A question about hooves

[Janah]

A friend of mine has a 5 year old pony. She has him shod in front to prevent 'flares' developing on his front hooves to which he is very prone. Does shoeing correct this or is it going against his natural hoof shape?

He regularly loses a shoe, 3 times in last 12 weeks.

Would she be better to have more regular trims or carry on shoeing?

He is shod every 6 weeks at present.

Jane

 

[maggiesmum]

Is it flare or wall deviation? If its flare then the diet needs addressing so that he can grow a better connected hoof with a tighter white line, if its wall deviation then the foot is compensating for something else. Either way shoes won't fix it and I always feel that a horse that pulls shoes that often is trying to tell me something.

If it were mine i'd take the shoes off but then I take the shoes off everything anyway. ;-)

 

[Oberon]

Diet. Diet. Diet!