After going through a slew of Farriers in our area, we've decided to do it ourselves. For one reason or another, they all seem to talk a good line, with the same results. They all seem to agree on one thing though. If your horse gets footy, we can put shoes back on them. Well, Doh! That sort of defeats the purpose of going barefoot and building a good foundation from the inside out. We've been doing our part. Our feeding regime has been low sugar consentrates, good hay without all the added fertilizers and no sugary treats. Our pasture is not ferilized either and they have plenty of other forage to pick at.The last time our farrier came out. Mind you, he was the fourth one we interviewed and decided to try. I'm certainly not saying he's incapable of doing a good job putting shoes on a horse, but he doesn't want to do it the way I want it done. After two weeks, I needed him to come and do some work, and he recommended I wait another four to six weeks to trim them again. Except for the fact!, they had grown significantly in the two weeks since his previous visit, because he hadn't taken enough off in the first place. Ack! Since we ride almost every day, the horses hooves are growing quickly and they need regular care so we can lower the heels gradually instead of all at once. I mean, after all, I don't want a lame horse, do to over extention of their tendons during the proccess.
