gel shoes or boots for lame mare?

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amy86

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My tbxwb mare will be 3 next month, since february this year I've been having problems with keeping her sound. She has very soft/thin soles and is flat flooted and the slightest bruising sends her lame. X-rays show that she both front feet are very inflamed but both the vet and farrier agree that its down to her confirmation and are worried that she will never go sound. We've tried a few kinds of shoe so far, the best was the bar shoe. She went sound for 8 weeks but then suddenly one day came in crippled again with bruising. The vet though the bar shoe had put too much pressure on her heel causing her to go lame again but the farrier disagreed, however they both decided heart bars would be the best thing to try. She's had these on for 4 1/2 weeks now and although there is a massive improvement she's still slightly lame. My two options now are either gel inserts into the shoe or some kind of hoof boot, I'm not sure what to go for and was wondering if anyone has had similar problems and used either and if so what has/hasnt worked for you? Thanks :)
 
No I have not had the same problem but I would urge you to search on here and read threads about the barefoot diet and how this can help hoof quality.
 
I'm trying to work out how to put pictures on but I'm not sure. She is fed on Alfa A oil, I did have her on a supplement from the vets but it hasn't made a difference so I'm looking now to find the best one. She is stabled 24/ 7 at the moment and has been pretty much since feb other than the 7 weeks when she went sound. She's kept on a deep shavings bed with rubber matting underneath. I don't have pictures of the x-rays but I could try and get them
 
You need to take photos with the camera low/on the ground, plus a sole shot of each hoof.

Here's some examples pulled from google.

Front shot.
hoof-before-dissection-ante.gif


Sole shot.
12_usa_hoof_0_01.jpg


Side shot.
non-distorted-horse-hoof.png


Heel shot.
100899-trimming-your-our-horses-hooves-hoof-rear.jpg
Click to expand...

Then upload to photobucket (or similar) and post the IMG codes in the forum reply box. Sometimes photobucket photos show as links, but as long as they work it doesn't really matter.
 
We have tried a gel like substances on recommendation from our farrier for our mare who has navicular to help with concussion (however one of my clients also uses it for her mare who suffers from thin soles). Both wear normal shoes and the gel is injected in using a nozzle. Feet are wrapped in cling film until set and we've found it generally stays put for about 5 weeks. It's turquoise in colour mind but seems to work a treat. It's not cheap though and costs about £80 for a pair.
 
They certainly have my clients mare with thin soles. She is only wearing them until the ground softens as cant imagine them staying put for a 5 week duration whilst hunting. As for our mare I'd say yes they have to a certain extent but we do still have to be very careful what she does and on what ground but that's a whole different diagnosis to your problem.
 
Have a look at Epona shoes, they are a composite shoe with built in gel layer, can be nailed, glued or glued and a couple of nails each side, I buy mine from Germany here http://www.shop.hufbeschlag24.de/index.php?cPath=30_31_91 click on English flag to trn site to English. Another option would be Duplo composite shoe for hoof problems, again buy from German manufacturer here http://www.duplo-frank.de/en/Duplo-Plastic-Horseshoes and look at the Line Special range. You can e-mail for information and they reply very quickly :-)
 
Hello youu, guess who (I'm not stalking honest - I thought the horse you were describing sounded familiar, doh!).

Get a photo bucket account upload pictures onto there and then copy the image code and et voila, or you can copy the link to the image :)
 
Im no expert but i woulnd not be putting shoes on a 3 year old.
You will be going down a downward spiral for life where your horse is never comfortable and will be making things worse.

You need to look at the over all picture, diet, exercise ground etc.

Also ive heard that alpha a is not good for bearfoot horses so may be causing an issue with you mare?

There must be other ways to strengthen her feet and help her cope.
 
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