Dare to Go Bare, Hoof Rehabilitation and Barefoot Livery Centre

Dare to Go Bare, Hoof Rehabilitation and Barefoot Livery Centre Now providing ๐Ÿด HOOF BOOT FITTING ๐Ÿด as a separate service to my Equine Podiatry work. Also Nutritional and Management overhauls!

A dedicated Barefoot facility run by Equine Podiatrist Sally Bell DEP offering short term Hoof Rehabilitation Livery.

Just a reminder that I offer this service.. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ please get in touch for help with all things hoof boot!
14/03/2025

Just a reminder that I offer this service.. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ please get in touch for help with all things hoof boot!

Thinking about trying barefoot this year and not sure where to start? ๐Ÿค”๐Ÿซจ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

Need to update or upgrade your current hoof boots? ๐Ÿ‘ ๐Ÿฆ„

Our renowned Hoof Boot Fitting Service ensures your horse experiences the best fitting Hoof Boots for their needs. By applying our expertise with a range of fit kits, one of our approved Fitting Partners will visit you and select the optimum fit. Our devoted network of approved Fitting Partners, spread over 100 locations across the UK, canโ€™t wait to find the best fit for your horse.
All of our fitters are qualified Farriers or Equine Podiatrists to ensure your horse is in the best hands.

๐Ÿ”— to find your nearest fitter https://thehoofbootshop.co.uk/fitting-appointment/partners

Our Online Fitting Service is a quick and convenient solution to finding a better fit for your horse. Just attach your photos of each hoof with the information we require, and weโ€™ll respond with our expert advice and recommendations.

๐Ÿ”— to our online fitting page https://thehoofbootshop.co.uk/online-fitting

Please drop us a message if you require any more information via DM or [email protected] ๐Ÿ’ป ๐Ÿ“ง

Having seen how the horses here at my place choose what to do, where to be and how they interact with each other - and j...
09/03/2025

Having seen how the horses here at my place choose what to do, where to be and how they interact with each other - and just how flipping HAPPY they are - I donโ€™t know how I could ever go back!

๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ช๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ง๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—•๐—ฒ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฌ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐˜€?

As the equestrian world moves toward better welfare standards, there has been growing talk about introducing a licensing system for livery yards. If (and hopefully when) this happens, proper winter turnout must be a requirement. Keeping horses stabled for months just because itโ€™s winter is not acceptable.

Turnout isnโ€™t a luxury, itโ€™s a basic need. It allows horses to move, socialize, and express natural behaviors. Locking them up for months on end simply for human convenience is not good enough. If a livery yard cannot provide turnout all year round, then it should not be running.

Iโ€™m all for supporting livery yards, they are the reason so many people can have horses. The work they do is invaluable, and running a yard is no easy task. But things have to change. Welfare must come first, and that includes ensuring that horses have access to turnout every single day, even in winter.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—บ: ๐—ก๐—ผ ๐—ช๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ง๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜

Too many livery yards fail to provide turnout in winter.
The common excuses?

โ€ข โ€œ๐™๐™๐™š ๐™›๐™ž๐™š๐™ก๐™™๐™จ ๐™œ๐™š๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™ค๐™ค ๐™ฌ๐™š๐™ฉ.โ€
โ€ข โ€œ๐™„๐™ฉโ€™๐™จ ๐™Ÿ๐™ช๐™จ๐™ฉ ๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฉ ๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™–๐™˜๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™˜๐™–๐™ก.โ€
โ€ข โ€œ๐™’๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™ช๐™ง๐™ฃ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ข ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™–๐™ง๐™š๐™ฃ๐™– ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง ๐™– ๐™—๐™ž๐™ฉ.โ€
โ€ข โ€œ๐™ƒ๐™ค๐™ง๐™จ๐™š๐™จ ๐™™๐™ค๐™ฃโ€™๐™ฉ ๐™ฃ๐™š๐™š๐™™ ๐™ฉ๐™ช๐™ง๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™ž๐™› ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ฎโ€™๐™ง๐™š ๐™š๐™ญ๐™š๐™ง๐™˜๐™ž๐™จ๐™š๐™™.โ€

Because of this, horses end up stuck in stables for weeks or even months, with little or no freedom to move. This is not okay.

Letโ€™s be clear, ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฎ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ก๐—ข๐—ง ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜. Horses need time outside, where they can move freely and interact with other horses.

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—›๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—”๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ง๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜?

