Conditioning your horse for barefoot performance is the really hard part of Natural Hoof Care as it requires time and patience. Once you have taken the shoes off your horse many owners believe they have fixed the problem and that takes no time at all. However you then enter a healing time and as every horse is an individual there is no magic number which we can give you that will tell you how long it will take to develop a strong healthy barefoot.
Just say to yourself “There is a fixing time and a healing time and I have to give it time.”
A few horses can work straight away at the same level of work they did with shoes on but this is unusual in a horse which has been shod for several years or trimmed using a pasture trim. Most horses will be happy working on soft ground like an arena or grass but will need boots with therapeutic pads for stony or hard going for a period of time.
In time, usually a period of six months, when their hooves have adjusted and healed these horses too will work happily on all surfaces in their bare feet. Hooves which heal the fastest are the ones which are exposed to much movement. Plenty of exercise, with hoof boot protection if needed, actually makes the hooves grow stronger and faster. When the hooves grow faster they heal faster so my message to clients is always "Get out and ride your horse as much as you can within the boundaries of its comfort levels".
-43.jpg)
-44.jpg)
-45.jpg)