They told this horse she couldn't go barefoot...

[pecoslover97]

my horse was diagnosed with navicular by the vets without x-rays when he was said to have stone bruises and they werent getting better so i was gonna sell him as a companion horse because i couldnt afford correctives shoeing and meds but some1 told me about pete ramey and i learned about it and found a trimmer near me and now my horse looks like hes on his way to recovery, also i am so moved by this i wanna be a barefoot trimmer when i get older cant wait til my horse is like yours

[saddleup69]

HAVENT CHANGED MUCH but like in the 1800's barefoot is better just consider general custer and why he died chasing jeronimo's little barefoot war pony fact is the army better supplied and armed would lame a horse just trying to keep up

[deuces98]

CHECK your medial lateral level on the hind feet ! I noticed them both leaning to the outside ( lateral ) This is making your horse very base narrow . If you trim a little more on the medial side each time you can correct this !! Good work and happy trails

[Nizingur]

Lovely video, but wow D: You ride like a sack of potatoes. And your legs likewise. If you can do nothing about the bouncing, at least do try to keep your legs steady so you're not banging them against her sides all the time.

Nice video, though. Glad you found the realm of barefoot =)

[horsedesigns]

@Nizingur ... that was my husband riding and he's not much of a rider and he and I know that, because he doesn't ride. He's also not much of a photographer and I had to be the one to make the video so I put him on there. I'm a very good rider :-) with excellent quiet balance so be assured the horses do not have to put up with his bouncing and banging, lol. Thanks.

[Nizingur]

@horsedesigns Sweet! :D

[shaneshaneshoer]

learn from something proper not lazy poeple who arent skilled so they wack the tor off with a rasp even. ever heard of nippers or ae they not natural enough? you are actually makeing people stupider

[shaneshaneshoer]

testimonial is all the evidence you have. ignorance is bliss

[DJBelbe]

delicious heel first landing! I so love to get a horse to move like this! as Pete Ramey says, they start looking like they're floating above the ground! First time I got my lightning fast mare to move like this I felt like I was flying! that speed coupled with the sudden lightness is one of the most amazing experiences i've had on horseback!

[semtech30]

Your first mistake was letting other services manage your horse.

As the owner guardian it is your responsability to give the animal what it needs.

Your Farrier's and Vet were incompetent in this matter, obviously.

They probably don't have horses of their own and could not apply the skills required.

I cowboy, do my own.......never have a problem. If one occurs I solve it myself.

Happy trails!!! dude.

[skeetercamp]

Yay! Circulation is the answer, and shoes are the root of preventing that critical element for horses. Thanks for posting this!

[yehacowgirl99]

I own a Draft mare, and i have kept her barefoot for the whole time i have had her, and never had an issue.

[LaRanaTJ]

When the farrier pulled the shoes fm our PRE mare, who never went a month without a lameness issue, he told me 2 keep them as her thin walls would mean she would never go barefoot. I threw them away as soon as he left. 3 months later she completed 50km´s over rock, concrete and gravel - barefoot. A year later she had very thick walls, great concave sole and the pigeon toes that caused paddling had virtually gone. She has never had a lame day since we turned her BAREFOOT.

[semtech30]

The wall's thickened in 3 months and capable of 50K barefoot over rock, gravel, concrete.

You have yourself there a G-dam Super Horse.

I've shod my own horses now for 10 years and I feel way more confidence in them and endurance when I ride compared to bare foot'in it.

I'm having a real difficult time here believing some of these stories.

In the past 1,000 years or so you think we would have learned before now huh.

[LaRanaTJ]

Mis-understood - Her walls took a year 2 thicken, but after only 3 months she was sound barefoot (the training was already there 4 the distance). AlexanderGreat GhengisKarn all rode 1000´s miles barefoot. No evidence of shoes in tombs of any royalty (despite bits being there 2 show iron was used) In 6 million years equus domesticus has not evolved - got to be for a reason! I rode a shod horse 4 the 1st time in years 4 months ago - clearly felt the difference as his paces weren´t so sure & true

[semtech30]

Ok. You ride a different kind of horse than I do. I know where your coming from when you mention Alex and Ghengis.

1000s of miles they travelled and took years to do it.

Your saving farrier costs and I hope YOUR horse appreciates that.

