Linkwood
Linkwood is a 14 year old 16.3hh TBxID gelding. 
He came to me eight years ago quite thin, undernourished and with poor coat and very crumbly feet. He had "bravery issues" and would spook and bolt at the slightest provocation. He had been kept lean and hungry by his previous carer who mistakenly believed that this would make him more manageable, so he had real problems around food and was agressive towards horses and people when he had a bucket or haynet.
The first priorities were to work on his food issues, improve his condition and his sense of well being and security. These quickly improved, and he came into regular work. We began to address the issues of fearfulness with help from both Monty Roberts and then from the Parelli system.
When he came to us, Link had poor, flat feet with weak walls and he had significant mediolateral balance issues behind and cracked, mismatched feet in front. He had difficulty keeping shoes on and often one or more shoes would be off within a few days of the farrier putting them on! It was frustrating, but also it meant his hooves were never getting a chance to recover - constantly breaking the wall down. It also didn't help that he was a real monster for the farrier!
Right: Barefoot on a recent 15k fun ride
At one point Link had a size 3 and a size 4 shoe on his front feet, and had quite significant balance issues on his back feet.
Over time our farrier Ron Aitken had managed to get both front feet to a size four and they were an almost evenly matched pair, and also went some way to addressing the balance issues on the hind feet. Although they were still imbalanced, they were as good as they were going to get in shoes.
Left: Significant imbalances in the hoof
Left: Contracted heels, with an infected central sulcus.
Had to regularly clean this out with gauze and hibiscrub
The right help, at the right time. Being prepared.
Getting the right help and encouragement from knowledeable people can really help you to make the step of transitioning to barefoot smoothly and with more confidence.
To be completely honest, I was quite sceptical that barefoot would work for my horse, and had a number of people telling me that even to consider this was madness, but at the same time I was becoming increasingly aware that there were issues with keeping him shod that I could not reconcile with my goals for his long term health.
Going barefoot is not simply about taking off the shoes - there are many aspects to going barefoot which I had not even begun to consider before I met Anni Stonebridge, an Aberdeenshire based trimmer and hoof specialist. I met Anni through a friend who had taken her horse Max barefoot very successfully, and Anni had also taken my wife's horse barefoot. There is a link to Anni's web site in the "Useful Links" section, and she has some very good success stories to share.
Anni clearly answered all of my questions around the whole process of going barefoot, and addressed the concerns and objections that I had. Anni gave me the information that I needed to prepare for transitioning Link, but just as important, she supported me and built my confidence in a successful outcome if I got the preparation, diet and management correct.
It made such a big difference simply feeling supported and well prepared in myself to make that change, as I was quite concerned about the possible difficulties or discomfort for my horse. Anni recomended that I make significant changes to Link's diet which are explained below. Anni continues to visits Link on a quarterly basis to provide continuity of care, and to guide my trimming him and she has contributed tremendously to his success in adapting to working barefoot.
Going Barefoot.
Anni took Link's shoes off in August 2007. Initially his soles were tender and sensitive, but within four weeks he developed some concavity and became confident over most surfaces. Anni had asked me to buy Easy Boot Bares with comfort pads in preparation for transition and they really helped him to cope with the rougher surfaces. He only really needed them for a short time, but Anni's point was that having the boots and pads would prevent him from becoming concerned and worried about walking over uneven or rough surfaces. If he got it into his head that it was going to be uncomfortable, then he would continue to be hesitant and concerned.
Left: Here is a photograph of his front foot, with the shoe that Anni took off that foot laid against it so you can see the change in shape of the hoof since de-shoeing.
Note how much wider the heels are and how much longer the hoof capsule is than it was in shoes. It amazes me that his heels ever fitted on these shoe branches!
His hooves always looked small, and now they look right in proportion his build. Although his feet have decontracted significantly there is still heel development to complete.
One of the long term goals with Link is to continue to address medio-lateral imbalances in his hind feet. These are brought about by conformational challenges making him land outside first. They are greatly improved now, and his hooves are probably as good as they will get.
It is interesting to note that the farrier put him in lateral extensions behind, but when he was allowed to grow his hooves himself, he grew the right hind with a more natural angle on the lateral side and threw out flare on the medial aspect- now I find myself leaving that bit of deviation on the medial aspect because he is just more sound with it than without - he appears to be growing the hoof he needs to support the column of leg above it, and now that his hoof is not constrained by the shoe he can grow what he needs.
Link also had a twisted back foot. Over time this has changed and he has grown a more balanced hoof. Along with the improved level of comfort has been an improved temperamant as the low grade continuous discomfort has faded.
Left: In Feb 2008, about 6 months after his shoes came off. Note the start of an improved angle on the medial aspect.
Right: AS his back feet are in March 2010, a much improved hoof capsule, and a much straighter P1/P2/P3 allignment, and a much happier horse!
Dietary Changes
Link had regular colic episodes, at one point as frequently as once a month. I've no need to explain to a fellow horse owner how frightening that can be! Thank heavens for Buscopan.
Before taking him barefoot, I had to get his environment right and his diet right to give him the best chance of going shoe-less successfully.
Around that same time, I was frequently unwell with serious migraine headaches and continual heartburn. Gaviscon, Stemitil and Imigran injections were my best friends!
