BOWE: Left: 7 months worth of resected Seedy toe, treated by vets & traditional farrier till diagnosed PTS
Right: After 4 months of barefoot rehab.
BUDDY: Left: Quarter crack through coronet band. Vets said surgery & no riding for 8 – 12 months.
Right: 6 months of barefoot rehab
DUSTIN: Left: Deformed hoof Capsule after incident as a foal. Always growing very deformed, unbalanced, with separation & seedy toe despite regular traditional farrier trimming.
Right: 2 months after first barefoot trim. Restored balance & weight bearing distribution, eliminating wall separation, seedy toe & restored hoof function through constant frog stimulation via ground contact.
FRIGATE: Off the track Thoroughbred with a bowed tendon, came to Taylor Made Horses to be rehabbed to go barefoot for his new owner.
He was shod 7years of his life whilst racing, he now travels sound barefoot, with the use of boots during the topical wet season.
This QH stallion had very, very contracted heels and frogs on all 4, with the nearside fore heels being nearly 1 cm higher than that of the off side fore heels. He suffered chronic on & off lameness, wouldn’t pick up his near side lead and very badly stubbed his toes with each step. 2 months after first trim his frog has widened along with his heels. Combined with muscle work and trimming he was immediately able to pick up both leads.
This pony was immobile from chronic laminitis for 5 years, a secondary event to Cushions Syndrome. 3 weeks after starting hoof rehab and dietary change, body work & boots & pads she was able to move more comfortably with some trotting, however x-rays showed there was major bony changes to the Pedal bone which could never be corrected and was subsequently PTS.
JIMINY CRICKET: Was to be PTS due to Chronic Laminitis a secondary event to suspected Insulin Resistance. He was rehabbed at Taylor Made Horses for 9 months until leased to a family where he is back in riding used for the kids, horse sports & games. He was a little treasure to rescue!
TUFFY: Was diagnosed by vets in 2009 with Navicular disease, his owner was told he needed to be retired and possible PTS in the near future. He had been shod for 17 years of his life. His owner was happy to retire him, however was looking for a solution to make him more comfortable until D day.
Once we took off Tuff’s shoes and trimmed him, he quickly became very mobile & went back into work.
Tuff has continued to compete till retirement in late 2013.
Tuffy’s Results since being barefoot;
2011 Novice breakaway roper at the NQ Bartlett park roping saddle series.
2013, at 22yo he has managed, 5th place Ladies Breakaway roping at Mt Garnett rodeo. 2nd place Novice Breakaway roping
Pictured L & R: Tuffy at Mareeba 2013 Georgetown rodeo. 1rst place Ladies Breakaway roping Mareeba Rodeo (a massive achievement).
Qualified for the 2013 NQ ABCRA Zone Finals Qualified for the Australasian Team Roping Association (ATRA) National finals with numerous wins and placing in the ladies breakaway roping throughout 2013 at ATRA jackpot ropings.
Tuffy also barrel raced extensively in 2010 to win the Bartlett park club novice barrel horse and ladies Barrel race for 2010.
ROY: Chronic Laminitis sufferer, he was rehabbed with Taylor Made Horses for 3 months after being told to be PTS by vets. He went home and back into riding, a very happy & comfortable horse.
CONNIE: Chronic Laminitis & “Fatal Sinker”, was told to be PTS by vets & farrier after treatment by corrective shoeing failed. I was contacted by the owners after a separate open minded vet suggested pulling the shoes off & trying barefoot. On my first view of Connie was when we discovered that both pedal bones had dropped through her soles on both fronts. Picture left: Connie 1st week of barefoot rehab. Picture right: Pedal bones showing at the tip of the frog apex.
Picture left & right: Connie 4 months after barefoot rehab.
DOCCA: Came to Taylor Made Horses to have his hooves rehabbed.
