Horse seeks rider...

I had an email earlier in the week, and after checking with the sender, it seemed like the most useful thing I could do was to share her post here.

"I am trying to find a barefoot home for my horse, photo attached. I have owned him since he was two, he is now nine, and he has never worn shoes - he is 15.1hh (he rides bigger) and is an American standard-bred.

For the last two years we have been doing NCRs with EGB South East group, plus all local sponsored rides. He will go at speed all day over any terrain without boots and never puts a foot wrong.


The problem is I have constant back problems and can no longer ride as much as I would like, which does not suit Merlin. He is a very active horse and needs regular work to keep him sane, although he has always been a responsive (but fast) ride with excellent brakes, he becomes very ADHD if he is not kept occupied! 


If he has plenty to do he is a dream horse that you can take anywhere and do anything with.


He is being advertised on the EGB website, but I think it would be such a shame if he went to someone who promptly put shoes on, which is why I was hoping you might know of someone looking for a horse to do endurance with, or at least very long hacks!


Finding him a home where he will be kept barefoot, used and enjoyed, is much more important than price."

I am sure you agree, he sounds like a little cracker, so if any of you can help and are seeking a barefoot endurance horse or fun all rounder, do get in touch with his owner, Antonia, directly: caligulaspony@hotmail.co.uk

I'd be tempted myself if I didn't already have a rock-crunching 15.1hh pocket rocket with a huge work ethic...I highly recommend them, by the way :-)

Trimming - essentials

I've put up a new blog page, called Hoofcare Essentials.  Its a collection of previous posts on feeding, hoof balance and movement.  Obviously each of these is a huge topic so the posts are just reminders of key points.

The one topic I haven't covered yet is trimming, so that's today's post - I am only covering bullet points but, as many of you know, I posted lots last year on the blog about trimming; you can find more detail on the "Key blog posts" page under the section called "Trimming and celery".  Here then are what, for me, should be the golden rules.

• Every horse should be treated as the ultimate expert on his own hooves.  There are lots of different theories about hooves and trimming and any number of professionals who will give you their opinion on how a hoof should be trimmed.  That's absolutely fine, as long as whoever is trimming listens to the horse first, last, and everywhere in between and modifies what they do according to the feedback they get from the horse (and owner).  

• No horse should be less comfortable after a trim than he was before. See rule 1 - improved soundness must be the objective so if a horse is less comfortable, something went wrong.  Listen to the horse - that trim should not be repeated. I must say that awareness of this seems to have improved a lot over the last year, both among trimmers and owners, which has to be a good thing. 

• Many horses who are in regular, consistent work on varied surfaces (including roadwork) will develop hooves which are self-maintaining and will rarely, if ever, need trimming. A good farrier or trimmer should recognise and encourage this. Horses - perhaps surprisingly - can manage their feet perfectly well without us, given the right workload, environment and nutrition :-)

• If you have a horse who is regularly trimmed and has never quite got to the stage of being perfectly happy on rough, uneven ground despite being on a good diet then it may be worth holding off trimming for a few cycles and seeing how that affects his performance.  Some sensitive horses seem to benefit from being allowed to grow asymmetric hooves and removing these  apparent "flares" at every trim can make them less capable on tough surfaces.  

• Finally, don't forget that trimming is only beneficial where there is excess which needs to be removed from a hoof - for instance where a horse has excessive hoof wall growth  due to lack of work.  If structures of the hoof are weak and need to be strengthened or developed, trimming is unlikely to be the best means of achieving this.  

In praise of Nancy Astor

There was an incredible programme on BBC Four last night - a collection of interviews dating back from the 50s to the 70s - it's a fascinating collection, and you can see it on the iPlayer here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01dy7pr/?t=34m58s

The piece that most interested me was this bit, where Nancy Astor is being interviewed about women in politics - she was the first female MP.  The interviewer's questions are incredibly dated but this was only filmed a few decades ago - it makes you realise how far we have moved on.

Buster does it better than bar shoes

Time for a Buster update - he has been here 5 weeks and its high time for new hoof photos.  When he arrived he was in bar shoes, which were intended to stabilise the weak back of his foot.