My nutritionist wife suggested that I try a completely grain free exclusion diet - the effect was immediate - no more migraine and no more upset stomachs. That meant no bread, breakfast cereals, pasta. biscuits and so on. The exclusion diet was an immediate success. No more migraine, what a relief.
That got me thinking. Perhaps grains might be an issue for Link? So I phased out all of the grains from his diet - no more mixes, no grain based supplements or feed balancers, and definitely no mollasses. So from a fairly conventional diet of molassed Alfalfa, a bagged muesli mix and supplements and a feed ballancer, Link went on to Anni Stonebridge's approved diet of Greengold, Linseed meal, seaweed, brewer's yeast, unmollassed beet pulp, MagOx and various herbs.
Above: Link and I met the man himself at Gleneagles.
Monty helped us begin to overcome a number of behaviour problems
The effect of the dietary change was more or less immediate. I had a colic free horse. Better still, a calmer, more content and self confident horse was emerging. The effects of this new diet really didn't take long to show - a massively improved temperament, ability to cope with spooky things, calmer, inquisitive and even cheeky, a superb coat, improved soundness and really great horn quality. I believe the linseed meal has been the key for his joint health, the seaweed and MagOx the key for his hoof quality, and the brewers yeast the key for his anxieties.
People who knew "Loony Link" in his younger days often comment that he is a completely changed person! So laid back. Those who used to dread me asking "Can we come out hacking with you?" just cannot believe the changes in his behaviour! He's now the best behaved horse on a hack!
Ditching the bit, solving the headshaking
Another major milestone for Link was removing the bit. He was a serious headshaker, but only when ridden. I had the vet examine his eyes, ears, teeth, even up his nose! I had his saddle checked and his back, neck and pelvis checked out by a physio. Absolutely nothing was found so I came to the only available conclusion - it was behavioural rather than physiological in origin.
Left: "Pssst Tom, haven't you heard...bits are sooo last year"
I purchased a beautifully made Elevator Bridle from http://www.elevatorbridles.co.uk/ which is heavilly padded and cut away from the ears. This was much better, but he still shook his head around and got stressed.
We had been using a plain snaffle. It is often said that a snaffle is the gentle bit, and suitable for novice riders. Based on my experience, I would disagree. The snaffle has a nutcracker action which means that it squeezes the lower jaw, crushing tongue against canine teeth and bars, adding to the nutcracker action is the jabbing to the hard palate by the hinge of the snaffle bit - even the losenge types. After one particularly bad headshaking day I gave his mouth a really good examination and found that there were small petechiae all along the underside of his tongue where the bit compressed it against the bars, and also this top palate had a red and tender bruise on it.
At the recommendation of Hillary Vernon of the Bit Bank we went onto a Myler Comfort snaffle - this is a thinner bit with tongue relief which is suitable for horses like Link who have a smaller space between the tongue and roof of the mouth. Myler snafles do not have a nutcracker action and the sides of the bit articulate independantly - but they can still put pressure on the tongue and bars. It was better, but not the solution.
The solution came from Parelli. The Parelli system encourages riders to learn to ride with one rein and a simple soft rope headcollar before moving on to the Parelli Hackamore. No headshaking at all. So now we ride in the Parelli hackamore for school work, jumping and hacking. Link is relaxed and hapy in the hackamore, and we can do everything in the hackamore that we did in a bit and bridle, but with much greater comfort.
Alison Jones, a 3* Parelli instructor gave us a great deal of help with out groundwork and with our ridden work. Like all riders I thought "I have light hands and I don't balance on the reins" but she said "that's not what your horse is telling you, and he only knows how to tell you the truth". Over the last three years I have worked very hard at my riding skills to try to become self supporting, balanced and fluid, and become easier and less frustrating for my horse to carry!
People often ask how I can possibly feel safe hacking out in a Parelli Hackamore - well - it's all about relationship, and it's about understanding his personality, the way he sees things and reacts to them, about how to get him to stop reacting and start thinking. It is about love, language and leadership. In any case I feel that the "safety" given by a bit and bridle is entirely illusory - if you aren't safe hacking in a simple hackamore then a bit and bridle does not make it "safe".
Today
I now have a happy, relaxed and healthy barefoot horse who is an absolute pleasure to own and ride. Like most horses he can be a bit jumpy on windy days, but now has the emotional and mental resources now to dig deep and cope with it and not let things escalate out of control.
Link now has the very important job of teaching my son Ben (10) and daughter Becky (12) to ride and jump, and he is loving every minute of it!
People who have known Link for years cannot believe this is the same horse.
Ben & Link - A wee lad and his horse
When Link joined our family, Ben was a tiny little lad of 18 months and his Mum was still breast feeding him. At that time, Link would stand with his forehead flat against Mum's chest with his eyes closed and rythmically rock back and forward in a deeply relaxed state – at that time it was so rare that Link allowed himself to relax and show trust that this unusual behaviour seemed almost magical to us.
Link and Ben have always had a fantastic relationship and Link really looks after him in saddle – Ben has always ridden Link up to the field, but over the last couple of years Ben has mostly been riding Link since his litle pony Squacko passed away. The bond between the two of them is something very special indeed, and their riding together is lovely to watch.
Linkwood is my teacher and my friend, and the very best horse anyone could ever ask for. I've never had a horse like him before, and probably never will again.