Post by Admin on Jun 8, 2009 10:21:20 GMT
A place to discuss barefoot trimming, feet, shoeing, post links, discuss courses, talk about your horse's feet, etc. 
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Posted by Harriet:
I have a bit of a dilemma going on and wondered if anyone had any advice- mac boots/barefoot/boa boots?
What is the general opinion regarding horses in Ireland and using these kind of boots?
I am a Podiatrist and I would say I am fairly knowledgable about biomechanics and structural alignments. My horse was recently shod and after 3.5 weks the lateral borders of his feet are over the edge of the shoe, I called farrier back to reshoe thinking his feet had grown and replace one that had come off, the clenchers were upon all of the others. The farrier said they didnt need doing for a number of weeks yet. Is it possible that the shoes are too small in the first place???
Anyway apart from the misery of waiting for the farrier and missed riding days I thought I might do some research into barefoot farriery and maybe invest in some of these boots.
Does anyone have any ??
Does anyone know of any barefoot farriers in the waterford area???
What is the general opinion?
Posted by JenHarvey:
Hello harriet, glad to hear you are taking an interest in barefoot. Im an equine podiatrist in Armagh, so unfortunately im a little far from you. But i thought i could give you some advise re hoof boots. There are quite a few hoof boots out there, all different prices and styles. Best advise is to look arouind and see what is out there, but old mac hoof boots tend to be really good. Hopefully you will be able to get a trimmer, or even a good farrier who can trim well. Boots are very usefull for when you first take the shoes off, as some horses can go a bit sore at first. Boots will enable you to walk the horse to develope a good foot. Also, it depends on what sort of work you will be doing with your horse. If you ride mostly in an arena or field you may not even need boots, but if you do a lot of roadwork then boots will help prevent wearing the foot faster than the rate of growth. Hopefully that helps a little, and if you need more advise, dont hesitate to contact me.
Jenny
Posted by Harriet
I looked at the old macs and have a friend in england who found them good. I cant make up my mind between old macs and Easyboot Epics.
I down loaded a catalog from the INTERNET called easycareinc .com they have a glossy brochure with all of the boots in the range and the pros and cons.
I saw some called Easycare epics and they have a gaiter around the fetlock which helps keep it on but the thing that worries me is there is a metal buckle at the front to secure them. My horse is still a bit gangly and would trip quite often ,I am worried he would cut his leg open . Have you seen these boots??
I would be riding through forestry and forest paths tend to be a full of stones so
I know I would need the boots.
How do you become a barefoot Podiatrist- It sounds exciting?
Posted by jenharvey
The easycare range of boots are very good boots. The thing with the Old macs is they are very straightforward to use and put on. And they dont tend to rub or fall off. Like you said, the epics do have a metal wire at the front of this, and for safety reasons a few ep's would avoid these if possible. If they were to break or get caught in the horses foot they could do damage. The easyboot glove is the newest boot from easycare, and so far its proving to be good. Although there is slighlty less error of judgement when it comes to fitting them. They have to fit snugly so they dont fall off or rub.
Just because you are riding through stoney tracks doesnt nessesarily meen you will require boots all the time. Most horses who are conditioned to barefoot correctly will be able to handle this type of ground after a while. But during the transition period boots would probably be required just to provide extra protection during this.
Ive been training as an EP for about 4 years. I started out with an americal called KC la Pierre, but i went travelling before i was able to qualify. When i got home i continued with the equine podiatry association UK, which is people who have qualified with KC but who have decided to seperate and become a UK organisation. It is a very exciting time for us EPs because we are hoping to get a recognised qualification in the UK. check out www.equinepodiatrytraining.co.uk
Jenny
Posted by harriet:
I looked at the equine podiatry course it looks very interesting and they want to do a course for international students. I may consider doing the course. I was at the adare funday on Saturday and Sean showed us the basics of a barefoot trim- a mustang roll. I was impressed with the difference. The horse had never bEEN SHOD BUT ALWAYS A GRASS TRIM . IT WAS GREAT.
Posted by jenHarvey:
Glad Sean was able to shoe you a little of a barefoot trim. Maybe if he is close to you, you could take more about barefoot with him, and whether you want to go that way or not. Best of luck, and hopefully we can have more barefoot discussions on this site. Would be good to get people involved.
