At my wits' end - horse losing shoes, please any help/ideas much appreciated!

Trish C

Trish C

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Monty has thrown ANOTHER front shoe today. He threw one last Wednesday, one last Thursday and got new fronts put on Friday just gone. Just been to check on him and one is off again.

Field isn't boggy - shoe was found in a fairly dry part of the field face up (so clenches into the ground), isn't muddy so doesn't look like it's been sucked off by any bit of bog he might have found.

I've never noticed him over-reaching but wondering now whether he does? He's not the type to act the eejit in the field though - he's the proper head down and eat type, doesn't do field games.

He doesn't have the best feet in the world but he's never thrown a shoe before last wednesday. He has gone from being stabled during the day (out at night) to living out 24/7 as we have moved yards. Have had to change his feed simply as his old feed isn't available here, but content is nigh on the same and isn't a specialist hoof-feed or anything. Still on same supplement of seaweed to encourage good hoof growth and cornucrescine applied to coronet band daily.

Could the change of diet act that quickly on the hoof, is he over-reaching or is he just determined to bankrupt me and make my farrier rich?!

Any suggestions appreciated - he's wrecking his feet, it's costing me a fortune and I can't ride him :(
 
My girl over reaches and has been know on a few occasions just stand on her other foot and pull off the shoe. I always put the rubber with velcro over reach boots on her and not had a loose shoe since.
 
cuppatea said:
superglue?
Does he have a crush on your farrier?
Do you? and he has picked up on it??!!! :D:D:D
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I wish! If the farrier was even remotely good looking I wouldn't mind so much... mind if that were the case then Knobberts would look after his feet/shoes and only need seeing to once every 6 months, knowing him :rolleyes:

Lotty - never seen him come close to overreaching but may try boots and just hope he is catching himself! Does yours live out? Unsure about leaving boots on something that's out 24/7 but think that's just because I've never heard of it!
 
over reach boots in the field, possibly find a different farrier for remedial work on his feet

i have had the same problem he always pulled his shoes off at least twice between shoeings and now i have changed farrier who is doing remedial work on his feet he hasnt pulled a shoe off in 8 months, make sure his feet arnt going dry, wet, dry, wet, dry etc as this will cause them to come off easier

when he is first shod put kevin bacon hoof stuff around the nail holes or what ever you use its less the cornucrescine on the corronet band but the massaging so make sure you massage it in :) hope this helps a bit otherwise i suggest masking tape his shoes on :P
 
Hehe, I can imagine his face as I wrap an entire roll of gaffa tape around each foot :D

We've moved from one end of the country to another, and new farrier has only put these fronts on for me so will stick with him and see what he can do. If we have no luck I'll try and find someone else. Though getting hold of farriers around here is harder than justifying a creche in the vatican.

Will give the Kevin Bacon stuff a try, have heard good things about it. Just rang the mothership to ask her to pick up a pair of overreach boots on her way past saddlery.

Texted YO to tell her he'd pulled yet another one, told her where I'd found it and she said that's exactly where she'd found the other two - apparently he's taken a fancy to something over the fence in that spot so maybe he is standing on himself when he's knobbing around there. Sigh.
 
How about trying shoeless?? If you have a good farrier?

I swore i'd never take shoes off Scoobie as he had THE worst feet in the world! I put him on topspec for a few months and they started improving. It was coming up to xmas and i was going to florida for a few weeks. Farrier suggested taking them off as he wouldnt be ridden between then and the next time he was out and i begrudgingly agreed. Coming up 3 years later and he hasnt had a set of shoes since
 
Laine - I'd love to have him barefoot, but he's miserable without shoes. He had his hinds off for three weeks (couldn't get a s*dding farrier to put them on for two full weeks!) whilst he settled into the new herd and he was not a happy horsie. The track up from the field is very stony and he limped and whined the whole way up every day - same when he lost his fronts, he was in pain even standing on non-sandy/grassy ground. In the three weeks he had no hinds on he really damaged his feet, it was all the farrier could do to get a pair of grass slippers on him to pick him up off the ground there was so little foot left. As soon as they were on he was so much happier - instant transformation. I know he might eventually be ok barefoot but I don't think it's worth the amount of misery for him and it's risky with his feet being as bad as they are.

