Reverse engineering the barefoot revolution

I posted on Facebook about a great email I received yesterday about Alfie, who was here a couple of years ago. He and Will are now back eventing and Will wrote:

"He's a very happy horse; he's fit, agile and "healthy throughout" and he's not showing his age. (I've finally realised that a horse with truly healthy feet is healthy "all through" and you can't have one without the other); we are competing and performing better than we ever did before his "navicular"; he's got  feet that haven't seen a farrier in years; and finally (and I know this is the bit you like best!) – some proper heel first landings!"

I was also talking to an owner whose horse is going home today. We were out hacking at the time and her horse was looking confident, forward going and sound. The same horse which was given a "guarded" prognosis by an eminent referral vet who thought the horse unlikely to return to work.

Its such a common story among the horses who come here. We always ask for the vet's consent before a horse arrives at Rockley but that consent is often given grudgingly, even if the only alternative being offered is de-nerving or putting the horse down. 

By contrast, if you take to the internet searching for information once your horse has been diagnosed with navicular or significant soft tissue damage within the hoof you will (nowadays) find a host of helpful owners willingly and enthusiastically sharing their experiences and expertise and only too happy to suggest barefoot as a therapeutic tool in the fight against lameness.

Of course, this is a relatively new development. Certainly when we first took our horses barefoot in 2004 it was unheard of for horses to work hard in the UK without shoes and good advice on nutrition or biomechanics was vanishingly rare. If you mentioned barefoot on social media you would (at best) be laughed off the forum and at worst would be the target of aggressive abuse.

Its a happy thought that now, 12 years later, there are so many positive stories about barefoot horses and so many more educated, inspired and inspiring owners that taking a horse barefoot is an everyday occurrence. Even better, with owners so much more aware of what is essential for hoof health there are more and more horses who are thriving barefoot and  - like Alfie - demonstrating to their owners that healthy hooves make for healthy horses.

So what is the missing link? Its the vets, of course. Many improvements in horse health and welfare have come from the top down - following veterinary research - but barefoot is the exception. Most vets are still woefully unaware of the difference between a healthy and unhealthy hoof. Its not taught to veterinary students and their practical experience usually fails to bridge this gap. Why? Simply because a horse like Alfie not only won't see a farrier but won't see a vet (certainly not for his feet) either, because his feet are now so much better than they were.

My own vet has never even taken a look at our horses' hooves - which is a shame because he is missing out on a chance to see hooves at their best - because their feet don't give them problems. Equally once a horse has left here, most owners are keen to engage with their vet and update them about the changes in the horse's feet but the vets are, more often than not, uninterested.

You might assume that the answer is to provide evidence and research to the veterinary community but on the 3 occasions I have tried to do just that  - with submissions of our data to BEVA (twice) and Liverpool University - its been either ignored or dismissed as implausible. Of course there are some individual vets who become passionate about barefoot once they have seen it in action but they tend to be horse owners first and foremost, who "see the light" once their own horse's hooves improve.

While owners' knowledge about hooves has increased exponentially in the last few years the vets are being left behind. This is one revolution that will be reverse-engineered from the bottom up!

It reminds me of nothing so much as that great quote:

"Remember, amateurs built the Ark; professionals built the Titanic."

8 weeks out of bar shoes

Caymen arrived 8 weeks ago and his owner came to visit him yesterday so it was a good time for an update. Although his shoes had been intended to provide support his palmar hoof was collapsing and he was landing toe first. 

Comparing the hairline from this angle its clear to see what was happening, with the digital cushion and frog atrophied and unable to provide the support he needed. 8 weeks out of shoes and with plenty of movement and exercise on the right surfaces and the improvement is clear to see.   

Caymen is now landing heel first and his owner was able to ride him out on the roads today with him striding out happily. 

There is still a long way to go - the change in the angle of growth which is visible at the top of his foot today (in the lower photo) will need to grow all the way down before he has a properly balanced hoof - and that will take several more months. At this stage his toe will be shorter and his palmar hoof stronger still. 

 Again, the change in hairline from collapsed to stable is dramatic and demonstrates how much better internal structures are than bar shoes for hoof support. 

Caymen is well on his way to healthy feet - but as his owner said, its interesting that now he is doing so well the very vocal farriers seem to have lost interest. I wonder why?

For those who like to see in detail how a hoof can strengthen out of shoes his video footage is here: https://vimeo.com/173584547 and its embedded below as well. 

Caymen landing from Nic Barker on Vimeo.

New horse, more bar shoes

These feet belong to Lucy, who arrived yesterday in remedial shoes as you can see. They had been on for 6 weeks and had been advised by her vet following a diagnosis on MRI of DDFT and navicular bursa damage.

