tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post7452579247255930666..comments2024-03-14T06:57:29.577+00:00Comments on Rockley Farm: Barefoot isn't the answerNic Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06885459438592023135noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-46059155170166463292012-07-22T15:20:57.138+01:002012-07-22T15:20:57.138+01:00Thanks for the tips Nic! I also found Dr Deb Benne...Thanks for the tips Nic! I also found Dr Deb Bennett's series on Conformation Biomechanics very informative.Kathy Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00903852471727073327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-49244201434319208952012-07-19T20:23:16.816+01:002012-07-19T20:23:16.816+01:00Heila, yes, once you get your eye (and ear) in you...Heila, yes, once you get your eye (and ear) in you can spot a toe first landing without it being slowed down. <br /><br />Its also related to the split central sulcus - once there is no longer infection it won't be painful but if a horse is still landing toe first it won't improve either. That may be what you are dealing with, in which case you need to get some stimulus to the palmar hoof to improve it.Nic Barkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06885459438592023135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-68211641442152691762012-07-19T20:11:44.771+01:002012-07-19T20:11:44.771+01:00Is it possible to see a toe first landing with the...Is it possible to see a toe first landing with the naked eye, not on a slowed down video clip? Can you tell by the way the hoof wears down that it's landing toe first vs heel first?Heilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10115300526657295504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-31178013351701268882012-07-19T19:51:25.015+01:002012-07-19T19:51:25.015+01:00Nic & FD, thanks for the replies to my questio...Nic & FD, thanks for the replies to my question. My farrier has really worked that foot and frog over with a hoof tester and he shows no sign of pain. How deep is too deep for a central sulcus? I think I also need to get a physio out to look at him.<br /><br />I don't often look at shod feet, but picked up a foot today that had lost a shoe and boy, suddenly even the bare foot I'm wondering about looks fantastic.Heilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10115300526657295504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-23765955018195819642012-07-19T13:15:37.997+01:002012-07-19T13:15:37.997+01:00Hi Michaela, Feed is a massive subject - too big f...Hi Michaela, Feed is a massive subject - too big for one comment! Have a look at the "Key blog posts" tab and check out the Phoenix forum (link on R) as well.Nic Barkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06885459438592023135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-88334695877053977802012-07-19T12:17:10.774+01:002012-07-19T12:17:10.774+01:00Hi just read your artical and found it very intere...Hi just read your artical and found it very interesting would be really greatful for some advice as I have a very dramatic horse I've chose to got barefoot with my horse as it was a drama getting his shoes on he really panicked and dint like to see him worried but he hates to be in and goes stir crazy and will hurt himself been in so he's out 24/7 atm will be in with the other horses over winter as he's fine when there all in but also he's dose get a small feed of build up mix as I have problems keeping wait on him he's coping with out shoes but is footy on the stony ground is there any feed I can give him to help keep his wait up with out causing lameness or problems thank you xxxMichaelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15849645532336370679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-18782854529824505752012-07-18T21:33:50.012+01:002012-07-18T21:33:50.012+01:00Kathy, the best teachers of all are the horses - c...Kathy, the best teachers of all are the horses - certainly as to which hooves the "need" but there are lots of good resources on biomechanics - any of the basic anatomy texts are useful. Denoix and Pailloux's "Physical Therapy..." is excellent (apart from the love of remedial farriery!) as are Sara Wyche's books, inc "The Horse's Muscles in Motion".Nic Barkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06885459438592023135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-5211139642726139552012-07-18T20:58:02.583+01:002012-07-18T20:58:02.583+01:00Heila, FD makes a good point.
TBH, though, in a ...Heila, FD makes a good point. <br /><br />TBH, though, in a horse with DDFT damage you can get a real chicken/egg scenario where there is pain in the palmar hoof so the horse lands toe first, so the frog lacks stimulus, so thrush/infection gets a hold, so there is pain in the palmar hoof...etc - you get the idea. <br /><br />Toe first landing perpetuates DDFT damage so the key is to get on top of both aspects, which is sometimes easier said than done.Nic Barkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06885459438592023135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-30831705462065871012012-07-18T18:06:39.337+01:002012-07-18T18:06:39.337+01:00Heila, I hope I'm not being cheeky answering t...Heila, I hope I'm not being cheeky answering this since you asked Nic, but yes, in my experience you can have a thrush infection without discharge. The other main contributor to a deep central suculus that I am aware of is foot imbalance of varying types.FDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01485030894416936129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-69568777675743147442012-07-18T13:08:36.261+01:002012-07-18T13:08:36.261+01:00Wonderful post, thank you!
