tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post2820223992062256174..comments2024-03-14T06:57:29.577+00:00Comments on Rockley Farm: One vet's view of the self-trimming horseNic Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885459438592023135noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-55943585362954745522017-03-30T03:11:19.872+01:002017-03-30T03:11:19.872+01:00I would totally agree here. I used to drive carri...I would totally agree here. I used to drive carriage horses, and we used standard metal shoes with borium crystals (not studs). There was a bit of grip, but there was some slip as well. We rarely had sore horses, had no problems with arthritis despite many of the horses working the streets for years, and the majority of horses worked into late teens and early 20s. There was great pressure to use rubber shoes on the horses though, to "protect them from concussion on the asphalt, and the heat of the asphalt". So, we eventually tried them. It was a disaster. We had horses with sore joints within weeks. We tried different types, we had no luck at all with them. We spent about a year messing with them, but all that happened was we ended up with a lot of lame horses. The problem was the rubber shoes had no slip, the hooves would just stop when they hit the ground. Their joints got really sore from the sudden stops. We battled arthritis that developed on several horses, something we'd never had a problem with before. We went back to standard metal shoes with borium, and the problems went away nearly as quickly as they'd come on, with the exception of one horse who ended up with permanant arthritic changes. I have a friend who worked at Disneyland. They use the rubber shoes there to protect the streets more than the horses. They had the same issues with their horses wearing rubber shoes, lost of sore joints and arthritis problems. Horses need that bit of slip.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18032370601350441880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-56592677115838063062015-12-17T20:02:12.887+00:002015-12-17T20:02:12.887+00:00To keep up the positive note I have recently met t...To keep up the positive note I have recently met two farriers who shoe horses on the yard we have our horses on who have come to a similar view. One older guy and also a younger one. They both said that they only really shoe horses because the client wants it done. One told me he was slowly working towards getting the horse he was shoeing to the point it could go barefoot, and all his personal horses were barefoot. <br />Now there's a turnaround. The idea of using shoes as a remedial tool to get horses to the point they can go barefoot again ! Maybe not the ethos of most of us Roclkleyites but a million miles from the attitudes of many farriers and a major step in the right direction :). <br /><br />And of course there will be horses that do need remedial shoeing. Such as when Filly split her hoof to the point you could move each half independently and blood was coming out of the split. Without a good farrier I doubt she would have survived that incident.<br /><br />I get the feeling that just maybe the barefoot idea has reached a tipping point and we'll see exponential growth in the practice and science in the near future. Largely thanks to dogged determination of the likes of Nic and other barefoot exponents of course.<br /><br />p.s The older chap actually did a quick check on Fillys' feet for me. He seemed genuinely interested in seeing them after I had described what we had been through (navicular). He said that though they still had a little way to go they were doing very nicely. He thought the heels needed to come back "another couple of mm".Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00426943985081484414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-77722805581466957952015-12-15T13:20:40.284+00:002015-12-15T13:20:40.284+00:00heavens how exciting this chap is! How I agree wi...heavens how exciting this chap is! How I agree with his views, on slip, on loading, on the whole limb; but I am not a professional and my view is only based on my own common sense and very limited knowledge, albeit couple with practical experience. So it is LOVELY to hear this from a vet. Rock on!ellerkincatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02247673058442878595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-70356451778359967902015-12-14T16:04:45.799+00:002015-12-14T16:04:45.799+00:00"Also, just as I think that it is probably &#..."Also, just as I think that it is probably 'unnatural' for our legs to be stopped dead when running on the road in trainers, I'm not convinced that the jarring grip that shoes/road nails/studs provide horses doesn't do damage to the structures in the foot and leg and possibly beyond. "<br /><br />I'm glad to read this about nails and studs. One of my long term convictions is that the correct amount of slip is important. Slip dissipates forces. As a one time competitive fencer I know how awful and jarring some grippy soled trainers can be when they "stick" to the floor and a morning spent fencing on the wrong trainers means an afternoon of throbbing knees and hips. Some slip is essential, too much slip is dangerous too. BruceAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11813945785653884501noreply@blogger.com