Going Barefoot Again.
Rusty has been sore again. It’s been cold. His feet hurt.
The suspected culprit has been cold or winter founder from the beginning. When it gets cold the blood vessels into the feet don’t react properly, the feet get too cold, and you have founder. I’ve been keeping his legs wrapped. The only recommended cures are warmth. It’s either ship him off to a warmer clime or keep him bundled up.
The other thing we are trying is pulling the shoes until spring. The bit of snow we have on the ground was getting balled up in the shoes causing as much trouble as the shoes were fixing. Not that snow wont ball up on bare feet, but hopefully it will be less. The distortion is almost grown all the way out. With the toes trimmed back he should still break over far enough back to keep pressure off his toe. The farrier left a good bit of heel and kept the sole off the ground far enough to keep Rusty comfortable without shoes.
Hopefully he’ll go good barefoot again. I would really prefer to keep him that way. There’s a cold spell coming in. I’m going to double up his wrappings. Keep him as warm as possible. Hopefully spring will come soon.