Jenny
Links posted by intouch:
www.epauk.org/
www.unshod.co.uk/
Posted by Elaine:
www.hoofsculpture.com/index.html
Resource posted by drifter:
Another site that i found good is Barefoot for soundness
_____________________________________________
Posted by Harriet:
I have a bit of a dilemma going on and wondered if anyone had any advice- mac boots/barefoot/boa boots?
What is the general opinion regarding horses in Ireland and using these kind of boots?
I am a Podiatrist and I would say I am fairly knowledgable about biomechanics and structural alignments. My horse was recently shod and after 3.5 weks the lateral borders of his feet are over the edge of the shoe, I called farrier back to reshoe thinking his feet had grown and replace one that had come off, the clenchers were upon all of the others. The farrier said they didnt need doing for a number of weeks yet. Is it possible that the shoes are too small in the first place???
Anyway apart from the misery of waiting for the farrier and missed riding days I thought I might do some research into barefoot farriery and maybe invest in some of these boots.
Does anyone have any ??
Does anyone know of any barefoot farriers in the waterford area???
What is the general opinion?
Posted by JenHarvey:
Hello harriet, glad to hear you are taking an interest in barefoot. Im an equine podiatrist in Armagh, so unfortunately im a little far from you. But i thought i could give you some advise re hoof boots. There are quite a few hoof boots out there, all different prices and styles. Best advise is to look arouind and see what is out there, but old mac hoof boots tend to be really good. Hopefully you will be able to get a trimmer, or even a good farrier who can trim well. Boots are very usefull for when you first take the shoes off, as some horses can go a bit sore at first. Boots will enable you to walk the horse to develope a good foot. Also, it depends on what sort of work you will be doing with your horse. If you ride mostly in an arena or field you may not even need boots, but if you do a lot of roadwork then boots will help prevent wearing the foot faster than the rate of growth. Hopefully that helps a little, and if you need more advise, dont hesitate to contact me.
Jenny
Posted by Harriet
I looked at the old macs and have a friend in england who found them good. I cant make up my mind between old macs and Easyboot Epics.
I down loaded a catalog from the INTERNET called easycareinc .com they have a glossy brochure with all of the boots in the range and the pros and cons.
I saw some called Easycare epics and they have a gaiter around the fetlock which helps keep it on but the thing that worries me is there is a metal buckle at the front to secure them. My horse is still a bit gangly and would trip quite often ,I am worried he would cut his leg open . Have you seen these boots?
?I would be riding through forestry and forest paths tend to be a full of stones so
I know I would need the boots.
How do you become a barefoot Podiatrist- It sounds exciting?
Posted by jenharvey
The easycare range of boots are very good boots. The thing with the Old macs is they are very straightforward to use and put on. And they dont tend to rub or fall off. Like you said, the epics do have a metal wire at the front of this, and for safety reasons a few ep's would avoid these if possible. If they were to break or get caught in the horses foot they could do damage. The easyboot glove is the newest boot from easycare, and so far its proving to be good. Although there is slighlty less error of judgement when it comes to fitting them. They have to fit snugly so they dont fall off or rub.
Just because you are riding through stoney tracks doesnt nessesarily meen you will require boots all the time. Most horses who are conditioned to barefoot correctly will be able to handle this type of ground after a while. But during the transition period boots would probably be required just to provide extra protection during this.
Ive been training as an EP for about 4 years. I started out with an americal called KC la Pierre, but i went travelling before i was able to qualify. When i got home i continued with the equine podiatry association UK, which is people who have qualified with KC but who have decided to seperate and become a UK organisation. It is a very exciting time for us EPs because we are hoping to get a recognised qualification in the UK. check out www.equinepodiatrytraining.co.uk
Jenny
Posted by harriet:
I looked at the equine podiatry course it looks very interesting and they want to do a course for international students. I may consider doing the course. I was at the adare funday on Saturday and Sean showed us the basics of a barefoot trim- a mustang roll. I was impressed with the difference. The horse had never bEEN SHOD BUT ALWAYS A GRASS TRIM . IT WAS GREAT.
Posted by jenHarvey:
Glad Sean was able to shoe you a little of a barefoot trim. Maybe if he is close to you, you could take more about barefoot with him, and whether you want to go that way or not. Best of luck, and hopefully we can have more barefoot discussions on this site. Would be good to get people involved.
Jenny
Links posted by intouch:
www.epauk.org/
www.unshod.co.uk/
Posted by Elaine:
www.hoofsculpture.com/index.html
Resource posted by drifter:
Another site that i found good is Barefoot for soundness
