Fari page 2

Fari’s left hoof 19 months after the suspensory injury and 5 months after finally removing his shoes for the last time. It is still in a shocking state. Long under run heels and an angle and toe length far from healthy.

Nine months later and I cautiously started ridden work at the same time as trying out barefoot with my farrier. Barefoot was a disaster. My lovely horse refused to walk on anything stony and rough and his feet got longer and longer and broke and chipped. I arranged for the shoes to be put back on and instantly Fari could walk on any surface. But..... he tripped, he stumbled, he seemed to have reduced balance. He hated going down hills, zig- zagging and swishing his tail. I was also in turmoil because I knew the natural balance shoes he was now sporting were making his feet look even stranger and that left foot was still twisted.

It took five months of mental struggle to pick up the courage to have a barefoot trimmer look at Fari’s feet and tell me what she thought. It was shocking. She told me to feel his left front hoof, it was cold. Then she told me to feel his right front hoof. It was warm. She told me the left hoof was so collapsed and flared, and at such a bad angle, that the circulation in it was very compromised. It took me quite a few minutes to believe her. I wanted the sun to have been shining on the right foot. I wanted an explanation that meant I could legitimately keep him shod so that I could ride him where ever I wanted. It was difficult to accept what my eyes were seeing and my hands feeling. It was even more difficult to accept that I might be best leaving my farrier, who had been caring for my horse’s hooves for many years. It did explain however why he tripped, why he stumbled and why pressure going down hill seemed to make everything worse. With that thought I asked the trimmer to remove his shoes and Fari and I started on a long and difficult journey.