I'm a little uncomfortable talking about the whole shod-to-barefoot experience. It seems like everybody who makes the switch does it. If I had switched him from barefoot to shod, I probably wouldn't be talking about it much at all. The reality is those who own and ride barefoot horses are generally more attentive to their horses' feet. This isn't always true. If the horse isn't using boots, the rider is probably not spending so much time and angst on the horse's feet. Boots change things a bit in that the feet have to be maintained more closely to consistently fit in the boots.
I know that since I took Hoss's shoes off, I've spent far more time hunched over with one of his feet in my hands than I ever did while he was shod (confession moment: the farrier who tells her clients they should pick out their horses feet before and after every ride almost never picked up her own horse's feet between shoeings). So, of course, the thing that is on my mind the most is, he's got no shoes on. I am far more aware of how he's moving now than I ever was before. I always noticed how he was going, of course, but I feel I'm more into the minutiae lately.
Hoss has been doing great. I started riding him regularly in late January, first just around our roads, but more recently we've been getting in the trailer and doing longer rides.
We went on out to Hollenbeck Canyon for our first "road test" of the barefoot thing. Hoss sure stepped out lively! Admittedly it had been a while since he'd been anywhere but at home, and he was eager for a change of scenery. So was I, and so were the dogs. I was generally happy with the way Hoss was travelling, but I noticed that he wasn't quite so eager to do the all-out run on the flat part that he'll usually want to do.
We rode several times on the local roads before heading out to Hollenbeck again. Hoss once again did reasonably well, but was still a teensy bit slower than usual. Still, good progress is being made.
In addition to riding, Hoss is continuing to go on the morning walks with me. It sure seems like he's looking forward to it! He's always waiting at his gate for me to get him, and shoves his head into his halter. It's been really nice to take him along, as it's taught him somewhat better ground manners and I feel like we have a closer relationship as a result of the extra time spent together on the ground.
I measured Hoss's feet, and ordered a "Fit Kit" from EasyCare, the company that produces the boots I want to use. The Fit Kit arrived, and I immediately went to work fitting Hoss for boots. I dinked around with his feet for a while, and came up with a suitable fit. I then went back in the house, got on the phone, and ordered the boots from Griffin's Tack.
As an "acid test," I took Hoss out to the steel bridge, where some of the trails are far more rocky and intense. He did great until we hit some of those rocks, and then it became clear he was more than a little sensitive on his hind feet. I ended up dismounting and leading him through much of this, until we got back to the softer stuff he was better prepared to handle. I even ended up cutting the ride short. We were going to the local horse show the next day (details in another post!), and I didn't want to risk making him sore footed.
The day after the show, we went for another ride at Hollenbeck, and Hoss was very definitely tender. Indeed, at some places, he was downright lame. I left him alone with the exception of the morning walks until we went for a lesson two days later. He was still clearly just a little bit tender on his hinds, especially his left hind. He was also showing a little sore in his left hock, which is not unexpected, considering he had strained it just six weeks earlier and here we were making him do collected work! Despite that, he was fine, and did not develop any swelling or heat as a result. Clearly it was a simple case of more work than he could do without soreness.
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