It has been two and a half years since I got Remi and he has been mostly resting during that time. I have kept him as a barefoot horse to get some expansion on his feet. He has gone from a size 0 shoe to a size 1 so I feel he has gained a lot. He still continues to be a bit off in front so I took him and got some radiographs. He does have some mild inflammation on the bottom of his coffin bone. He is such a large horse on small feet and I do not see him gaining on his sole depth so I decided to put him in some natural balance shoes with fill in pads to mimic barefoot as much as possible. Even though I am disappointed he will at least temporarily not be a barefoot horse I am hoping some time in shoes will help heal his coffin bones and allow him to build up some sole to provide better protection.
The time Remi has spent as a barefoot horse has benefitted him immensely on his overall health. He has lost the heavy muscle spasms he had up over his shoulders and I think this is related to the gradual lowering of his heels. HIs back muscles are relaxed and his stride has increased by several inches. During the time he has been a barefoot horse I have tried many different boots and I hoof casts but there is always the tradeoff of rubbed places on the heels or moisture building up under the casts. Part of Remi’s challenge when I got him was severe chronic thrush in both front feet and that is completely gone. I am thinking that the extra moving he will do with the shoes will help him develop a stronger digital cushion. Right now he has very little despite my efforts to make him comfortable with a heel first landing as a barefoot horse.
I have ridden Remi twice since he has his shoes on and he seems to move equally well as he did with the boots. He is still a bit shy about putting his feet down on rocky ground and I am not sure if this is actual continued soreness or if he is just being careful. I have no regrets about the time I gave him off so I could see if he could make it being a barefoot horse and hope his time in shoes will be short and he can get back to being a barefoot horse with a nice thick sole and strong digital cushion. Madalyn