Can anyone recommend an...Wonderful post, thank you!<br />Can anyone recommend any eductional DVD's/books that focus on these biomechanical issues? How to recognise when a horse 'needs' an imbalanced foot to compensate for conformation issues etc? Would love to learn more about biomechanics.Kathy Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00903852471727073327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-66248785194500238142012-07-17T17:29:04.401+01:002012-07-17T17:29:04.401+01:00So true and SOOOO frustrating as an owner trying t...So true and SOOOO frustrating as an owner trying to grasp at all our puzzle pieces as they float in and out and change constantly. What does one do to try to change/better bio mechanics?! It's a very difficult thing (rehabbing) to try to fix/address all puzzle pieces especially when boarding, I find. But, your blog helps me stay determined as well and ask myself questions :)Kristen Eleni Shellenbargerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01458744919530540978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-91772066408356408732012-07-17T16:01:00.780+01:002012-07-17T16:01:00.780+01:00Excellent post, although it's SO frustrating t...Excellent post, although it's SO frustrating to try to figure out which piece of the puzzle isn't right if your horse isn't improving. I really hope that as time goes by, we'll have better insight on how all of the pieces fit together... your work at Rockley is really pioneering, and I hope that it will become more mainstream in the future. Thanks!jenjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01737679332792618499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-11356063945898786202012-07-16T23:52:37.552+01:002012-07-16T23:52:37.552+01:00Great post Nic.Great post Nic.cptrayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06564275580390738561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-63222965343016107082012-07-16T16:23:19.295+01:002012-07-16T16:23:19.295+01:00I'm so frustrated that my farrier has no clue ...I'm so frustrated that my farrier has no clue about the effects of diet. When just about every horse at our yard went footy in December he would not consider the possibility that it was because our grass was very short and stressed. And that would have gotten him off the hook, as it wasn't a bad trim that caused it then!<br /><br />And an unrelated question... can you have thrush in a frog without the usual signs of smell and black gunk? What else causes a very deep central sulcus on one front foot in a horse that generally has very good feet? He tends to stand with that leg back and the other one forward when he eats (which is non-stop), and did have an injury to the DDFT last year.Heilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10115300526657295504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-77677986845248059872012-07-16T12:53:02.134+01:002012-07-16T12:53:02.134+01:00I cannot believe how lucky I was when I had horses...I cannot believe how lucky I was when I had horses. I think we had the worst grass on our road, we only put shoes on during the eventing season, after having issues with bruises and abcesses one year when we had a very wet winter (the eventing season was through the middle of winter - great!) Our farrier actually made the shoes to fit the hoof/leg of the horse - and made the shoes from a long rod of steel, it did take him all morning to do 2 horses, as it was a bit of work for the old guy, but he was the only one still making to measure. He also thought that horses should be out of shoes as much as possible. I don't think they make them like that any more!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17705417333700162861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-42153351253851717582012-07-16T12:44:13.911+01:002012-07-16T12:44:13.911+01:00Excellent piece!Excellent piece!Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07335385366138424092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-77243884622036445962012-07-16T11:19:57.311+01:002012-07-16T11:19:57.311+01:00Very good stuff, and so important - now if we coul...Very good stuff, and so important - now if we could just get the vets (at least over here - don't know about yours) to pay attention to the whole horse and not just joints and bones.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-29027315770931465372012-07-16T09:35:32.473+01:002012-07-16T09:35:32.473+01:00THanks guys - this is something which has been nig...THanks guys - this is something which has been niggling away at me for a while, and it took a long time to write, but glad it was worth it :-)Nic Barkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06885459438592023135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-39023466786158328092012-07-16T09:18:19.320+01:002012-07-16T09:18:19.320+01:00Brilliant post with great attention-grabbing title...Brilliant post with great attention-grabbing title and logical, demystifying information. There are no magic wands, for sure.Hannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12413934294397073238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-53000889378616222312012-07-16T08:58:20.815+01:002012-07-16T08:58:20.815+01:00And, sadly, as I see youngsters born and can compa...And, sadly, as I see youngsters born and can compare them to parents, there are also genetics at play. Of course, one has a HUGELY better chance of managing genetics when it's from a young age but they cannot be ignored.Mariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11986516602300870699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-85658378888410002922012-07-16T08:56:21.285+01:002012-07-16T08:56:21.285+01:00Fantastic post!! Words of wisdom if ever there wer...Fantastic post!! Words of wisdom if ever there were!M's mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14217458784841300245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-88103445076534543202012-07-16T08:41:38.683+01:002012-07-16T08:41:38.683+01:00Nic, I think this is one of your best posts yet! H...Nic, I think this is one of your best posts yet! Hear hear!Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17171722631433500294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8415492346905673232.post-46162928965039897202012-07-16T08:21:56.749+01:002012-07-16T08:21:56.749+01:00Brilliant!Brilliant!Charlotte Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15412092294879697275noreply@blogger.com