Skip the Barefoot Barrel Horse
I bought my barrel horse Skip N Turn in the fall of 2005. He was well conditioned physically but had foot problems as evidenced by full pads and wedges on the both front feet. The previous owners had been advised, by their farrier, that this would aid his sensitive feet. On our first shoeing I asked the same farrier to remove the pads and wedges only to find a severe case of thrush and even more foot sensitivity. This same farrier and I tried many things over the next 18 weeks including shortening the toe, changing to rim shoes, different degrees, and a list of other things all in the name of getting my horse to move more "free" and be able to handle different type of ground conditions. During this time the thrush only improved moderately in spite of VERY clean stalls and VERY intensive daily medicated hoof care. I realized my horse was moving worse, over-reaching in the pasture while playing, and consistently loosing shoes. I am ashamed to say that only after I witnessed this particular farrier being "rough" with my horse did I search for a new one.
Unfortunately this story continues for the next six months and through two more farriers. I then noticed my mother-in-law rode her endurance horse barefoot! I thought if she can go 30-50 miles on hard trails surely I can run for 15 sec on dirt.....Here comes Steve!
Steve came and slowly trimmed Skip so he could stand naturally. Skip gradually grew is "new" foot but the thrush disappeared immediately. I realized within two weeks there was no longer a need to turn him out with bell boots on. He no longer interfered behind and when he trotted his knees were looking "flat". Finally he was right on all four feet! There were many surprises to me in regards to going barefoot. His hoof wall thickened and hardened,(even though he is appendix bred and has the TB type foot) his frog was HUGE and healthy for the first time. His toes did not break off and become sore. (I thought the shoes protected him from...wrong) and most of all as a barrel racer I thought I needed shoes for traction in the dirt. Skip is now able to handle hard and slick ground, with shoes he just bounced and went right past the barrels. My theory is he can feel the dirt better and is able to make his own adjustments which can lead to money earning runs!
All in all I have to say that going barefoot is the single most important/best decision I have EVER made regarding my horse. Skip has been able to win at 1D jackpots, open rodeos, and even a Pro rodeo in ground that has been deep, hard, slick and/or muddy. I believe being barefoot allowed him to do his (personal) best with the ground conditions available.
We all do lots of things to make our horses healthy and to get the "winning edge". The great thing about natural hoof care is it can do BOTH!!!
Barefoot Believer,
Moscow, TN
P.S. The pic enclosed is of Skip winning 2nd in Open 1st division at Holly Springs MS
(you can see the pic at my trimmer's site:
http://www.dragonflyfarmshoofcare.com/Dragonfly.html)