Heart bar shoes

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ncorsie

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Hello

Hoping someone can enlighten me!
I have a 9 yr old ex racer with flat feet, Hos soles r thin & I have pads on him, but apart from bruised sole I've not had any other issues...

My farrier asked if he could put heart bar shoes on his front feet to improve heel growth, I agreed although have no knowledge of them but trust his judgement.. he has only had them on a few days & I've been jumping & on cross country course & they don't seem to bother him so far... Can I ask -
1. What other people's experiences r? Eg have they helped? how long we're they on for?
2. Any problems I should b aware of due to change in weight distribution? ie potential injuries
3. How much is my new bill going to be?!

Any thoughts gratefully received!
Thank you in advance
Xx
 
They didn't help my boy at all. Hes had them on for a few months last year and a couple of months this year. Didnt cost more than normal bar shoes (£90 a set for normal hinds).

They were meant to encourage the heel to grow down as he wears bar shoes due to the heels collapsing in normal shoes. Both times they caused the frog to become tender and the heels to start to grow back into the foot rather than down, this time he also got an abscess in them possibly due to dirt getting stuck under them (never happened in normal straight bars). Hes sound in the normal straight bars though and happy!
 
I will make a few comments but there are sure to be more knowledgeable people with views.

Your bill will probably be rather large:eek: I think a pair on my pony were about £80, they made him worse so came back off, he is now unshod again.

Do not leave them on too long before getting him shod again, 4-5 weeks at the longest as far as I know before they can start to alter the foot balance.

They are usually used for laminitics, under vets advice following x-rays, to support the pedal bone. I have no idea if they can help with heel growth but cannot think how they can.

You may find using over reach boots help stop them being pulled off.
 
Mine has arthritis around his 1st & 2nd phalanx (sp?) bones in both forefeet, more so in right fore than left fore. (Diagnosed about 6 years ago)
Initially coped fine with normal fronts re-done every 6-8 weeks & the odd sachet of bute but last year got significantly worse, is now on cartrophen & shod every 6 weeks with heart bars & pads.
Didn't help that having had a cracking farrier for the first 4 years of his diagnosis, before October, for the last year and a half I was limited with what access to farriers I had being inside the M25.
However a change in farrier (I did have to beg & plead with him mind, but was completely worthwhile!) and his feet now look so much better and correct as previous farrier had let heels get too long/low despite my insistence on could he please not.
My farrier bill is now £85 for the fronts & a hind trim. (It makes me cry a little how much I spend on keeping my horse sound! :o )
I did ask the vet if I could remove the pads as ground was very soft & I was having trouble with them splitting & dirt getting inside between the sole of the foot and the pad and was worried about getting infections etc, but vet advised to persevere with them & the last lot haven't split yet & he's being re-shod on Saturday. You could also try Equi-pack (I think it's called) which is a gel like stuff that sets, I used it previously and it worked wonders but it is significantly more expensive than the normal plastic pads.
But I can say, even before starting the cartrophen I noticed a difference as a result of the change in shoeing.
It helps that my vet & farrier know & trust each other and I am fully aware you are looking at using heart bars for an entirely different purpose but thought I'd throw my 2 pennies worth in.
 
My lami has heart bars, he gets shod every five weeks and is about £70 a set, normal shoes on the back......ditto the advice on the over reach boots my likes to rip them off if he doesnt have them on.

It doesnt affect him any different than other shoes apart from he is more comfy in them because of the rotation on his pedal bone.
X
 
Great, big thank you to all of you with your advice and experience! Yeah i've put overreach boots and he it is the gel pads that he gets on... Will see how we get on and if it makes a difference! Hopefully it'll improve his heel growth, but his collapsed heels never caused us problems before so if we have to resort back to normal shoes then we will... I am already £106 for a normal set of 4 shoes, with studs holes and gel pads in the front 2 - so not looking forward to the bill!

Thanks again!
xx
 
i had them on my exracer for a while around 6 months and he was lame quite a bit still with them on and was forever pulling them off!!! and the cost me 120.00 just for the fronts!!!

so i changed yards and changed farrier (other reasons behind this change) and new farrier been doing him almost a year now he put ordinary shoes back on him and cut his fee back more than the old farrier and never touched the soles (still hasnt touched them) and he hasnt been lame since the 1st week of having the new farrier!!!

so i would say dont get them :) unless theres a specific reason... like lami or somthing.... if its just low heels and soft soles youll be fine with ordinary shoes that are just a little wider at the back to offer a bit of support :)

oh and since having normal shoes back on he hasnt pulled them off :)
 
My pony came back off loan wearing them, as they had let him get lami, they bruised his frogs, we took them straight off. Think they either work or they don't.
 
My tb is in heartbars in front and normal shoes behind due to similar heel issues. After full lameness work up at vet uni hospital last year we were advised to use gel pads for 2 shoeings in front then shoes as described. He is sound and is really happy with them.
He is shod every 5-6 weeks so heels are kept well supported and his feet are loads better. The small difference in price is worth every penny to see him moving so well now. I do always turn out and ride in overreach boots though. Good luck
 
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