Pic left: 05.10.12
Pic right: 27.03.13
HAFLINGER PONY with Seedy Toe:
This tiny thin black line in the
centre of where I’ve cut out is the seedy toe, as long as you can see this black line the horse has seedy toe, which can easily go deep enough to affect the pedal bone if not cut out prior too. It can also eat out the entire hoof wall as seen in pics of Seedy toe above!
GG MAGNETISM: Chronic Laminitis, treated with corrective shoeing in the “traditional methods” for years with no positive results for the horse.This had become "the normal” management for this horses hoof problems. Resulting in him not able to get to a trot in 5 years!
Pic right: Same feet after barefoot rehabbing. 1 month after bare footing he was ale to trot freely
Pic left & right: GG Magnetism in the 80’s in his hay day.
Rip: Is a top level competing dressage horse whom has been barefoot his whole life, however he had previously been trimmed in a more "traditional" manner. It wasn't until he had a chronic case of seedy toe that his owner sought my help. When I first took over trimming Rip it was explained to me that he could be quite difficult when it came to trimming his hind feet. After a couple of times with me trimming him I became aware through feel & my Equine Podiotherapy education, that Rip's attitude with his hind feet being trimmed wasn't about having a "bad" attitude but instead about being in pain. On discussion with his owner & seeking Xray's it was confirmed that Rip does have bony changes around his Phalangeal joint's (Fetlock & Pedal bone joint's) in both hinds.
From a trimming perspective this meant that to trim Rip, i had to change my trimming technique & position so that I could trim his hinds where he is comfortable to place them, which means I become a contorsionist to trim him! To maintain his free flowing gate & ensure longevity of his dressage career he is also trimmed to very specific requirements. Rip is a great example of why it's so important to have a trimmer / farrier who not only understands how a hoof actually functions but understands that by trimming the hooves of a horse you can change how well every joint in the body functions! Affecting not only movement, soundness & longevitiy of your horses working life but also their attitude!
Paddy: was diagnosed with Navicular by vet's & wore the "traditional" corrective shoe to help deal with this problem. He was placed into "corrective shoes" where the heels are wedged up. When diagnosed with Navicular, it's basically a death sentence & the vet's simply try to make the horse "more comfortable" to live out what is left of their very short retirement. Despite the shoes, Paddy was still chronically lame & told to be put to sleep. Luckily for him, his owners at this point sought for another solution to make him comfortable for retirement & so decided to try barefoot. After removing his shoes & giving him a correct & balanced trim it was only a matter of months before Paddy went back into work. Despite me warning that jumping could be a problem for him due to the irreversable damage caused by toe first landing horses; (which is the main cause of Navicular!). Paddy went back to doing it all! Not bad for an off the track thoroughbred with Navicular! Paddy & other Navicular diagnosed horses will always carry the scars of the irreversable damage already caused by toe first landings to some degree, however it does not need to be a death sentence, once we get them back to landing heel first. Which cannot be achieved by placing them into wedged shoes!!!! Check your horses gate for heel first or toe first landing. If your horse is landing toe first, it's only a matter of time before you'll get problems!
Trust: was diagnosed with Navicular, again "corrective shod" & put into retirement. Still showing signs of lamness Trust's owners sought to make her more comfortable. Her shoes were removed and she never looked back. Before Navicular she was a professional barrel horse and once barefoot, almost immediatley, she went back to the professional circuit. A horse diagnosed with Navicular is not a death sentence and depending on the amount of damage sustained during the toe first landing period determines, along with other various hoof history how comfortable the horse will be barefoot. Not all Navicular diagnosed horses, once barefoot, can go back into work though.
Thankfully, today, through the latest research by Dr Robert Bowker, Navicular (caudal heel pain) can be determined by MRI scanning. Which means that if you can find a vet willing to MRI scan the Deep Digital Flexor Tendon at the point of the Navicular bone to check for inflamation of the Deep Digital Flexor and treat accordingly (achieving heel first landings!) at this point. The damage can be reversed, but once you get to the point where the vet can confirm with an Xray, the damage is done & irreversible!
