PISTOL - THE LITTLE HORSE WHO DID (Page 2)
Barefoot rehabilitation can be a VERY SLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW process for sure! Various changes were to take place – none of them could be Stopped – severe laminitis and all that goes with a case such as this - was caused when he ingested the toxic feed; caused by large doses of pain killers; caused by drugs; caused from the stress; caused from the therapeutic shoeing and invasive trimming of the soles - All these ‘causes’ were Vast!! Hooves generally grow at about 1 cm. per month and the soles grow at a quarter of this rate!
Lane KNEW things could get much worse before they got better, but Pistol was tough and he was game! MOST important - Pistol wanted to Live!
April, 2006 - Lane was totally optimistic! Here was a good team!
April, 2006 - Note the knife marks
April, 2006 - Sole Flaking Off (powdered with ‘Gold Bond’ for dryness in the boots)
LANE'S FOOT CARE HISTORY
We first observed a barefoot horse about 5 years ago. This was a competitive endurance Arab who recently came off a 100 mile course – BAREFOOT. His feet looked different but they looked tough and they looked good!! (Thanks Bruce and ‘Zeus’). It was then and there that we started to ‘study’ and learn barefoot methods.
For the past three season’s the horses (30+) at the LAZY M Guest Ranch have been going ‘barefoot’ both on the Ranch and in the Rocky MOUNTAINS – with GREAT success. For the first season Lane worked with our farrier and for the last two seasons he has done it all himself. This is because he keeps a careful watch on the feet and trims on a very regular basis – often every couple of weeks. Doing it this way, the rasp is generally all that is used for the maintenance! This ‘barefoot transition’ has not been easy for us running the guest ranch. We use hoof boots but not all the time. So some guests have been quite ‘angered’ at our apparent ‘lack of sensitivity’ to our horses. However, even when these Barefoot horses would ‘tread gently’ over rocky terrain in the Mountains (and on the gravel roads) – they NEVER came home LAME and their feet just continue to harden and toughen!!
HOOVES just back from a WEEK in the ROCKY MOUNTAINS – Summer, '06 (Colour distorted because of contrast adjustments)
