First week back in shoes

[unicorndreams]

Following a couple of rumbling abscesses that the vet dug out and attributed to overlaid bars, I followed the vet's advice and got my TB mare shod after 18mths of being barefoot. Within 24hrs she'd pulled one front shoe off, the next day i rode her and she stumbled badly, same again the day after, her trot has gone from being smooth and low to very bouncy/jolting and yesterday she fell over on her knees walking in from the field. Apparently she needs time to adjust her gait to wearing shoes again.
I am not so sure that she is going better in them!

 

[Penny Eater]

Sounds like she's trying to tell you something

 

[Meowy Catkin]

You can always take the shoes off if it doesn't work.

 

[dogatemysalad]

Oh dear, I'm debating having front shoes put on my lad. He's spent most of his 15 years unshod but having tried two different yards since we moved, the grazing is too rich and the only option left, after trying everything I can think of, seems to be shoes, so that I can work him more without having to avoid stony tracks.

 

[Penny Eater]

Oh dear, I'm debating having front shoes put on my lad. He's spent most of his 15 years unshod but having tried two different yards since we moved, the grazing is too rich and the only option left, after trying everything I can think of, seems to be shoes, so that I can work him more without having to avoid stony tracks.

Have you tried hoof boots? There's lots of different styles out there so you've got some options if one type hasn't suited.

 

[dogatemysalad]

Have you tried hoof boots? There's lots of different styles out there so you've got some options if one type hasn't suited.

The horse in question has round 6 1/2 '' feet with copious amounts of feather, can't find anything to fit him. He's a cob with rock hard hooves but delicate frogs. Oddly my WB x TB went from a life time of shoes to nothing overnight and has never looked back.

 

[unicorndreams]

Sounds like she's trying to tell you something

You can always take the shoes off if it doesn't work.

I wasn't going to put front shoes on as it was only her back feet I was having probs with but the vet and farrier said best to do all - clearly my horsey doesn't think so! I can see me not putting them back on next time the farrier is due

 

[serenityjane]

Very strange - shod my 5 yo (never been shod) for the first time, and yes all round, and found that the shoes improved her movement- went from slow snail trot on roads to good animated working trot. Not had any issues with stumbling or falling, it was a hard decision to make as I wanted her to be bare and she has excellent rockcrunching feet, but we had noticed that they wore quickly (particularly in winter when not on soft ground-just on stone and tarmac yard) and could not cope with road work as well, which showed in her sluggish gait and her conformation- she was not using herself properly. Now she is shod, her topline has improved, her chest has widened, she has become much more animated and it shows! Boots were not an option as they would need to be on for turnout and riding, plus hoof boots are really not that useful- they take ages to put on, usually rub, and can severely restrict where you can ride!

 

[Penny Eater]

I'm not anti-shoes at all, everyone needs to decide what suits their horse and them/their management style best. The only caution is that shoes can damage the hooves when used long term, and if you are not going to have a period out of shoes every year (as used to be done traditionally) then hoof boots are a good option. If you have chosen the right type for what you want to do and they're fitted correctly, they shouldn't rub or impede where you want to ride at all. I think some are starting to offer smaller/larger sizes now as well.

OP's horse for whatever reason does not seem to be doing well with shoes back on, so I'd either take them off or get another farrier to take a look as they may be on too tight or poorly positioned which could affect her gait.

ETA: Don't quite get the vet's reasoning, how does a shoe stop the horse getting abscesses if the vet thinks it's because of overlaid bars?! Usually if left well alone abscesses will burst out at the coronary band, which resolve themselves quite quickly as there is less chance of infection than leaving holes all over the bottom of their feet! I don't know if abscesses in shod horses are that simple, but I've found it to be the case with mine.

 

[AngieandBen]

serenityjane; I've never had a problem with hoof boots, they take a few minutes to put on! I ride through mud on wet grass wherever. They don't rub either if you use the gaitors.

I can understand someone wanting to shoe so they can "get on with riding" but I would be worried that this horse is unhappy.

