I call it 4 Hoof Drive... because a performance barefoot horse is definitely an all-terrain mode of transportation.
I have four performance barefoot horses and am (for various reasons) an amateur trimmer... I also have several horses that I work with, so here is a place for me to chronicle their feet.
In my yard are 3 Morgans and a DWB. One of the Morgans got me in to this whole "barefoot trimming thing" several years back when became lame due to hock arthritis. Instead of retirement-- not something that is OK with her-- I transitioned Prophecy to being barefoot and we haven't looked back... she is now 21 and sounder than she was when I got her 10 years ago. Nothing slows her down. She is a fabulous trail horse and wonderful hunter pony. (She is also known as Piglet for various reasons...)
Max, an 18 year old gelding, was either pre-navicular or had mild navicular when we pulled his shoes. He had significant difficulty... while Prophecy never had an off step, Max took a long time to become comfortable, likely because I didn't know exactly how to manage his feet at the time. Since becoming sound, he's back to being the Lean Mean Trotting Machine, as we call him, and is slim, sleek and handsome. He had EPM in 2000 and has no residual issues as long as he is very fit. He's a wonderful trail horse-- never one to back down from a challenge-- and does very credible lower-level dressage.
Windy, a 14 year old mare, has always had wonderful feet and I honestly wonder why her breeder ever bothered to put shoes on her. She is difficult to manage as she has Cushing's, hypothyroidism, and is insulin resistant. However her feet have not suffered from her various conditions, and she is beginning work again now that she's comfortable. We have had her since she was 4 and she is a handful... always has been!
Lily is a 12 year old DWB mare. She is an entire soundness story on her own... and has not been regularly sound since a few months after we purchased her in 2005. She was barefoot for 9 months in 07-08, then was shod again from Sept 08 to Feb 09 when those suckers came OFF... and stayed off! She is 100% sound now and working back up to 4th level, landing heel-first the whole way. Unfortunately, thanks to my being in college, she is for sale.
Barefoot Performance all the way!
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