HELP! Cant keep shoes on my horse? Suggestions needed!

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TBmare92

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Hi everyone, i wonder if any of you can help me?( i'm new to this forum so sorry if iv posted in the wrong place) My TB mare keeps over reaching and pulling the same shoe off each time, i have tried everything i can think of to stop this and it keeps happening i'm at my wits end!


Some basic background: She currently wears over reach boots 24/7, have tried all types even using two, but found neoprene ones the most successful at keeping shoes on and the most comfortable for her. She has had her hind shoes moved back slightly and the toes shortened (the farrier is very reluctant to remove her hind shoes, or fronts for that matter as although she has good quality horn for a TB, she is relatively flat footed and thin soled). She is also short coupled but has very long legs which means she constantly over tracks.

As she only looses shoes when turned out, i have tried smaller turnout areas and limiting turnout but she hates being kept in (box walks and generally stresses- even when in the foaling box which is very large), so i try to keep her out as much as possible. She is hot shod and the hoof she always looses the shoe on is in very good condition considering,-no cracks or missing hoof however, the rate that she is loosing shoes has weakened them as there are more holes. She is on supplements to aid hoof quality and i use keratex to harden her hooves. Have tried hoof boots(old macs G2) but i found she didnt go as well in them when ridden and they rubbed her heel even though they were fitted to manufacturers instructions. Any suggestions welcome i'm getting desperate!!!

Thank you for reading :)! XX
 
Hi, thank you for replying :-), i would love to be able to go barefoot as this would solve all the problems but i have spoken at length with my farrier and he feels that this is not a good idea, due to her typical TB thin soles and flat feet not being able to with stand her current workload (i have in the past had a TB who was barefoot and she coped well) so i don't know if she would cope but may be worth a try, although farrier wouldn't be happy. I have tried the hind shoes on the front but it made little difference she still managed to pull them off!
 
TBmare92 said:
Hi, thank you for replying :-), i would love to be able to go barefoot as this would solve all the problems but i have spoken at length with my farrier and he feels that this is not a good idea, due to her typical TB thin soles and flat feet not being able to with stand her current workload (i have in the past had a TB who was barefoot and she coped well) so i don't know if she would cope but may be worth a try, although farrier wouldn't be happy. I have tried the hind shoes on the front but it made little difference she still managed to pull them off!
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I agree it's difficult - my current TB manages fine barefoot, but my last one never could - and like yours, he would always pull shoes off - normally the same one. In the end he ended up with no foot to nail to, so I had to take the shoes off. Unfortunately he was PTS a couple of months later, so I never did get to try it for any length of time. I hope you get it sorted, it's just so frustrating going to the field and finding that yet again the shoe is off! :)
 
Is her hoof balance correct?

If her toes are long (often coupled with under-run heels) then the breakover will be delayed and she will over-reach far more easily.

It's far better to solve the root problem (if hoof balance is the cause of the pulled shoes) than to put OR boots or shoe secures on.

You can improve her hooves and sole thickness etc... but you will need to overhaul her diet. Basically you need to get her on the 'barefoot' diet (which is really just a sensible diet for all horses shod or unshod). Also you might decide to take her shoes off while you improve the shape of her hooves. Yes, her workload might have to be lowered a lot to start with and you may need boots and pads to keep her comfortable, but it will be a good investment in the horse's long term soundness. You can always shoe again later. Look at the Rockley Farm Blogspot.

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/

Photos of her hooves would be really useful (side, front, back and sole shots - keep the camera low for all but the sole shots) to see what her hoof balance is like.

I was told that my anglo would never cope without shoes when her hoof balance went wrong, but I changed farrier she was taken BF to improve her hooves and she never needed her shoes back on.
 
If you are feeling rich you can try the glue on shoes for a while as they give the hoof time to grow and get strong as no nail holes, I had one that did the same thing over reach boots helped a bit, but his feet just seemed so soft his could just pull his shoes off.
 
I had exactly the same problem with my last TB mare. She pulled shoes almost every week in Winter esp if the fields were muddy. I ended up going down the Shoe Secure route. Bit of a pain to have to put them on every morning but deffo worth it in the long term. Worth a try :)
 
Bite the bullet, take shoes off, invest in a pair of Cavello sports boots to ride out in. Ask cptrayes on here about nutrition. I have done the above and my TB for the first time in his life has healthy hard feet and completely sound. It does not happen over night, but you might persevere with shoes for years and still be in the same boat. I would never shoe a horse again, there is no horse that can not benefit from having no shoes on.
 
I had the same problem it got to the point he was pulling a front shoe off every ten days (they were eggbars that overhang at the back so even easier to get pulled off but that's another story)

Spent a fortune on overreach boots but in my experience they are no match for a horses weight when he overreaches and steps on the shoe.

In the end my hand was forced, he'd ripped that much hoof wall off every time he pulled a shoe the farrier said he needed a good 3 months shoeless. He's still shoeless 14 months later and we've never looked back.
 
Wow thank you every one for all the great suggestions! 😊 I'm sorry to hear about your boy holly hocks 😞! Yes it is extremely frustrating!
 
Faracat said:
Is her hoof balance correct?

If her toes are long (often coupled with under-run heels) then the breakover will be delayed and she will over-reach far more easily.

It's far better to solve the root problem (if hoof balance is the cause of the pulled shoes) than to put OR boots or shoe secures on.