๐™‹๐™๐™ฎ๐™จ๐™ž๐™˜๐™–๐™ก ๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™ค๐™—๐™ก๐™š๐™ข๐™จ โ€“ Stiffness, joint issues, and an increased risk of colic from standing still for too long.

๐™ˆ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ก ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™š๐™จ๐™จ โ€“ Boredom, anxiety, and frustration, leading to vices like weaving, cribbing, box walking, and aggression.

๐‘บ๐’๐’„๐’Š๐’‚๐’ ๐’…๐’†๐’‘๐’“๐’Š๐’—๐’‚๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’ โ€“ Horses are herd animals. They need to interact with other horses for their mental well-being.

๐‘ท๐’๐’๐’“ ๐’„๐’Š๐’“๐’„๐’–๐’๐’‚๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐’‚๐’๐’… ๐’…๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’†๐’”๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’ โ€“ Movement helps circulation and gut health. Horses stuck in stables are at a greater risk of colic and laminitis.

Many owners have simply accepted that their horses wonโ€™t get turnout in winter, normalizing a situation that is actually damaging their horseโ€™s health and well-being.

A lack of turnout should never be considered part of winter horse care,itโ€™s a welfare issue.

๐™๐™๐™š ๐™Ž๐™ค๐™ก๐™ช๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ: ๐™ˆ๐™–๐™ ๐™š ๐™’๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง ๐™๐™ช๐™ง๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™– ๐™ˆ๐™ช๐™จ๐™ฉ

If livery yards become licensed, they must be required to provide safe, usable turnout all year round. This doesnโ€™t mean sacrificing good grazing or ruining fields, it means planning ahead and putting proper facilities in place.

๐™’๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐˜พ๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™”๐™–๐™ง๐™™๐™จ ๐˜ฟ๐™ค?

๐™Ž๐™–๐™˜๐™ง๐™ž๐™›๐™ž๐™˜๐™š ๐™ฅ๐™–๐™™๐™™๐™ค๐™˜๐™ ๐™จ โ€“ A designated turnout area that protects the main fields.

๐˜ผ๐™ก๐™ก-๐™ฌ๐™š๐™–๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฉ๐™ช๐™ง๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™ฅ๐™–๐™™๐™™๐™ค๐™˜๐™ ๐™จ โ€“ Sand, rubber, or hardcore areas that donโ€™t turn into deep mud.

๐™๐™ง๐™–๐™˜๐™  ๐™จ๐™ฎ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ข๐™จ โ€“ A designed turnout route that encourages movement and natural behavior.

๐™Ž๐™๐™–๐™ง๐™š๐™™ ๐™ฉ๐™ช๐™ง๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™–๐™ฃ๐™จ โ€“ Rotating turnout areas so all horses get their time outside.

๐™ˆ๐™ช๐™™ ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™ค๐™ก ๐™ข๐™–๐™ฉ๐™จ we -there is so many type available in the Uk and abroad!

If a yard cannot provide any of these options, it should not be allowed to operate.

๐™Š๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง ๐˜พ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™ž๐™š๐™จ ๐˜ผ๐™ก๐™ง๐™š๐™–๐™™๐™ฎ ๐˜ฟ๐™ค ๐™๐™๐™ž๐™จ

In Sweden, turnout is a legal requirement. By law, horses must be turned out every day unless the weather is extreme. Keeping a horse stabled 24/7 is not an option.

If Sweden can manage this despite its long, harsh winters, why is the UK and other countries still allowing horses to be locked up for half the year? Itโ€™s not about climate, itโ€™s about mindset and proper management.

Other European countries also recognize the importance of turnout. In Denmark, for example, turnout is strongly recommended in welfare guidelines, and more yards are adopting year-round turnout solutions.

So why is the UK, Ireland and other Countries around the the World still allowing outdated, restrictive management practices?

๐–๐ž๐ฅ๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐Ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž

Yes, setting up winter turnout does take money, effort, and planning. But the reality is, if a yard cannot meet this basic welfare need, should it even be in business?

Many yards could provide winter turnout but choose not to because itโ€™s easier for them to keep horses stabled. This needs to change. Welfare should always come before convenience.

Owners Have a Role to Play Too

๐™„๐™› ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™˜๐™ช๐™ง๐™ง๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ ๐™ฎ๐™–๐™ง๐™™ ๐™™๐™ค๐™š๐™จ๐™ฃโ€™๐™ฉ ๐™ค๐™›๐™›๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฉ๐™ช๐™ง๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™ฌ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง, ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ง๐™ฉ ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ค๐™ ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง ๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™™๐™ค๐™š๐™จ.

