Hooves on Track

13/11/2024

They all seem rather worn out after a good blast earlier! 🐎

12/11/2024

Winter wollies in the sunshine 🌞

11/11/2024

This lovely little exracer is Ruby 🐎 She had been barefoot for around 3 months when Tony took over her hoofcare back in July 2023 when there was evidence of rotation from laminitis, and with thin soles her feet were very splayed and underrun and she was very sore. Her rehabilitation has involved pad walking and some maintenance work from her humans in between Tony's visits, and she is now well on the road to recovery. Whilst there are still lots of improvements to be made to Ruby's hooves, she has just started jumping bitless and barefoot, she is comfortable hacking without boots and she can now use the hayfeeder in her field which is on rocks and had to be moved last year 💪🐴

Spot the photo bomb from Lily 🖤🤍 🥰

08/11/2024

Doesn't Beaky look fantastic! 🧡

07/11/2024

Lilly's shoes were removed by Tony just over a year ago and despite being told previously that she would never jump, she doesn't seem to be doing a bad job!

01/11/2024

Tony started working with Rio around June last year because he was terrified of the farrier and having his feet or body touched in general. It's taken some time but Rio was confident enough yesterday for the first time to allow Tony to place his feet onto the stand whilst being trimmed. He was also relaxed enough to steal Tony's wire brush 🤣🥰

29/10/2024

Such a beautiful morning on the track today 🌞

26/10/2024

After such a lovely, warm, and sunny week here, it certainly feels like the seasons are changing today, just in time for the clocks to go back tomorrow when we can all look forward to feeding in the dark! 🍂 If anyone has any great winter survival tips for fellow horsey peeps, do post below ⏬️

25/10/2024

It's baby Gareth 🌟💛

Look who has graduated to the big boy stand 😂💛 Hooves on Track

24/10/2024

We're seeing nice improvements in the angles - the foot is becoming more upright with a much less curved coronet band at the heel. Although there is still work to do on the heels, the back of the foot is already much stronger. This horse is on a three week trim cycle, with the owner maintaining the hooves between visits.

23/10/2024

Quick snack for Blondie mid groom 🤣🐴

23/10/2024

We would never expect a human who spends most of their day idle with no friends, to be in good physical or mental health, so we shouldn't be surprised when we keep our horses this way, they get sick. Horses need friends, forage and freedom in order to thrive, otherwise they are just existing, and they deserve so much better.

How many hours a horse should be turned out is still a topic of ongoing research, but studies consistently show that longer turnout times significantly improve horse health and welfare. Horses are naturally designed to graze and roam freely throughout the day, and when confined to stables for extended periods, they may develop physical and mental health issues.

One study published in 'Applied Animal Behaviour Science' found that horses benefit from a minimum of 12 hours of daily turnout, as it allows for natural behaviours like grazing and socialising. Horses turned out for less time may experience stress-related behaviours, such as cribbing and weaving, which are often signs of frustration and boredom in confined animals. Another study published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science confirmed that horses with more turnout time (over 6 hours) had better musculoskeletal health, fewer incidences of lameness, and healthier hooves.

Turnout also impacts digestion. Studies have shown that horses who are allowed to graze freely have a lower risk of developing ulcers since continuous grazing keeps stomach acids in check. Horses kept indoors for too long are more prone to digestive disorders and colic, as they lack the opportunity to graze, which is their natural feeding pattern.

While full-day turnout is ideal for most horses, it’s not possible for all horse owners, which is why we recommend aiming for at least 6-12 hours! 🕜

21/10/2024

Well done to our Barefoot Ambassadors, Sarah and Sapphire, who jumped a super double clear at Great Witchingham, yesterday, finishing in 2nd place in the 100cm event 🏇🥇👏 Despite some pretty heinous weather conditions yesterday, Sapphire was raring to go on the xc course! Who needs shoes?!

20/10/2024

It's always nice to see track systems popping up and this one looks lovely 🍃🐴

20/10/2024

The top image popped up from 11 years ago today, and as you can see, we did things a little differently then! Apart from Thimble, everyone was clipped and rugged by mid October, and with hindsight, this has been one of our biggest regrets now that we understand how this can disrupt their natural circannual rhythm and we do seriously question now how this might influence endocrine problems later in life. Although the horses were living out 24/7 on 12 acres and were all in full work, we did nothing otherwise to encourage them to move, and reluctantly admit that we used to drive a trailer full of water upto the top of the land just incase they got thirsty and were incapable of walking back to the stable area. Nowadays, the herd is kept very differently, as shown in the video taken yesterday, and every decision we make is about finding ways to encourage more natural behaviour and lots of movement. We have seen many improvements since we adapted our way of managing the horses, such as improved hoof health, no more laminitis, no obesity or EMS symptoms, and much healthier and settled horses all round.

19/10/2024

There is often some hesitancy with owners around whether or not horses can do driven work without shoes, so we thought we would share this image of one of our clients, Tilly, with her humans, competing in the Norfolk Indoor driving qualifier at Easton College earlier this month, where they finished in 2nd place 👏 Tony removed Tilly's shoes just over a year ago and she alternates between ridden and driving work. On driven schooling days, she is schooled barefoot, then driven barefoot for around 3 miles on the road, and she competes indoors and out barefoot. She does use boots on some days in between and for driven work of 5 miles or more, so she has a good mix of stimulation and plenty of movement. Her humans are also very proactive when it comes to managing Tilly's diet, which really helps the condition and health of her hooves overall.

18/10/2024

This is how quick and easy it is to provide your horse with somewhere dry to stand whilst they eat their hay, whether kept on grass or a track. The last picture is where we found Beaky this morning. The area is now quite poached but Beaky's hooves were off of the mud and dry for the time he was eating, which is what's important.