Miles and miles, up and down...

Following on from the discovery that we average about 25 miles a day out hunting, even on a relatively quiet day, I took the head cam out again yesterday for the last big day of the season -there are actually 2 more days to go, probably, but the last Friday is traditionally a day for visitors and has a holiday atmosphere :-)

I've posted this clip, which I hope gives a feel for the sort of terrain we cover.  The giveaway is the sound - you can hear better than see what the ground is like underfoot!

Jacko, the grey horse, Charlie (the bright bay who is plaited up in the footage of the first day) and of course the horse I was riding, Felix, are all barefoot, and Charlie and Felix have been out twice a week for most of this season.  

Of course we have some lovely gallops over old pasture, but we also spend a fair amount of time on flinty tracks, and on any day you will have roadwork and deep ground thrown in as well. 

You'll see that there aren't any jumps, but the ground we cover can be challenging, partly because we have steep gradients, partly because the horses have to be clever over wet ground, and partly because we have long days.  

Yesterday, for instance, we started at 11am and didn't get back to the trailers till just after 6pm.  

Despite that, the horses are full of beans even after a long day - a large proportion of the footage was shot after 5pm yesterday, and the horses were still keen to gallop, and more importantly they are all in very good form this morning. 

Hoof growth rate

...the other question people ask a lot is why our horses feet don't wear down to stubs when they are hunting barefoot. 

Here is why.

The lower photo is Uriel, one of our rehab horses, who arrived here on 26th March.  The photo was taken the next morning, just before I took his shoes off. 

The top photo is Uriel yesterday - 3 weeks later.  Bear in mind that he is only in light work on conformable surfaces, because his hooves have a long way to go before they are fully fit.  

Despite this, you can see from the line in his hoof wall how much hoof capsule he has grown in this very short time.  

We see this time and time again with barefoot horses that are living and working on abrasive surfaces - their rate of hoof growth is stratospherically greater than that of a shod hoof, or an unshod hoof on soft ground. Great for us - means we can turn feet around quicker, most of the time :-) 

What is already clear with Uriel, which is very encouraging, is that his "new" white hoof, once its fully grown in, will be much more similar in angle to his black hoof.  He has a lot of changes to go through, but he is doing his best to grow good feet as fast as he can :-)

Common hoof misconceptions...

...there are lots of visitors down on Exmoor at the moment, and the ones I encounter are generally down with their horses from other parts of the country where hunting has finished. 

Generally they are also from parts of the country where there aren't as many barefoot horses hunting as there are down here :-)  *

Now, I am always happy to chat about hooves -  in fact I am a complete hoof bore given half the chance - but I am well aware that for most people, barefoot horses are just an oddity so I do try not to speak until I am spoken to...

...there is no doubt, though, that its always the same questions that crop up, time and again.  Its lovely now, compared to 5 seasons ago, because people are much more interested than they used to be, but there are still a lot of misconceptions out there.  Here are the most common ones (!):

"It must be OK because you don't do roadwork" 

I usually just nod and smile, and wait for the dawning confusion as they watch us belting down the road.  A classic was a friend-of-a-friend who had been telling me that his horses needed shoes because they did so much roadwork.  He spent the day watching Felix and Hector on the roads and apparently said after a few hours, in some bewilderment "...but they should be lame by now..."

"How long does it take for their feet to harden up?"

This is a classic, typically from people who know a little bit about barefoot and have heard that horses need to "transition" to stony surfaces.  Of course the point is that horses with healthy feet can already cope with stony surfaces - so if they can't, you know that they have unhealthy feet...

"Its all about how you trim the feet, isn't it?"

Again, normally from people who are interested in barefoot and have heard about "barefoot trimming".  Its often hard for people to understand that creating a healthy hoof is mostly about nutrition and environment until they have seen it in action.  

"I wish I could just take the shoes off my horse - it would save me loads of money"

Definitely a "just smile!" comment... :-)

"How do they go over flints without their feet being cut to pieces?"

