UNHealthy Barefoot Feet

This is a very bad foundered 6 year old horse that has had too much orthopedic treatment: a resection and shoes.

Radiograph of Unhealthy Founder

Of course shod horses are inherently unhealthy but this is an extreme example Medio-lateral imbalance.
The readiograph of this foot shows joint adaptation in addition to heel shear and contraction.

This is a 20+ year old Tennessee Walker. He has severe contraction and overgrowth of horn.
Note the almost horizontal hairline in the lateral view.
This is from a lifetime of being in shoes then in the last few years, having the shoes removed and the feet neglectfully untrimmed.

This coffin bone is very deformed from repeated laminitis even though it is ground parallel. Compare this to a healthy radiograph below.

The blue and red lines show the great concavity in this foot and the pink line shows how high up in the hoof capsule this coffin bone is.

Radiograph of Healthy Bare Foot

Joint Adaptation from imbalanced trim/shoeing job

Trying to rehabilitate horse's feet when there is extreme tissue necrosis is a very dangerous prospect. This necrotic tissue is toxic and some horses have endured years and years of damage. As long as the shoes are tight enough to negate circulation, the horse's body may have been able to deal with the small amount of toxicity. But when their shoes are removed and their feet are trimmed, they can face a long road to recovery and even if their feet become healthy again, they may sustain irrepairable damage to liver and kidneys with the process.

When it's time to give up or not start....:'-(

Many people want to believe that barefooting their horse can be the answer to foot problems and so very often it can be. But there are times when removing shoes and/or trimming unhealthy feet can do more harm than good. There is no doubt that extreme cases have been improved, but these are the facts that are sometimes not considered:

1. Damage to other organs of the body. If there is too much necrosis for the body to deal with, the horse's heart, kidneys and liver may give out. It may cause the horse to "have to be put down" due to "colic" when an undiscovered reality, the colic was due to liver or kidney pain or failure from dealing with all the necrotic tissues in the hooves.
2.  Pain. When unhealthy necrotic hooves are trimmed to restore circulation, there is a tremendous toxic burden on the body. Pain from abscessing can be very intense.
3. Expense. Restoring correct hoof form and function takes precise trimming and rehabilitation efforts that may be beyond the reach of many horse owners that have a life. It's a time, effort and monetary expense. Even after all the rehab, if the prognosis for the horse is to live continually in a state of uselessness, pain and and depression, the owner has spent all efforts to naught.
4. Ignorance among professionals. Unfortunately, the horse's foot has long been the domain of the horse shoer. And because shoeing, like cigarette smoking, can be done for years without harm, we all know that there is a danger from both. With shoeing, the reduction of sensation in the foot leads to the horse being able to be used for many years without issues until one day, issues arise. Because veterinarians are still dealing with the education of a flawed understanding of the horse's foot function, they are at the mercy of their experience with shod horses. Some vets are learning, but progress to enlighten the whole industry has been slow. So horse professionals; trainers, veterinarians and farriers may not be helpful in dealing with hoof problems. It's best to find a well-educated and experienced hoofcare professional. And many people are self educated to one degree or another. The best resource out for education to date is John Stewart's Understanding the Horse's Feet. I highly recommend this book to all owners and professionals.