[LaRanaTJ]

No, regular horse, leg at each corner. Nothing to do with saving farrier costs, everything to do with having a healthier horse. Have horses (mine & clients) who participate in Endurance, Jumping, Cross-country, Dressage and miles of trekking all barefoot, all sound.

[sk8erdevil5]

yep i love having my horse barefoot too it is healthier i don't know why people put shoes on their horses like i say shoes are just metal that are nailed to a hoof

[Tilleyflipflop1]

My horse went barefoot in August- he was doing a weird twist thing with his hind legs and slipping really badly on the road! The twisting stopped instantly, he is now so confident on his footing that he will happily trot downhill on road! He can turn on a penny, jump, canter and gallop beautifully! He was loosing shoes about every 3 weeks, his whole condition and shape has changed for the better!! Barefoot is great.(He even gets grumpy when the farrier comes for the other horses at the yard!!)

[biiigmomma]

I am about to start a barefoot trimming course and cannot wait! it is so much more natural for horses to be barefoot and your video is so amazing! I had a horse that was very sensitive on gravel roads or just hard surface and if I still had him I would love to try and see if he too could get better with proper trimming... thanks for posting, awesome video!

[XArabHunterX]

I first started riding at a barefoot rehab farm for foundered and nevicular cases, so I learned alot about triming hooves at the age of 11. Im 21 now and I volenteer every year at the Roanoke Vally Horse Show (one of the bigest SB & Jumper shows in the US) And the ferier that they hire told me that it was mposible for a horse to go barefoot. My 3 day eventer is barefoot and I also barel race him. I think thats proof enough that show horses can go barefoot.

[buddymacs]

amen.....spread the word.......dont ever quit

[00horsecrazy00]

no shoes may be ok but if you are doing hard competition on horses they need shoes trust me ive seen it with my friend because her parents did the no shoe thing.

[ztigris]

Horses frequently compete in upper level, heavy competition with out shoes. Some may need boots but as long as diet and proper trimming are handled they don't need them for long. You have to remember that barefoot is DIFFERENT than pasture trim which is what most farriers actually do. Subtle differences can be the most profound.

[XArabHunterX]

Yeah, I trim my owen horses feet now because I could not find a ferier that knew what a performance trim was. lol

[jmdnarri]

I as well have seen examples of horses that could not be used for their intended sport without shoes, even under the care of experienced barefoot farriers. Correct trimming is essential and done correctly gives the horse the best foot possible. Even still not all horses can stand up to full work barefoot.

[fifthavenuegirl]

This is my story, too! I was told my horse would need 52 degree eggbars. I got sick of the incompetent, abusive, unreliable farriers and learned to trim both my horses myself. My horses feet changed over time from flat foot, thin soles to thick walls and concave hoofs. I have started trimming friends horses now, too. It was not easy - had lots of peer pressure, patience of learning, seeing results, strict feed guidelines, etc. but it is definitely worth it.

[buddymacs]

now that u have seen this for your self........spread the word !

[shaneshaneshoer]

@fifthavenuegirl the reason people like you are the joke of the real horse world is every good farrier can do anything you can and way more i bet 90 percent or the feet you butcher arent even level enough for a shoe not to rock and be uneven. and farriers have been keeping horses sound since 1800s and shoes HAVENT CHANGED MUCH, neither has the wheel. soind prinicples dont fade away

[aqhcountrygirl]

and to those of you that blanket your horses religiously, remember they grow hair for a reason.. its actually unhealthy to have them in a severly heated barn in the winter.. keeps em sick.. as i said, its good for a horse to just be a horse sometimes.

[aqhcountrygirl]

I had an appendix and he was definately "blessed" with thoroughbred feet. ugh, they were soft and what not.. when i turned him out i yanked his shoes off and his feet did fine. the only time i put shoes on him was when i was riding heavily. most of the time i just kept front shoes on him.. but by giving his feet a break while he was turned out for 8 months did wonders for him. his feet did great. remember. its good for horses to just be horses sometimes

[Girlracerboychaser]

My horse Rebel has never worn shoes he's a mustang and I've competed with him in barrel racing and one on him he's a excelent roping horse and a fast runner

[artgoat]

When I was at farrier school, the horses with the softest soles and thinnest walls were those with shoes. The barefoot ones often had feet so tough you could barely scratch them with a hoof knife. The shod ones, paring out sole was like shaving cheese.

