Anyone any experience of collapsed heels?

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Dreckly

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When farrier came to visit last week, he said that my boy's heels were starting to collapse. To remedy this, as you probably all know, he has cut the toes a bit shorter and left the shoes a little longer at the back (now wearing OR boots for turnout).

Unfortunately my boy has been a little sore on these feet on the hard stuff/uneven ground.

Farrier, is v good and has been back to check him and has removed two nails at the front for the time being (he has quarter clips on), and he is getting better.

Does anyone have any experience of this and do you feel this will happen every time he is shod until we get the heels up?

It has to be done but a little concerned at my boy having sore feet!!
 
is this the same farrier you have had for a while? if so then it is him who has actually collapsed the heels. the primary cause is bad shoeing, long toes low heels. the heels should be taken wider as well as longer to encourage the heels outwards. My farrier was collapsing my horses by shoeing too tight into the frog, leaving toes long and he is a well respected farrier.

You could ask the farrier to put in heel wedges which will lift his heels, but alter the angle of the foot to where it should be. mimicking the additional length you need in the heel.

Also check has he actually just set the shoe on further back and dumped the toe, if this is the case then actually it is not improving the situation. It just looks like it has.
 
Hi Bosworth - no he is an excellant farrier - the error was mine - he has had a long time between shoeings this time as I completely forgot to book him in before my farrier went on holiday - so it is my fault that the toes have got long - my vet always comments on how well he does my boy. The farrier thinks it will only take a copule of shoeings to put this right - and he is doing just as you suggest.
 
My horse had collapsed heels when I bought him - his feet were very poor and he had very long toes. In the year that I have had him, they have improved so much they look like completely different hooves. He is shod in bar shoes so the bar across the back of the shoe supports the heel and encourages the heel to grow down and the foot becomes more upright. Theyve worked really well so far.
 
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