that in the rear she was getting a little bit "underslung". I mentioned it to the farrier and he said that if she was in the wild, she would have been some animal's dinner long ago because she'd be lame and couldn't run away. Of course I believed every thing he said. After all, he was a professional.
When my farrier was on vacation, Bambi lost a shoe and I had to call another farrier. He asked if he could take over. He worked with a lot of Thoroughbreds and thought he could fix the problem. Within 6 months, Bambi was underslung in front also. (I do not think either of the farriers were incompetent or caused the problems) The farrier had the vet he worked with come to my place and supervise. The vet had my farrier put an entire tube of plastic under each front heel, as well as shoe her with the shoes backwards.
In the meantime, several friends had read about and gotten involved with the natural hoof care idea that was becoming very popular. They soaked their horses feet, rode every day and had their horses trimmed a special way by a certified natural hoof care specialist. I thought they were nuts!
Back to the story.... My own vet took X-rays of Bambi's fetlock area when he saw what the other veterinarian had my farrier do. He about had a coronary! The X-rays showed that because she was so high off the ground (she looked like she was wearing stiletto heels), that the ligament in front of her fetlock was starting to pull away. He had me switch to his farrier.
I used the new farrier for a year. After a year, I asked him how he felt the progress was going. He said that she hadn't gotten any better, but hadn't gotten any worse. He had tried everything that should have worked but hadn't. I asked him if he thought maybe we should just let her go barefoot (remember my friends and their switch to natural hoof care). He just shook his head and said "Why not?" He took off the shoes and away we went.
We were just about to go on our yearly camping trip to Bridalveil, so I bought a pair of Old Mac's. Bambi was really sore being barefoot. The camp trip went well and as long as I used the Old Mac's, everything was just fine and we could ride on rocks with no problems.
When the horses were ready to be trimmed I phoned the natural hoof care specialist that my friends used. 5 years later, Bambi's feet are so good that I rarely use the Old Mac's. I use them when she is freshly trimmed and I know the trail is going to be rocky. I think "Joe" saved her life.
The transition period was long with Bambi. I used the Old Mac's on her front feet every time I rode, for 2 years. Her feet are beautiful! Below I have before and after pictures. The before pictures are when she lost a rear shoe. She also has an abscess on her left rear that is growing out. It started out on her coronet band and there were 3 abscesses. The after pictures are just 6 months after switching to barefoot with the natural trim. Although not concave after 6 months, Bambi's hooves are very concave now (5 years being barefoot and with a certified natural hoof care specialist).
August, 2011 - We just returned from our 7 day camping trip at Bridalveil Campground in Yosemite. We rode over granite, rocky trails and trails with nice dirt footing. Bambi never even needed the Old Mac's or gave any indication of being the slightest bit sore. Her feet are hard, concave and the walls rarely even chip. Thanks to Joe Peacock!
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