Do i need to shod?

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jessikaGinger

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My little mare's back being ridden (in a fashion) but she is Really really strugging with any surface other then grass/smooth roads
She has always been unshod and only gets a handful of chaff so i can put her medicine in, grass & hay

Could it be the medicine (calmex) or could it just be one of those things?
 
If New to riding will take time to harden feet. My tb is barefoot and copes well but he did struggle for a while on stony ground- even now after being trimmed he is footy for a week.
 
my cob has been barefoot for over 2 years so definitely transitioned and has been fine, but i went for a longer than usual ride on tarmac on wed and today he is a bit footy so will put his boots on for a few days to give him a rest but the reason i put this down to is that he hasnt been going on the roads very much and his feet have possibly become soft due to the weather. correct me if i am wrong please.
 
You could try adding some minerals to her diet, such as pro hoof/pro balance +. Such footiness suggests that all is not well with her feet.
 
I agree with getting vits/mins in, also for the time being if u don't want to shoe get some boots and carry on hacking. Also when was he last trimmed? What does the farrier take off? Frogs? Soles?
 
Thanks guys

she hasnt been ridden for a while and only been in a soggy field for a couple of months so i imagine thats made them softer..

ill look up vits + mins now

im just doing short 20min hacks on the roads at the moment and today she wasn't 'as bad' as 2 days ago

this time 6 months ago she could hack on ANY surface no problem :confused:
 
Autumn flush of grass?

Sounds crazy but it definitely affected my boy, 2 days off the grass & a million times better already!
 
dizzydancer said:
If New to riding will take time to harden feet. My tb is barefoot and copes well but he did struggle for a while on stony ground- even now after being trimmed he is footy for a week.
Click to expand...

Sack your trimmer!


No trimmer should continue to repeat a trim which makes a horse less capable than it was before the trim. Stop him or her doing it!!!!
 
I second the magnesium. My girlhas been out of work for a while and she's not been great on the stones. She appears to be improving with regular trips out again but I've just put her on mag and she also has linseed. I'll get my trimmer out if sh doesn't improv and poss look at getting some boots for her fronts too.
 
Agree - even here in NE Scotland the grass is growing measurably still - but it is stressed by the cold nights and that makes for high sugars and ouchy feet, especially if horse has been stood in a soft field without exercise - that can undo quite a bit of the transitioning progress.

Also would recommend trimmer coming often (eg every 5 weeks) sothey dont have to take much off each time, they can be gentle with trim. My pony has really benefitted from this and is now working barefoot on stony tracks and is visibly moving more heel first than toe, despite having had 1 lami episode and having flattish feet.

I would use boots so you can keep them comfy while they get used to working again and the hoof adapts, esp while sugars are high in grass.
 
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