๐™„๐™› ๐™ž๐™ฉ ๐™ข๐™š๐™–๐™ฃ๐™จ ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™–๐™ซ๐™š๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™›๐™ช๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™›๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™– ๐™จ๐™ช๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™–๐™—๐™ก๐™š ๐™ฎ๐™–๐™ง๐™™, ๐™™๐™ค ๐™ž๐™ฉ.

๐˜ฟ๐™ค๐™ฃโ€™๐™ฉ ๐™จ๐™š๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ก๐™š ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง ๐™ฌ๐™๐™–๐™ฉโ€™๐™จ ๐™š๐™–๐™จ๐™ž๐™š๐™จ๐™ฉ, ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™๐™ค๐™ง๐™จ๐™šโ€™๐™จ ๐™ฌ๐™š๐™ก๐™›๐™–๐™ง๐™š ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ข๐™š๐™จ ๐™›๐™ž๐™ง๐™จ๐™ฉ.

Too many people put their own convenience before their horseโ€™s needs. A yard may be close to home, cheap, or have nice facilities, but if your horse is stuck in a stable all winter, is it really the best place for them?

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต๐˜: ๐Ÿ’ญ

I fully support livery yards, and I know how much hard work goes into running them. They are the reason so many people can have horses, and they play a vital role in equestrian life. But things have to change.

When livery yards are licensed, winter turnout must be a legal requirement. Sweden has already made it law, thereโ€™s no reason we canโ€™t do the same.

Keeping horses locked up for months isnโ€™t just outdated, itโ€™s wrong. It goes against everything we know about equine welfare.

No more excuses. No more normalizing stabling for months. Itโ€™s time for change.

๐ˆ๐Ÿ ๐š ๐ฒ๐š๐ซ๐ ๐œ๐š๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ, ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐›๐ž ๐จ๐ฉ๐ž๐ง, ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐š๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ.

Itโ€™s just wonderful to see this post! Barefoot high performing EVENT horses! ๐Ÿ‘
01/02/2025

Itโ€™s just wonderful to see this post! Barefoot high performing EVENT horses! ๐Ÿ‘

Find a worthy home for your Unwanted hoofbootsโ€ฆ..please read!
14/12/2024

Find a worthy home for your Unwanted hoofbootsโ€ฆ..please read!

The meaning of charity at Christmas.. this is a long post but please do take the time to read and share.

Recently, one of our wonderful customers, Hannah, sent us a pair of Cavallo Cute Little Boots that didn't suit her smallest equine. She asked us to find a new home for them as she had no use for them and wanted to donate them to someone in need.

Being based in the South West, we have several equine charities that are local to Hoof Bootique. However, due to the boots being so tiny (M1 Regular - 70cm maximum!) there was one charity that immediately came to mind. Everyone, please go and follow Munchkins Miniature Shetland Rescue.

Munchkins are currently caring for 62 of our smallest equine companions, many of whom have serious health conditions that mean they cannot be rehomed. We are sending Hannah's tiny hoof boots to them, so even if they do not fit any of their residents, they can auction them to raise much needed funds AND the hoof boots will find a new home.

On top of this, Cavallo themselves reached out to us asking if we had any stories we wished to share. We just had to tell them about Hannah's generosity! Cavallo have also offered to give Munchkins gift vouchers to auction off alongside the hoof boots, to try and raise as much money as possible this winter.

In the South West, we have recently suffered our first few winter storms and Munchkins were hit hard by Storm Bert. Their brand new track system, a lifeline for so many of their ponies, was all but destroyed! They have set up a Go Fund Me page, which we would appreciate being shared far and wide. If you can spare a few pounds this Christmas, please give these guys a chance to rebuild.

https://gofund.me/c90c44a6

Photo Credit: Lucas Barribal (seriously talented equine photographer!)

If you have hoof boots that are in good condition and you wish to donate them, please send them through to us (with a note so we know your wishes) and we'll do the rest. You can find our postal address here: https://hoofbootique.co.uk/returns-policy/

What a fabulous result - and hopefully another nail in the coffin for yards which lock horses up all winter due to the g...
02/12/2024

What a fabulous result - and hopefully another nail in the coffin for yards which lock horses up all winter due to the groundโ€ฆ.
CONGRATULATIONS Graveney Equine: Horse Track System ๐Ÿพ๐Ÿ’

Congratulations to Graveney Equine: Horse Track System on becoming Livery Yard of the Year 2024 sponsored by Westgate Labs!

