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Osslets and arthritis in cold weather; Better with Shoes or ok to be barefoot?
Topic Started: Jan 20 2007, 06:17 AM (128 Views)
Petey's Mom
I Visited Candy Mountain and All I Got Was This Lousy Incision
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This thread is not to be a debate of barefoot vs. shoes!

I have a 7 y.o. OTTB who is arthtitic in cold weather due to osslets. He currently has front shoes on and is on Corta-Flex. He's pasture pet since my SO doesn't ride him (and I have another horse I ride) so he just enjoys life doing nothing. If he's ridden in cold weather which may happen once a month, it takes him approx. 10 minutes to warm up and not be sore. Last winter he was barefoot and seemed ok but it took approx. 10 minutes to quit being ouchy. He is fairly sound and is turned out in a large pasture 12 hours a day, comes in at night.

I had to put front shoes on him last summer due to the dry ground and his feet were chipping away to nothing. His feet are in pretty good shape now and he wears shoes without any issue.

My question is would is better to leave the shoes on him or would he be as comfortable without shoes? No flames, but I don't want to pay for somethng that really doesn't help him be more comfortable. I already pay for his supplement and not sure if it even helps him.
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WalkTheLine
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We're on a bridge, Chaaaaaaaaarlie!
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Honestly I've found that ALL the OTTBs I've owned/ridden needed shoes up front ... only a few had osselets so I don't think that was a factor. I was able to get a way with leaving a few of them barefoot behind if they weren't in heavy training.
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