Pooooooor Knobberts!
 
get him on formula 4 feet happy hoof or feed him some rosehips - you need to get the hoof hardened up as quickly as possible.
Iodine hardens skin and hoof up.
 
Just put overreach boots on.I've done the same with Magic,when he pulled shoe off next day after shoeing:eek:.Farrier suggested put overreach boots on,and no problem.He lives out 24/7,im just checking his legs every day,no rubs,nothing.And all shoes on.
 
Have a good look at his hooves. Have they changed shape at all? Are the toes looking longer with a shallower angle? Have a look at his hooves in photos from when you first got him and compare them to now.

My chestnut had only pulled one shoe off in five years (and that was on bonfire night) and then suddenly she was losing them all the time. What had changed? Well I'd moved house and had therefore got a different farrier. Slowly her hooves had been changing shape, a tiny fraction with each trim that he did. I got a new farrier who has worked very hard to undo all the damage... and she's not losing shoes anymore.
 
My girl is a chronic shoe puller, literally will stand on the shoe with her other front and pull it off. Shoes are fitted extra tight and OH checks her every week to see of clenches have raised (which nearly always have).

He suggested I use over reach boots so I buy the £5 Roma (rubber with Velcro fastenings) over reach boots and touch wood, we've not lost a shoe since! Also I can actually see if she over reaches as parts of her boots (at the bottom) are missing!

So my suggestion is over reach boots :-) good luck! X
 
I have the solution!!!!




































knobberts.jpg
 
Trish C said:
Lotty - never seen him come close to overreaching but may try boots and just hope he is catching himself! Does yours live out? Unsure about leaving boots on something that's out 24/7 but think that's just because I've never heard of it!
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Hi, no she doesn't live out but she does have them on all day and not had any rubs :)
 
When I first got my horse he lost a shoe (or two) every set he had on, I thought that was just him and he must lose shoes like that. However since moving yards twice I've had 2 different farriers and he's not lost one shoe in two years.
 
My old connemara was constantly losing shoes. At a guess, Id say he kpt a full set on for no more than 3-4weeks at a time. I finally managed to sort it out when he had to be turned away for the summer after first losing half his dorsal hoof wall with a loose shoe and then contracting strangles. I turned him out on excellent grazing, he had 2 copper syringes approx 4 weeks apart and a daily zinc and biotin supplement. He also had cornucrescine applied to his hooves daily.

Most Irish pasture is low in Copper, high in Molybdenum, and low in zinc. I found a huge difference in 6 weeks. Worth a try! Most of the TB studs around here use Keratex hoofhardner as well as the above.

ETA - he was dun and had the typical "burnt ends" effect to his hair that you would expect of Cu deficiency - a bit more difficult to spot on your guy! ;)
 
How does your farrier shoe? Hot or cold and does he make the shoes or buy them in. Many buy them in as its cheaper and saves hours of their time so they shape the hoof to fit the shoe not the other way round.
 
Trish C said:
HAAAAA!

You have too much time on your hands :p

(Am p!$$ing myself laughing here)

And red to clash with his orangeness as well, love it! :D
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ummm, yeah, was a little bit bored....
They are hunters on him though (red was on sale, im not forking out too much money just for a better colour after what he did to my chandellier and next doors window boxes!) so it'll only be a couple of months before they split, i'd get some muckboots or dubarrys on him for next time if i were you.
 
