Your horse may appear uncomfortable, feeling the ground during the early days of transition. But that’s only because he couldn’t feel the ground at all wearing shoes.
Now you can be proud of yourself! Blood is pumping back to the horse’s feet, strengthening the weakened hoof structures and feeding the starved white line.
For goodness sake don’t quit now! Many are tempted to return to shoes at this point. It’s the worst possible side effect of rider frustration.
On the other end of the spectrum are those who try ‘tough love’, forcing their horse to walk on harsh terrain. This only slows the process further.
Transition isn’t just about building harder soles. Your biggest job is to strengthen the white line. A white line starved by shoes allows the hoof’s coffin bone to meet with the sensitive sole corium. The soles feel sore, and need rest as you bring the white line back to good health.
To aide your horse through transition…
Adopt the ‘White Line Strategy’ where flaring occurs. This involves bringing the mustang roll all the way to the edge of the sole. Your horse may be a little sore, but not as sore as he’d be with a stretched White Line.
Use hoof boots on harsher terrain. And insert sole pads if your horse needs them after trimming.
Trim frequently. It does far more good to adopt a strategy of ‘little and often’. You’ll notice any slight changes in your horse’s hooves, and act long before it becomes a serious issue. Flare is one of the most common problems to keep on top of during transition.
Keep your horse turned out as much as possible (ideally 24 hours a day).
It can take over a year for a horse to fully transition, depending on the extent of their hoof damage. But those adopting these strategies have reduced that time to a matter of weeks.
As mentioned, patience is your most valuable ally when solving barefoot issues. Never is that more true than during transition.
Act as if you have all year, and it may well take you only a month. Act as if you have a month, and it may well take all year.