Bar shoes have their uses, perhaps, but if a foot is weak, it can only become stronger by developing internally.  Bar shoes stabilise, but they also effectively prevent frog function and any sort of shock absorption by the back of the hoof - both of which are essential for good hoof function. 

Proper rehabilitation does allow the foot to improve - starting with the frog, heels and bars.  This is the change over just 5 weeks...

Buester's toe is still too long and the back of his hoof will continue to improve, as will the wall separation - that's just the result of the nail holes and isn't really a worry. 

Look at his hoof from the palmar/caudal view...

...out of the bar shoe, critical frog and digital cushion development can now happen. 

From the lateral view, a shorter toe and lower heels are the key - again, lots more improvement to come.  Its not trimming which has done this, but developing and strengthening the hoof.

How feet affect the body

I took some new footage of Bailey Griffiths on a circle last week and its interesting to compare it to his footage from 4 weeks ago.

These are a couple of stills from the footage and its pretty clear that the changes in his feet have made bigger differences in his body.

Its common for horses with foot pain to have related pain in the shoulders and neck.  For Bailey, as you can see, this made him brace through his neck and hollow through his back.  Of course, correct ridden work while he is holding himself like this is also pretty impossible.

Although he is still at an early stage, better feet have allowed him better movement: he is now just beginning to relax and can stretch his neck and lift his back for short periods.

The nice thing about rehab is that horses "default" to correct movement once they are comfortable. In behavioural terms, it is self-reinforcing because horses find it easier and less stressful to move this way.  As a result, horses will usually naturally develop a better way of going once they have healthier hooves.

Its not comfortable for horses to continuously brace themselves and its usually a protection mechanism. If you have a horse (as I used to) who constantly goes hollow, head in the air and rushing, then (as well as looking at backs and saddles) its worth considering whether he is comfortable in his feet.

Bryan's updated video and RRR 2012

A quick update following on from his photos yesterday...



Its tricky to lunge him on his blind side (right rein) because of course he has only a limited idea of where I am, but he is much better on the LH than he was and I think is generally more fluid and balanced - see what you think.

Also, there are various ideas and venues being bounced around already for the Rockley Rehab Reunion 2012 on the RR forum: rockleyrehabs.proboards.com/  If you are an owner and think you might be up for a get together in the autumn, do join us  - there is a cool map showing where everyone is and we are trying to work out a central location - the more the merrier :-)

Feel-good Friday Flyer!

I had a lovely video clip sent to me yesterday, showing a smart grey TB doing a lovely clear round in her and her rider's first SJ together.  

I can't post the video at the moment but I've got these stills from it and you can see how much they are enjoying themselves.

This is particularly special for me to watch because the mare is Lucy, who arrived here as a rehab horse with a diagnosis of collateral ligament damage in March 2011.  She went home in June 2011 and has now moved to Yorkshire, where she has carried on going from strength to strength.

She has since gone back to her proper job, as an event horse, and I really hope to be able to post more updates on her over this season.  She is looking fantastic and every bit as good, if not better, than I remember her!

And while we are on the subject of showjumping, I wanted to post some comparison pics of current rehab Bryan, which show how fast his feet are changing.

You've seen this shot before, but its just comparing his LF at day one (above) and 6 weeks (below).

You can see how much growth has already occurred, by the position of the nail holes and mark on his hoof.  You can also (I hope!) see that the foot is stronger at the back and less under-run.

The caudal shot confirms what you can see laterally...

better development and a more robust hoof. 

Sole shots again, same story, different angle...

at 4 weeks (above) and 6 weeks (below) you can really see the hoof "unfolding"...

and finally an interesting one showing the balance shift in his LF over the same time-frame...

Can you see why his collateral ligaments were under strain?!

When Lucy was here she made extremely rapid changes, but she was only 5 years old.  Its all the more impressive that Bryan has made such good progress in his first 6 weeks when you consider that he is 15 and has been in shoes for many years.   Who knows what he might be doing this time next year?