The Story So Far: Shoes to no shoes - Grace's transformation
If a picture paints a thousand words and you want to see the 'before and after' shots, scroll down to the bottom of this post.
WARNING!
Transitioning to barefoot entails owner hard work, diligence, patience, positive thinking, a tough mental attitude to keep going, bravery, attention to diet, and lots of time for pad walking - here is the story of Grace's journey to healthy feet and my own emotional roller coaster journey to get there!
I bought Grace September 10th 2011, aged 6. Fresh from the continent she had been shod in front and not behind (allegedly). During the 5 stage vetting my vet had said she didn't have great feet. I remember feeling a slight twinge of worry (no foot no horse came to mind) but as everything else about her was perfect, I went ahead and bought her.
Early Warning Signs:
Over the next four months two things changed:
Firstly a fellow livery and friend at my yard kept bringing up a website she was following all about barefeet and laminitic rescue cases. That site is Rockley Farm Rehab and I highly recommend a read if you are curious. I too became curious.
Secondly Graces' left hind foot (barefoot) began to change in appearance. It became what is called 'bull nosed or dubbed'. I had nick named it 'club foot'. It looked like the toe had been sliced off. I decided to ask my farrier what was going on.
A conversation with my Farrier...
My farrier explained that it was erosion of the hoof wall caused by working her on the sand and rubber in the menage!
I was shocked and confused (and worried that it could be a 'me- made' problem) so I asked him to come into the menage to check it out as the cause. I was hoping when he saw the menage with all the rubber on top that he would change his diagnosis. ( I was beginning to think no more riding!).
He came, but he did not change his mind. The conversation went as follows:
Farrier "That's it. This sand under the rubber is what's causing the problem"
Me "why is it only affecting one hoof when she clearly uses both hind feet in all her work?"
Farrier "its obviously the way she moves, she must drag this foot more than the other"
Me "but I only ride her in the menage four times a week for about half an hour it's not much work to cause that effect, surely?"
Farrier silent!
Me "anyway wouldn't this toe dragging have shown up in the vetting?"
Farrier "not necessarily. I see this a lot"
And that's the moment where all us horse owners are supposed to say...
(Owner) : "oh why didn't you say? If it's happening to others then that's ok, I'll leave it at that and take no further responsibility or curiosity in the fact my horses foot is disappearing!" Duh!!!
I walked away feeling that the whole conversation was at best surreal and most definitely suspicious.
I began to wonder if this sheared off toe could be man made by the farrier? When your farrier is well known, wins competitions for his work all over the world you doubt yourself not him. If it hadn't been for all the reading I had recently started to do on the Rockley website my intuition might never have raised its uneasy head and given me a good mental shaking!
As it was I was about to go on holiday for two weeks which would buy me some thinking time as to what to do next. (At this stage it was only her back foot causing me concern but that was about to change too).
Holiday time February 2012
Two weeks provides a lot of thinking time. I decided to take some reading with me and properly immerse myself in this barefoot movement. I had always considered it to be the action of 'do good, hippy types' who were trying to keep horses on the cheap! Embarrassing to admit it but that's what I thought. Maybe you have a similar perception, or worse!
My holiday reading changed that perception irrefutably. The Books I read and recommend as a starting point include:
- Paddock Paradise by Jamie Jackson
- Feet First by Nic Barker and Sarah Brathwaite
- Making Natural Hoof Care work for you by Pete Ramey
If you prefer to watch videos - I began with Pete Ramey's DVDs' - it provided hours of education as I watched him rasp and care for a young ex racer in a lot of foot pain and unable to walk. How did I feel on holiday as I read my books?
Excited!
Lost!
Guilty!
Horrified!
Motivated!
Stupid at times! For having had so little foot knowledge after 38 years of being around horses.
I felt every emotion possible when you realise you are on the brink of discovering a new and better world which simultaneously fills you with horror at 'not knowing all this before now' and for any pain or discomfort you unwittingly caused your horse (directly or indirectly).
I felt resolved to find a better explanation for the sheared off toe but at the same time I felt alone in doing so.
I sensed my days with this farrier were short numbered but I thought it better to have more 'data' to help me decide what to do next.
Two decisions I made:
I booked the vet to come and X Ray Grace's feet.
I booked to have Gait Analysis to prove or disprove if she was toe dragging one hind.
The diagnostic results:
The X rays showed flat P3 in all four feet.
The Gait analysis proved she moved normally with no noticeable difference between her two hinds.
The Professionals recommendations:
The Vet reacted to the X Rays by telling me to immediately have her hind feet shod and "all 4 heels jacked up with pads" quote!
The Gait Analysis people recommended keeping her hinds bare for the dubbed toe and walk her extensively in 'sole mate pads' which they said would correct the problem. They also recommended going barefoot in front.
Great! So the experts are totally in disagreement and no one can shed any light on the cause of a hind foot that had lost its toe and i'm supposed to know what to do for the best. No wonder some owners walk away and decide to do nothing. Hardly surprising.
If you look at this hoof and think "that looks normal to me" Please realise its NOT! It's neither normal nor healthy! The foot is lob-sided. There is flair to the outside. The squared off toe (dubbed) is abnormal and impairing the foot's function. I have now learned that bull nosing (dubbed toes) is caused by a bulge in the wall NOT wearing of the toe, even if a farrier tells you otherwise.
I see many hind feet looking like this in shod horses, with toes bulging! It doesn't have to be like this. My 'non horsey' step son thought this foot looked odd. Often our problem as horsey people is that the more we seen feet that are not right or healthy, all around us, the more we stop realising it's not how its supposed to be. It's not right!