Lucy was landing toe first in these shoes and also had a slight medio-lateral imbalance where she landed on the lateral edge of both front feet; she was landing heel first behind.

As is clear from this angle, her frog and digital cushion are underdeveloped and its this area we will be wanting to see improve over the next few weeks.

More of the same on this foot, which had the worse injuries on MRI; I expect the angle at the toe will change quite radically once she is out of shoes.

These are definitely rather sad little feet but as regular blog readers will know, we have seen a lot worse! More on Lucy soon.

Ginger's 9 week update

With apologies for the delay, here are Ginger's photos - my camera has been struggling to talk to my computer for some reason but seems to finally have agreed to function)...  

I think these are interesting photos because from the lateral view (at the top) there are some big changes but the solar and caudal views aren't so dramatic. 

There are some improvements from this angle but as you can see, he still has a long way to go before his digital cushion and frog are back to full health. 

It seems clear however that he is much happier to load his palmar hoof than he was when he arrived and that can only be good for the long term health of his feet. 

He has longer hoof wall than I would ideally like - and also did when he arrived - but as you can see, his breakover is clear and it is possible that he needs the extra medial wall as a supportive adaptation so while he is still improving there is, in my opinion, no justification for a trim. 

Belatedly...Thomas' 9 week update

With apologies for the delay, here are Thomas's update photos now that he has been here 9 weeks. As up can see, his feet have improved a lot although there is still a fair way to go. 

He had already made some good changes - and had become significantly sounder - in the months after his shoes came off but before he arrived here so our job was to continue - and if possible speed up - his return to full work. 

Thomas has coped well with his increasing work levels, responding by growing a better foot, improving his soundness and putting on muscle so we are hoping for more of the same over the rest of his time here. 

Both front feet are more supportive and less under-run and he is landing confidently heel first now. He has some issues with stiffness in front and behind but regular work is helping. 

His feet are a good illustration of why taking shoes off - though an important element of growing a healthier hoof - is not enough on its own. However now he is back in work I hope he will carry on going from strength to strength. 

More in common

I'm interrupting the blog this week because recent events have overtaken us, as I am sure you are all only too aware.

We have huge, important decisions to make on this Thursday and there are compassionate and principled people on both sides, although it is sometimes hard to believe that.

It seems likely that the outcome will be very close and that whatever we wake up to on Friday, there will be a vast number of voters who are disappointed.

We are being invited by pundits and politicians to pigeon-hole ourselves and polarise those around us, to see the decision in black and white.

I'd prefer, in the words of Terry Pratchett, "to always see what is really there".

One article today, which is urging readers to "Remain", is arguing that by staying in the EU Britain will help limit the EU from "lurching towards federalism" and that this will result in less regulation and "greater democratic accountability". An economist tells us we are better off in.

Another article, urging readers to "Leave", states that it is only outside the EU that Britain can regain independence from EU bureaucracy and that Leave is the only option if we want democracy restored. A different economist tells us we are better off out.

Both articles cite concerns over unrestricted immigration and both assert that it is possible to hold these concerns without being racist, bigoted or an extremist. I am sure there are bigots, racists and extremists on both sides as well but I am pretty sure that the vast majority of us - on both sides - are not.

So it seems its possible to fear EU regulation and red tape even if you love the individual European countries who constitute our neighbours (and who will still be our neighbours on Friday morning).

Its possible to fear the consequences of uncontrolled population growth and unchecked migration without wishing harm on those fleeing war and persecution.

Its possible that our economy will be fine whatever happens and that economists find it as tricky as the rest of us to predict the future with certainty.

Its possible to wish for democracy and accountability without being confident that either the Remain or Leave politicians are able to deliver them.

I know how I am voting but I know friends and family who will vote the opposite way, even though our values and beliefs are similar.

The only clear message in all this, it seems to me, are the words of Jo Cox which have been repeated many times this week and which we will need to remember on Friday morning, no matter what happens:

"We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us".

[I didn't realise, until I was looking for an illustration for this post, that the white rose is not only the flower of Yorkshire but was also used as a symbol of resistance against the Nazis, making it an even more potent reminder.] 

Holly's 8 week photos

Holly's update is the next cab off the rank - her footage will follow later and I will post it here as soon as its available.

Quite a change, I think you will agree, even though she had already been out of shoes a while before she arrived here. 

As you can see in the lower photo, she has some mild stretch in her white line where the old hoof capsule is now at ground level. He new hoof capsule is much better connected and her toe will be shorter (and the stretch should disappear) as it grows down so its not a problem, simply a sign of a better foot to come. 

It never ceases to amaze me how fast feet can change - there is only 8 weeks between these photos after all.  

Holly's footage is now up here: https://vimeo.com/170989815