Rehab - more than just taking the shoes off

One of the interesting things about the Project Dexter results is the range of therapies that have been tried out on the horses before they come to us. There are examples of most sorts of remedial farriery (wedges, imprints, bar shoes, pads, Natural Balance) and a whole panoply of drug therapies and supplements.

If you look at the results you'll notice that 2 of the horses (Dexter and Storm) had also been subjected to that new-fangled, ultra-wafty alternative therapy "barefoot" :-)

Now its true that very often just taking the shoes off a navicular horse will help its foot balance and allow for better engagement and stimulus for the caudal hoof, but its also true that simply taking the shoes off some horses like this will very often leave you with a sore horse who is unwilling to even walk around or has got himself into habitually bad patterns of movement. These are the sorts of horses where people say "I tried barefoot and it didn't work for my horse."

Turning an unhealthy hoof into a healthy hoof requires more than just taking the shoes off - it requires a holistic approach involving diet, environment and last but not least a sympathetic trim.