Think about it this way - why does the horse's hoof have a Toe at all? It must have a function just as our toes have a purpose to balance us. One of the equine's main functions of the toe is to circulate blood and kinetic energy around the horse's foot. If the toe starts to bulge (like above) that function is impaired. Pure logic and fact based on the study of the internal functioning of a horses foot.
An argument with my vet!
My vet and I had a very heated exchange about his verdict and advise to shoe all feet and pad up the heels all round. I remember telling him that I felt to put shoes on all four feet was a "backwards step as she was already naked behind" so why would I put shoes on bare feet? My vet was utterly gobsmacked and told me as much. He actually used the expression "I don't understand your point of view".
I explained that I was realising Barefoot was a more healthy approach for foot care. He snapped. I'll never forget his next words to me, and I want to share them so that others can be ready with a reply should they face the same attitude from their vet...
Vet: "I don't understand your attitude, 90% of horses in this country are shod!"
It might be factually true but does that make it right? I told him that if 90% of the public were obeiss would that mean I should follow suit too?
I ended that conversation quickly with him telling me he was sending a remedial farrier to re-shoe her! I felt bullied, trapped and not in charge of my own horse's welfare. I sobbed on and off for most of that weekend! I had no idea what to do next. My vet had gone on to scare me half to death warning me that if Grace's heels weren't jacked up with pads to correct the flat P3 that in two years time she would be at liphook vet hospital undergoing suspensory surgery!
Hence the tears! I was frightened to death by his assurtions and by my lack of knowledge with which to reply.
I was in a not -so-great place! It's a place I am sure others have or will find themselves in. Yet I couldn't let go of the barefoot issue. Something about it made sense. It resonated with me. I had to keep going.
This is when the universe or fete kicked in and gave me a hand! One evening I discovered the writings of K.C. La Pierre. I sat up till after 2am reading his articles. It all made sense. KC is an American. An ex farrier. He is intent on finding a better way than hammering nails and metal shoes onto horses feet. He founded the Institute of Equine Applied Podiatry. He has trained others to follow his techniques, some in the UK. I decided to contact one and arrange a visit for an initial assessment of Grace's feet front and back.
This is what she and I saw when we looked at Grace's front feet in March 2012 before her shoes came off. It should look 'wrong' to you. The folds, and uneven sole is NOT normal, not healthy and not right. It looks like a lunar landscape full of craters!
A few weeks later, Grace threw both front shoes in the field. I decided this was the sign to go ahead and try barefoot. I phoned Kat and when she arrived this is what faced us with no shoes to hide the truth of her front feet.
I had no idea a horses foot could look this broken and in such poor
health. Shoes mask the truth. As owners, we must start to look beneath
the covers to be more informed about what's there!
The back feet weren't looking too good either...both a couple of stumps and not fitting a 17.1hh warm blood.
The list of problems evident with her feet included but was not limited to:
March 2013 - almost 12 months on.... the worst feet are looking better and better!
The back feet weren't looking too good either...both a couple of stumps and not fitting a 17.1hh warm blood.
- Seedy toe - especially severe in the left fore
- No wall at the toe - both fronts
- White line disease - both fronts
- Severely under run heels both front feet (worst Kat had ever seen)
- Misshapen frogs without integrity, too much mass and poorly functioning
- No quarters- missing wall on both front feet
- No inner and outer wall connectivity - front feet all the way around
- False sole - front feet (tons of it as foot tried to stabilise itself)
- Deformed hoof syndrome (dubbed back feet)
- Even the structure of the hoof horn (tubules) were growing horizontally not vertically weakening the back of both front feet
- No frog spines on front feet
- Very poor digital cushion and cartilage - front feet
- Sole depth poor - front feet
- No heel purchase - front feet
- Bars were thin, distorted and laid over with excess growth - front feet
- Poor periople - fronts
- Lack of foot balance - front and hinds
- Flare - quarters and toe - front feet
- Front hooves - splayed
- Crushed heels - front feet
- Stress rings - front feet
- Walls in poor health
- Feet x 4 all out of proportion in size - fronts too big and hinds too small
March 2013 - almost 12 months on.... the worst feet are looking better and better!
With four fab looking feet, the work isn't done! Daily her feet her cleaned with a wire brush. Once weekly I treat her feet with a paste that is great for conditioning (or treating thrush) called Field Paste. Twice a week I spray her feet with my home made solution of Essential oils that fight infection and bacteria as a preventative measure. Of course exercise and movement is critical. Her diet is stripped down to grass based pellets only, minimum sugars, limited carrots and absolutely NO MOLASSES.
If I hadn't seen the transformation with my own eyes, it would be hard to believe her feet today belong to the same horse. I know her feet so well now that any small change in them gives me feedback about diet, grazing, environment and lifestyle. It's a great tool to have and a very unexpected benefit from the process.
Above everything I have learned (and continue to read and learn about) the most impactful thought I have is 'how lame would she be by now if I hadn't helped her feet back to health?'
When I bought Grace she wouldn't or couldn't lift her hind feet to pick them out. It was a nightmare trying to get her to lift them. Two weeks after removing her front shoes I noticed she started to lift them. Today, she raises them up hock height. I now believe she couldn't lift them 2 years ago as to do so caused her to weight shift onto her fronts. Given their condition this must have been painful for her. There's always an explanation for things our horses do, or don't do. Half the time we just don't know where to look.
To think her feet were this broken by the age of 6, but how quickly I saw them transform. So much so it gave me confidence to remove the shoes from my Thoroughbreds aged 21 and 22 after over 18 years of them wearing shoes all year round!
Gallery No 2 to follow will share those photos!
