This is Surf Dancer our Arab Mare.  She has been barefoot her entire life and has done extensive trailriding in Northern Wisconsin in the Nicolet National Forest and on its gravel roadways. This horse is capable of traveling miles on gravel.

Below are pictures of her Left Front foot.

This is Commanche my Quarterhorse Gelding. I purchased him as a weanling and have been the only person to trim his feet. He has never been shod, I do use boots on him as needed. His hoof picture also is on my home page. Currently he is in training.

This is Lady, She is a Welsh/Quarterhorse. My wife just loves this personable pony. She is a sweet personality to humans and can be quite the opposite with other horses.

She came to us with feet that needed a bit of attention. We have owned her since about 2002 and she has come a long way in that time. We use boots on her for riding on rocky ground.I do not know if she has ever been shod. Below is her Left front foot.

  Now here comes a moment of truth to show you that I am not perfect. I will never tell anyone that my horses feet are perfect either.

  If you look closely at Dancer, Commanche and Lady's lateral view of the hoof you will notice that about halfway down the wall there is a substantial change in growth.

WHAT HAPPENED ???  

  The answer is that in April of 2006  I added vitamins, minerals,probiotic, and oil to their diets. This caused a subclinical laminitic attack !!!  I think this because in the white hooves I can see a band of red bruising the entire circumference of the wall. This bruise is approximately 1/2 inch wide. My horses were never noticeably lame during this time.

This occurred in all three horses within the same time frame.

Commanche and Lady also exhibit erratic growth above this line for about another 1/2 inch. This was caused by a trip my wife and I took to Colorado in May, The change in diet while we were gone for three weeks caused Commanche to become tender on 5/8 inch gravel when he had not been tender when we unloaded upon arriving at our destination. While on our trip we continued to feed the vitamins, minerals, probiotic and oil. BUT, we ended up feeding Water Soaked Alfalfa cubes instead of dry grass hay. The horses movement was restricted due to being in 25' X 25' pens instead of the usual free roaming at home.

I was concerned about this situation and monitored the horses closely. I did not notice the sensitivity in Commanche until our day of departure to come home.

Upon returning home the diets went back to dry hay and supplements; you can see the 3/4 inch of new growth just below the coronary band. Not a horrible experience but disappointing for me none the less.It goes to show just how sensitive the horses digestive system is.

I do credit the probiotic use with helping to control the negative effects. As well as having a very good trim to help the entire foot to support the horses weight the way nature intended.