ISH_lover said:
Overreach boots do wonders as i know how you feel, just keep them on him when out in the field :)
Is he lazy with his front legs?
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He's actually not... used to be lazy behind but is getting better. But normally very good infront. He's just a knob :D

glenruby said:
Most Irish pasture is low in Copper, high in Molybdenum, and low in zinc. I found a huge difference in 6 weeks. Worth a try! Most of the TB studs around here use Keratex hoofhardner as well as the above.

ETA - he was dun and had the typical "burnt ends" effect to his hair that you would expect of Cu deficiency - a bit more difficult to spot on your guy! ;)
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Thanks glenruby - will check all that stuff out! :)

Kaylum said:
How does your farrier shoe? Hot or cold and does he make the shoes or buy them in. Many buy them in as its cheaper and saves hours of their time so they shape the hoof to fit the shoe not the other way round.
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Cold though he prefers hot but he can't just atm (techincal problem with his van) and he made the shoes for Knobberts, as he didn't have any big enough in his 'standard' sizes. Made them fit very nicely IMO, pandered to his stupid feet very well!

cuppatea said:
ummm, yeah, was a little bit bored....
They are hunters on him though (red was on sale, im not forking out too much money just for a better colour after what he did to my chandellier and next doors window boxes!) so it'll only be a couple of months before they split, i'd get some muckboots or dubarrys on him for next time if i were you.
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Poooor chandelier, and those window boxes are so far beyond repair... they can't even be passed off for mini-nature reserve swamp/bog land :( I will in my backside get him Dubarrys! Imagine what a challenge he'd see in that amount of money... they'd be worth more than him! :D

He now has a brand new shiny pair of *cheap* overreach boots on. I am putting money on there not being a pair of overreach boots on when I check on him tomorrow. I will even go so far as to say that I don't even expect to find one of the pair... I'm guessing one will be still be JUST attached. Fingers crossed he'll still have the other front shoe though!

Vandal.
 
My old boy pulled front shoes off sometimes when I bought him. My farrier put back shoes on his front hooves (so that there are 2 rather than 1 clips) and that mostly sorted the problem.
 
Mine pulls his off when he's grazing on a bank and the action of moving up her 1stly tears his rubber boot and then once thats gone then the shoes next. He's better now but at only point I was getting through 10 sets of booys a month and having to get farrier twice more.

BIG over reach boots- I ride mine in large and turn him out in extra large- which seems to be the turning point!

Moving next week to flat field!!!
 
Echo what someone said above about Shoe Secure.

They are fantastic, a girl on my yard uses them on her horse who was pulling shoes everyday, and hasn't now in months. They are a bit awkward at first but you soon get the hang of it (friend does it in minutes now). Highly recommended!!!!
 
Agree that it could be the farrier - have had at least two over the last 20 years whose shoes fell off with the least provocation!
Might also be worth checking the fencing if you've moved yards. I was at a yard where the bottom half of the fences was sheep net/pig wire (the stuff with the big square gaps) and my lad thought it was a hoot to hook his foot through and pull his front shoes off. He also did the same where there was a single strand of wire at the bottom of the fence.
 
Thanks for the replies all - was thinking about two clips on the fronts before, may suggest that to farrier. :)

I don't think it's fair of me to blame the farrier yet as the first two that he lost were put on by a different farrier! He had those on before we moved up, so were fitted by our previous farrier who'd done him for nearly 6 months without losing a shoe. New farrier has only refitted one set, from which he pulled the one front yesterday.

Am googling shoe secure now! Have extra-large overreach boots on him but he's 17.1 (and a half, measured him yesterday :D) and has soup-dishes for hooves so they're still a little small :rolleyes:

Now that we know where he's losing them and what he's doing, we're going to see what we can do about securing off that part of the field, and changing the fencing. :)
 
My tb is prone to pulling his off, front and backs and doesn't have the best feet. I agree the roma overreach boots with velcro are great and they do help. Supplement wise, I can't rate formula4feet enough. I don't use it constantly, will buy a tub when his feet need a little bit of help!
 
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