I worked on a belgian mare who was too sore to walk on hard dirt. After 3-4 months of barefoot trims, she could walk on gravel without pain. A year after her owner moved, I heard he'd put shoes on her and she was living on Bute. Sad.

[doglover2112]

lol, we pulled the shoes on a QH mare I ride for the winter and she was lame for like 2 weeks!! SO, we put them back on lol. But I like the idea, it just doesn't work for all horses :S

[thehappyhoof]

Going barefoot is often misunderstood, and is all about "understanding" the horses hoof. If your mare went lame when pulling the shoes off, that shows she has some real problems with her hooves due to being continually shod, and the hoof capsil and sole slowly deteriorating over time. The point of this type of going barefoot, is understanding what is truly going on in the horses hoof, trimming correctly and growing out a strong healthy hoof. It's not just pulling the shoes.

[doglover2112]

lol, no I know that :P It's not my horse, she's a lesson horse I used to ride. The farrier did everything to make her go barefoot, he didn't just pull off the shoes lmao :P But I have a question: Why would you want a barefoot horse?? I'm not being mean or anything, I just am wondering lol :P

[ztigris]

Nails cause damage to the hoof wall, the sole is thinned in preparation for the shoe. A shoe causes the horses weight to be loaded on the hoof wall rather than spread over a the entire surface (imagine wearing heels 24/7)

A fixed metal shoe does not allow for any natural flexion in the hoof, which is essential to the circulation system of the horse, each step blood runs to the hoof and is shot back up the leg, acting in essence as another heart.

[ztigris]

Those are my reasons in a nut shell, there is a LOT more to it. Hope that helps explain things.

The eyes are the window to the soul, but the hooves are the window to the over all health of a horse.

Why shoe? It's only been done for a 1000 years and horses have been domesticated for 4000.... before that they didn't need us.

[doglover2112]

thanks, that helped :)

[emr2e]

Awesome video! OMG I was told the same thing...and believed it when I was a newbie to horses. I went through the same thing, frustration with farriers, lameness, shoes coming off, etc. and went barefoot. Oh my, a horse can walk on it's own 4 feet. Who would have thought! =) By the way I'm in Roseville.

[singlefoot87059]

Great video. My wife and I decided to try barefoot horses about 4 years ago and we will never put a shoe on a horse again. (Whoops never say never!). We are sold on barefoot horses. I trim all my horses(11 of them) and they do great in rocky terrain as we live in the mountains near Albuquerque , New Mexico and ride in some very rough terrain. So glad to hear about your horse doing so well. We ride Paso's, Peruvians and Singlefooters.

[libberella123]

Hey there :) I am REALLY interested in learning in how to master this "barefoot" trimming :) i am getting my own horse VERY soon, and now-a-days it seems like everyone has barely has enough money to have a farrier trim there horses feet :) (including me) haha. So please help meout

THANKSS :D

[XArabHunterX]

Here in VA the ferriers hardly know a thing about barefoot triming,I gave up on trying to find one that did and started triming my horse my self.I also compeet in Dressage,speed jumping,x-country,3-day eventing,combind training,trials,hunter pleasure/jumper/gayp,english pleasure/gayp,western pleasure/gayp,all games and gymkhana,fox hunting,hunterpaces,endurance rideing,trail,ect.All on one barefoot horse that I rescued, and without easy boots or anything like that.He makes me so proud. :D

[albicat13]

Awesome! Barefoot rocks!

[IcseK]

That's really odd for saying that very few people encourage barefoot riding. Maybe it's just because I'm in Florida but here it's abnormal to have shoes on any horses unless it's for therapuedic shoeing or for performance grip. It's hard to find a farrier out here that does shoe. But good job on going barefoot. I always try a supplement before shoeing, but remember that it can take from 6 to 9 months to grow a new hoof! Currently I have my own mare on Farrier's Formula, it's great!

[heronponie]

Congratulations on your success with your beautiful Sydney! What a lovely video :)

[horses4life14]

great video!! thanks for sharing!! 5*

[mynameisxena]

What a nice story! Thanks for sharing this vid. : )

[e1p12007]

Deb Dutra was my first teacher too, back in about '97. I'll have to look her up again.