LOVING the wool boot pads! Naturally anti-bacterial and also moisture absorbing  - no more smelly booted feet! Before on...
06/11/2024

LOVING the wool boot pads! Naturally anti-bacterial and also moisture absorbing - no more smelly booted feet!
Before on the left after about 3 weeks use during the day for turnout on a trackโ€ฆ
On the right, after a quick hand wash with a bit of non-bio laundry liquidโ€ฆ.
Like new!!

A lovely result at a hoofboot fitting appointment! After struggling to keep any boot straight, on the dishing LF particu...
22/10/2024

A lovely result at a hoofboot fitting appointment! After struggling to keep any boot straight, on the dishing LF particularly, and the previous boot fitting advice not working, I was pleased to step in with some gait assessment to get the best boot and pad option working for usability AND comfort of the horse!

This was a nice message to receive:

โ€œHappy days I adjusted the front straps to make a tighter fit and did the same ride as yesterday came back and look at this photo two straight hoof boots and no dramas - this is an amazing high five moment thanks to you. I am so made up, thanks Sally๐Ÿ˜โ€

The big photo is the green cavallo boots working well with the padding arrangement changed, after a decent hack including trot and canter. The pads used also improved the horseโ€™s comfort and therefore landing. The two other photos show the previous boots extremely twisted through almost 90 degrees after a short trot up the road!

All down to my Equine Podiatry experience plus fit kits from The Hoof Boot Shop ๐Ÿ‘Œ

Iโ€™m now pleased to be offering aHOOF BOOT FITTING SERVICEas a SEPARATE service to my podiatry/trimming work.I carry a wi...
06/10/2024

Iโ€™m now pleased to be offering a
HOOF BOOT FITTING SERVICE
as a SEPARATE service to my podiatry/trimming work.
I carry a wide range of fit kits and sizing information, and also advise on pad options to get you and your horse โ€˜booted and sortedโ€™
FITTING CONSULTATION: ยฃ50 (within 30 mins of BS40)
โ€˜BOLT-ONโ€™ a Management/Nutrition/Work Plan consultation and review with recommendations, for an extra ยฃ30.

I may travel further for an additional charge and/or Yard visits.

Boots (+ / - Pads) can help in many ways:
๐Ÿด Increase the comfort of your horse
๐Ÿด And therefore increase the usability of your barefoot horse
๐Ÿด Enable you to do more than you could barefoot, whilst your horse transitions from shoes
๐Ÿด Many horses struggle barefoot - often because of unavoidable management constraints - boots can be a great compromise when โ€˜idealโ€™ isnโ€™t possible (and realistically when is it?)!
๐Ÿด Used correctly, they can help to improve the structures, health and strength of the hooves - helping to develop the best possible foot under your horse - and therefore increase the usability
๐Ÿด Help recovery from many pathologies
๐Ÿด Provide protection as and when necessary for rougher conditions or perhaps to preserve some foot to โ€˜burn offโ€™ for a specific event?
๐Ÿด 14 years of experience working as an EP means that I can thoroughly assess the hooves and recommend which boot/pad options will be best for you and your horse.

All with a 10% off your first order! At
The Hoof Boot Shop

So whoever provides the Hoofcare for your horse, do give me a call or drop me a message on 07990 973913

I am delighted to be hosting this at the yard - Charmaine started my slightly โ€˜alternativeโ€™ journey with Tod with severa...
20/12/2023

I am delighted to be hosting this at the yard - Charmaine started my slightly โ€˜alternativeโ€™ journey with Tod with several mind blowing communications which put us both on a very different path and has led me to where I am today on a lot of levels - some of you know the storyโ€ฆ.๐Ÿคฏ be prepared to listenโ€ฆ..

๐ŸคฉI'm excited to let be able to let you know about this animal communication workshop I'm offering next year. It's going to be a day of being together, learning with each other and the horses, and maybe Spike the dog too.
๐ŸดWe'll be exploring different ways guiding our own bodies into a still place, enabling us to be ready to listen with the animals and then looking at the different ways animals communicate with us and how we all receive information differently so you can gain deeper insights and understandings into your own personally unique ways of communicating with others.

๐ŸถThere is more info on the website and please feel free to let your friends know........ https://www.amazingmind.co.uk/workshops-and-events.html

Address

West Town Lane, Nempnett Thrubwell
Bristol
BS407XE

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