Ummm... the same way as the shod horses :-)   

* Honourable mentions go to Cheshire and Cornwall, where I know there are definitely horses regularly hunting barefoot!

Here's something really scary...

http://www.rosefarmequine.co.uk/3%20day%20trimming%20course.htm

YIKES!  Here we all are trying to develop national occupational standards for natural hoofcare, along with LANTRA and the welfare organisations, and yet these courses are STILL being advertised - its terrifying!  

So the well-meaning owners who go along to this will come home and merrily set about their horses with a hoof knife and rasp, after 3 days!  Ye gods, 3 days isn't enough to even learn some basic tool-handling, let alone anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, horse handling, nutrition and any of the other skills that are absolutely ESSENTIAL pre-requisites for taking a horse barefoot.  I know lots of people think the UKNHCP course is too extensive, but honestly and truly everything on the main course is an essential component that was put in after weeks and weeks of discussion and planning by experienced trimmers and farriers.

I think its fantastic that owners want to learn more and are passionate about their horse's hoofcare, but although natural hoofcare is NOT rocket science, there is a bit more to it than you can learn in 3 days - I promise (!)

A better day...and toe first landings

..Bailey is doing well, and we've got away without elephant sized knees :-)  She is still walking cautiously but I think she'll be back to normal in a few more days.   

Very strange weather here today - mild, warm and foggy as anything...Bizarre.  The horses are happy with the temperature but its not quite warm enough for rugs off, especially with no sunbathing opportunities today...

While we are on the subject of landings, above are photos of a horse landing toe first on the day he arrived here for rehab.  He doesn't look very happy about it, does he?  In fact he has been lame in shoes for at least 3 months, and most likely a lot longer.  

I'll post more photos of him shortly :-)

The dopey things they say...

...part 1 (because I am sure there will be more of these!) -  thanks to Sarah Braithwaite for this cracker :-)

This was said in the last few days BY A VET to an owner of a barefoot horse:  

"Your horse has a problem because it is landing heel first.  All horses should land toe-first" ?!?!?!??!?!???????????????????????????

Surely one of the stupidest comments ever made about a barefoot horse, and deeply scary to hear it said by a vet, who has spent years, one assumes, learning very little about basic horse biomechanics. 

EVERY SINGLE horse which comes here for rehab is landing toe first when it arrives - and has typically been lame for 3-9 months.   

I have high definition video footage to prove it.   

EVERY SINGLE sound, hard-working barefoot horse here lands heel first.  

In fact, its pretty clear that once horses start to be able to land heel first they set themselves on the road to recovery - this is one of the reasons why its so important for horses to be comfortable during rehabilitation.  If they aren't able to move on supportive surfaces they will be less able to land correctly, and take longer to rehabilitate weakened structures in the back of the foot. 

Just what does that vet think the back of the foot is for?  Does his detailed knowledge of anatomy REALLY lead him to believe that the horse's dorsal wall is designed for shock absorption?!!?!?

What a relief that there are great vets out there who are MUCH, much more switched on - and who are putting muppets like the guy quoted above to shame :-) 

Hunting on barefoot horses

A clip of the barefoot boys - Felix, Hector, Charlie and Jacko - out on Exmoor, rock-crunching on our flinty tracks.

Performance in the sunshine...

...The sun is shining and we've got to the end of the most manic month I can remember, all intact :-)

Next week is looking great, with much better weather (it snowed again Wednesday and Thursday!) and both Andy and I will have the chance to get out hunting ourselves instead of sending our horses out for other people to have fun on!

Charlie is back on top form and hunted last Wednesday, and will go out again on Monday with a friend who has not hunted on horseback for a while ;-) Charlie having been the master's horse regularly for the last few weeks (along with Felix) is feeling rather important and doesn't take kindly to being anywhere other than right behind Raven, so I hope he is happy being in the front all day :-)