Good work! Cute horse too.

[thehappyhoof]

I think this is great, EXCEPT it's still not a good idea to trot or lope horses on gravel roads.....PERIOD. You can still get road founder and stone bruising from doing that. showing things this way, gives people the really wrong idea about keeping horses barefoot. I've worked horsesback all my life and we ALWAYS shoes or not shoes, rode on the side of the road as much as possible.

[zoel222]

I totally agree with you happyhoof. I would not do anything but walk on a rocky road, shoes or not.

[emr2e]

You probably won't like one of my videos either (I have one of my horse galloping on gravel). But I think you are misunderstanding road founder...if a horse has overgrown walls or is wearing shoes and is excessively exercised on hard ground then I can see the lamina getting inflamed from concussion (road founder). On a horse whose feet are properly conditioned and trimmed where the entire foot shares the load, I don't see this being an issue.

[emr2e]

Stone bruises can occur shoes or not, but a horse that can feel it's feet and what's under neath them is much less likely to get one, IMO and experience.

[thehappyhoof]

That's right a horse can get stone bruises, and why chance it? There is always the "side of the rode to ride in, why purposely run down a gravel road. Why take a chance with your horse?

[emr2e]

Emphasis on "properly conditioned". I didn't start out galloping on gravel roads initially. At first it was a walk, then later trots and canters. I go over gravel at all gaits to maintain the conditioning I worked so hard to get. Gravel roads, IMO, are not necessarily a major risk for stone bruises. Gravel tends to have some give to it, especially when there is a lot of it in an area. But now take one of those gravel rocks and put it on hard non-giving ground and step on it. Ouch!

[emr2e]

There are a lot of risks inherent with owning and riding horses. Worrying about them all takes the fun out of having these wonderful creatures. A stone bruise, which as far as I know is not fatal, is not a huge area of concern for me. If my horse were to get injured (stone bruise or what not) I would allow him to heal before returning him to work. Just like I would do for myself. Problem - solution. Meanwhile, no stone bruises yet and I attribute that to the conditioning. =)

[thehappyhoof]

Hey, I'm the first person to say I can be in error. And I understand about conditioning, glad it's working for you, but for me, for now, i'll go to the side of the road as much as possible. Glad your horse has got such great feet though and that you take so much care about it. Hey where are some pics of the feet??? Would like to see some.

[horsebackrider420]

agreed. i would never even TROT my horse over small rocks, rode, or anthing hard.

[emr2e]

I just uploaded a video with hoof shots...I know so late, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist and this video isn't quite perfect so I'll have to make another once the mud disappears. =) Anyway, it's named "hoof video".

[mocowboy68]

better to run down the middle of the road & get a bruise then to go down the side & step on a glass bottle.........

[thehappyhoof]

Well, maybe if you had better aim for the pickup bed, when you's a throwin those brewskies out the window, it wouldn't be quite so dangerous (LOL)....it's a joke...not meant to offend ya know.

[MtnTracker]

That's some good information there. Thanks!

[horseobsessed7890]

tee he my name is sydney

[doggiesarus]

How long did it take from the time you let her go barefoot till the time when you say her hooves were nice and thick? Just wondering. Thanks.

[horsedesigns]

It's hard to put an exact time on it because I think if I knew as much as I do now, back when she was first trimmed, it would have been a much quicker transition. With another of our horses, who transitioned much more recently, it only took a few weeks, but it can take up to a year for some... lots of factors to consider.

[hosshoofho]

Excellent video and message to all those who think horses can't go shoeless!

I'm a lady hoof trimmer too.

Hosshoofho

[horsedesigns]

Thanks! Glad to know you are out there helping horses!

[shaneshaneshoer]

@hosshoofho prooveing my example i bet you tryed shoeing but it as to hard so now its evil ahahaha ever seen a wild horses feet long and cracked, broken away and tender, or just fine is what you will see.

[stinahumana]

very good job!

[JumpinHorses]

nice stride and heel first landings - kudos

[horsedesigns]

Thanks for noticing the heel first landings! it's not always easy for me to see in person so I was happy for that when I slowed the video down, too.