 

[serenityjane]

Pennyeater- shoes, just like poor trimming can damage hooves, only when applied incorrectly or too infrequently or if the hoof is compromised already.
Abcesses from overlaid bars or corns do not usually exit from the top of the hoof for some considerable time - the horse is in some considerable pain- of course trimmers leave the bars for support, but when you ride the bars overlay as the wall wears and this causes a lovely area of both pressure and a dirt trap leading to potential abcessing. Abcesses could also appear in this general area due to poor frog health too, hence the suggestion of shoeing for pressure and hence pain relief.

 

[Penny Eater]

Serenity Jane I'm afraid that's just not true, shoes will damage any hoof over time, regardless of how correctly they've been fitted or if the hoof is compromised. This was well documented way back when and was the reason all horses had periods of time out of shoes every year. Bracy Clark was a vet in the 19th century who did a lot of research into the effects of shoeing on hooves:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...foot-debate-is-much-much-older-than-I-thought

 

[ester]

Very strange - shod my 5 yo (never been shod) for the first time, and yes all round, and found that the shoes improved her movement- went from slow snail trot on roads to good animated working trot. Not had any issues with stumbling or falling, it was a hard decision to make as I wanted her to be bare and she has excellent rockcrunching feet, but we had noticed that they wore quickly (particularly in winter when not on soft ground-just on stone and tarmac yard) and could not cope with road work as well, which showed in her sluggish gait and her conformation- she was not using herself properly. Now she is shod, her topline has improved, her chest has widened, she has become much more animated and it shows! Boots were not an option as they would need to be on for turnout and riding, plus hoof boots are really not that useful- they take ages to put on, usually rub, and can severely restrict where you can ride!

why would they need to be used for turnout if she had excellent rockcrunching feet?

I'm another boot user - easyboot gloves - they are so quick to put on and off that I have been known to do it mid ride (and they aren't the only easy ones!) they have surprised me with their versatility and have stayed on at a gallop and have never rubbed. You must have had some more unfortunate booting experiences?

 

[Buddy'sMum]

plus hoof boots are really not that useful- they take ages to put on, usually rub, and can severely restrict where you can ride!

While it's true some hoof boots do take longer than others to put on, it hardly takes ages, even my Epics only take a matter of seconds per hoof. Correct fitting is important - boots will rub if they're not the correct type or size for the hoof.

How do hoof boots severely restrict where you can ride??

 

[Goldenstar]

The first thing I would do if I owned Ops horse is get the vet to check the shoeing .
A badly applied set of shoes is going to cause different problems .
There's no point in shoeing if the farrier is not doing a top notch job.

 

[foxy1]

It depends on the break over point and conformation/action of the foot and limb as to how well they cope with changing from barefoot to shoes.

 

[Brownmare]

The horse in question has round 6 1/2 '' feet with copious amounts of feather, can't find anything to fit him. He's a cob with rock hard hooves but delicate frogs. Oddly my WB x TB went from a life time of shoes to nothing overnight and has never looked back.

I have a horse with similar sized feet - well actually they are 6.5in wide and 6in long so even harder to find well fitting boots! I recently discovered the Equine Fusion Ultimates and I am in love I have the size 15 for my boy which is perfect but the size 16 may be better for yours. I got a fit kit from Urban Horse and Carolyn gave me fab advice.

Sorry for the hijack OP!

 

[Lucy_Ally]

I have just ordered the Equine Fusion Ultimates for my horse, so pleased to hear a good review!

 

[unicorndreams]

The first thing I would do if I owned Ops horse is get the vet to check the shoeing .
A badly applied set of shoes is going to cause different problems .
There's no point in shoeing if the farrier is not doing a top notch job.

For that reason I chose to use the farrier the vet recommended rather than my previous farrier

I didn't necessarily agree with needing to put shoes on for protection when I had a perfectly good set of boots that worked but decided to stick to the vets advice as I wanted to be sure I could count on their continued support should the issue turn out to be due to hind gut issues causing repeated hind foot problems. My mare has never had abscesses in the front feet - only the hind feet and I was aware of two possible reasons - HGA and the rather irritating habit she has of kicking the walls. The vet has presented me with another possible in overlaid bars and we needed to eliminate that before we could consider other causes. The wall kicking is going to require a change of management but with just a couple of weeks to go before full t/o I'm not worrying about that for now.
The huge amount of exfoliating sole on those hind feet at the mo does seem to indicate that the vet might actually be right