Any experience of egg/heart bars with wedges?

T

TPO

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Bit of a long one but I'll try to keep it as short as possible.

My mum bought a QH mare in April 2007(unvetted). She arrived 2wks after she was bought due to transport company/logistics. A week later and she was "pottery". Got vet out, he x-rayed and referred plates. Vet hospital said there was a tiny cyst on off fore navicular bone but too small to operate on or worry about. Vet prescribed danolin and said that was that. Up until then mum had been dealing with vet, I wasn't happy as her hocks were swollen and she was still lame. Vet came back out and said arthritis (no plates taken),hocks were just up because they were compenstating for being lame in front and just to give her danolin.

During this time I've also had drama with farriers and an inability to find a good one. At one point I was so desperate I got an EP out. I now have a good farrier and he said to keep her unshod when I asked about remedial shoeing. I was also concerned about her toe being too long and HPA etc but was basically laughed of as being neurotic and that everything was fine.

Getting to my point. I've managed to find and equine practice not in my area but will come out to my 3. I think I'm in love with this practice already after first visit this morning. Just so good. However part of being so good was that he diagnosed my QH (as much as he could without seeing x-ray) and laid out my options which for an uninsured 15yo were limited to remedial shoeing. Egg/Heart bar (I think egg but can't remember which for sure) with wedges and gel sole (again, head like mush, can't remember technical term).

In 75% of horses this makes a vast improvement. Currently my mare lands toe first and this shoeing will help rememdy that and relieve pressure. However altering the foot in this way can sometimes make things worse and cause greater pressure on DDFT and horse just says no...

My original vet did mention to my mum (so I've got it 3rd hand) something about the cyst being positioned next to DDFT and would/could cause "fraying" of the tendon. If that is right then this remedial shoeing will most definitely leave horse saying no...
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New vet has requested plate from my old vet and will re X-ray to see if there is any change. He is also phoning my farrier and arranging to be there at the same time for the appointment. Like I said, new vet has been great.

So my point, amongst all this rambling, is does anyone have any good or bad experience of this type of shoeing?

Thank you
 
Heart bars have been a great sucess on OH's horse. 17hh 8years ISH type who failed the vet on one flexion but was almost mechanically lame bilaterally due to awful foot balance.
After just 8 weeks he is moving straighter and seems happier. He is working very well and is no longer suffering unsoundness the day after riding.
*top tip* from farrier is to buy neoprene over reach boots, one size too big to prevent them being pulled off as they are quite £££. Our chap has hunted on thick muddy clay inc jumping and *touches wood* hasnt lost one yet!
 
Bar wedge pads with gel worked wonders on my old boy and allowed his heels to rebuild. We would shoe like that for 3 or 4 sets over the summer, when the hard ground would break the heels down again, then normal shoes through the winter. Interestingly, a QH on our yard has similar problem in all four feet - genetics, apparently.
 
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Bar wedge pads with gel worked wonders on my old boy and allowed his heels to rebuild. We would shoe like that for 3 or 4 sets over the summer, when the hard ground would break the heels down again, then normal shoes through the winter. Interestingly, a QH on our yard has similar problem in all four feet - genetics, apparently.

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Re QHs they seem to all have tiny feet and certainly the "halter" type horses. Don't know about over here but in the US circuit exhibitors seem to trim the feet even smaller to make forearms look bigger
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So they are ideal candidates for navicular...

My mare was a Halter show horse when she was younger and certainly has small feet.

Thank you for the replies. Hopefully this will work for her
 
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In 75% of horses this makes a vast improvement. Currently my mare lands toe first and this shoeing will help rememdy that and relieve pressure. However altering the foot in this way can sometimes make things worse and cause greater pressure on DDFT and horse just says no...


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In 100% of my horses they didn't work. I am only talking about 2 horses though! Both had extensive soft tissue damage inside the front feet and were very uncomfortable in the wedge shoes, even though the farriers were very happy with the angles they set their feet at. Of course they are worth trying and I really hope they're a success for you, but always listen if your horse tells you its not comfy.
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but always listen if your horse tells you its not comfy.
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Yip always have and hopefully always will. She comes first no matter how heart breaking it is.

Someone else has recommended Cytek shoes if the wedges/eggbars don't work so that's perhaps another option if she's able.

New vets should have plates tomorrow/Monday and will no doubt x-ray again so that should shed a whole lot of light on the situation.

Fingers crossed, eh?

Thank you for the replies
 
I also had no success with heartbars and wedges - crippled the pony and I had them taken off within 3 days. The shoes were hand made specifically for the pony, but they obviously did not agree with her at all. All horses are different though, and each instance is unique to each horse, so you may well have great success with them.

As to QHs, yes TPO it is the show bred QHs that have tiny feet. My cattle stock QHs have absolutely fab feet. I did have a show QH and although she never went lame, I did decide to sell her before she did - I just had visions of trouble heading her way at some point in the future. A lot of it is genetics, they don't need good solid feet for chasing cattle around; prissing around a showring removes the necessity for good well rounded feet I guess...
 
My horse is having eggbar and gel pads for soft tissue damage .He is long in the toe and has collapsed heels so it should improve this problem. He is much more comfortable but finds it a bit difficult in the mud because the sole is flat and he slips.He is also being treated for tendon tear and I dont feel the vet would have recommended the shoes if they were detrimental to this condition.My vet and farrier are working together as well.
 
My horse didn't get on with them. Turned him away for a few months with no shoes on to let the heels grow and he is now back in normal shoes with dumped off toes to prevent too much weight on the back so the heels don't collapse again.

He has his shoes off for his holiday every year for a couple of months which also seems to help.

You can tell within a week if they suit them or not - they just walk strangely and instead of getting used to the new angle, they tend to develop a strange gait to cope with it.

You know your horse so just see how it goes. Trust your instincts.
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We have just noticed that my horse is walking on his heel ,he doesnt have a wedge just eggbar and gel pads.He also seems short in front.Could you give me a better idea of how it affected your horse thanks
 
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