You can improve her hooves and sole thickness etc... but you will need to overhaul her diet. Basically you need to get her on the 'barefoot' diet (which is really just a sensible diet for all horses shod or unshod). Also you might decide to take her shoes off while you improve the shape of her hooves. Yes, her workload might have to be lowered a lot to start with and you may need boots and pads to keep her comfortable, but it will be a good investment in the horse's long term soundness. You can always shoe again later. Look at the Rockley Farm Blogspot.

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/

Photos of her hooves would be really useful (side, front, back and sole shots - keep the camera low for all but the sole shots) to see what her hoof balance is like.

I was told that my anglo would never cope without shoes when her hoof balance went wrong, but I changed farrier she was taken BF to improve her hooves and she never needed her shoes back on.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I have never looked into a barefoot diet I will have a good look into it! her hoof balance was extremely poor when I first got her due to previously having a poor quality farrier its taken about six months to get them right, my farrier says they are now as good as they will ever be.xxx
 
victoria1980x said:
I had the same problem it got to the point he was pulling a front shoe off every ten days (they were eggbars that overhang at the back so even easier to get pulled off but that's another story)

Spent a fortune on overreach boots but in my experience they are no match for a horses weight when he overreaches and steps on the shoe.

In the end my hand was forced, he'd ripped that much hoof wall off every time he pulled a shoe the farrier said he needed a good 3 months shoeless. He's still shoeless 14 months later and we've never looked back.
Click to expand...

This gives me hope �� over the summer she was loosing one roughly every five weeks but in the last month the number she has pulled has increased dramatically she has pulled three in the last three weeks! Its just having the confidence to go against the farriers advise and ask him to take them off xxx
 
If you're ever going to try it, then now is the time, as you're probably riding less, due to the winter weather! I would also invest in hoof boots (all round if necessary). The beauty of boots is that you also put in studs with many brands. I'm currently on the Easyboot Transitions, which I do like, aside from their complexity in applying. Cavallos and Gloves are the best for that (I'd actually recommend Gloves as a starter boot).
 
I feel your pain. I've tried everything, including barefoot, with my boy. He's currently in race plates in front which are not ideal and not really giving him the heel support that he needs but stay on and so they should allow his hoof to grow which will give us more options. Shoe secures are next on the list of things to try. Hope you can find a solution that works for you, it is such a headache!
 
I fully understand that it wont happen overnight, I am willing to try anything and something that will benefit in the long term preferably! How do I get hold of cptrayes justabob- sorry I'm new to all of this lol xx
 
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I had a problem with my mare losing shoes all the time. After trying many different things we've finally worked out that they were twisting when she goes charging around the field and came to a sliding halt (she's a 17.2 warmblood x shire) so a fair amount of force on shoes when stopping. My very nice farrier tried lots of different things, eventually he now makes her shoes with side clips as well as toe clips. So far it seems to be doing the trick.
 
Hi, i had exactly this problem two years ago with my daughter's ISH mare. She had huge, flat feet & we were lucky if she kept shoes on for a fortnight, it was all year round & we often had to have a farrier at events which was time consuming, costly & often stressful!
I had fantastic advice on here :-) & Oct. 12 i took all her shoes off. She had 6 weeks off work, out during the day but in at night. I started her on the barefoot diet, low sugar, high fiber. Also started her on Pro hoof supplement from Progressive Earth. We then did 4 weeks road walking before starting trot & canter work in the school & grass. I was very impressed with how she coped, although i wouldn't have called it 'rock crunching'. In early March this year i had her shoes put back on for the Eventing season to start & she didn't lose a single shoe all year :-) I was so pleased that they were taken off again this October. My daughter is not so happy as it means no hunting on her & we don't take her XC schooling without but i'm now a firm believer that a rest from shoes, even only 4-5 months, makes a huge difference.
Good luck, i hope that you crack it.
 
TBmare92 said:
This gives me hope �� over the summer she was loosing one roughly every five weeks but in the last month the number she has pulled has increased dramatically she has pulled three in the last three weeks! Its just having the confidence to go against the farriers advise and ask him to take them off xxx
Click to expand...

You might find that she needs shoeing every five weeks, this is what we do with our mare, she just can't cope with going six weeks. It works for us, every 5 weeks March-Oct, then shoes off for the winter :-)
 
HazyXmas said:
I had fantastic advice on here :-) & Oct. 12 i took all her shoes off. She had 6 weeks off work, out during the day but in at night. I started her on the barefoot diet, low sugar, high fiber. Also started her on Pro hoof supplement from Progressive Earth. We then did 4 weeks road walking before starting trot & canter work in the school & grass. I was very impressed with how she coped, although i wouldn't have called it 'rock crunching'. In early March this year i had her shoes put back on for the Eventing season to start & she didn't lose a single shoe all year :-) I was so pleased that they were taken off again this October. My daughter is not so happy as it means no hunting on her & we don't take her XC schooling without but i'm now a firm believer that a rest from shoes, even only 4-5 months, makes a huge difference.
Good luck, i hope that you crack it.
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Thank you, every one has been so helpful :-). I was hoping to begin hunting her after xmas, however her future soundness is the most important thing and i am definitely not adverse to giving her time off and bringing her back into work slowly. I will be bombarding my farrier with armfuls of suggestions when i see him next (asap hopefully as she lost another shoe yesterday!) :-). It is so encouraging to find that other people have had similar problems and made it work! xxx
 
I had exact same problem with my horse. Really if they shoes aren't staying on they then hoof is not strong or heathly. I have took my boys hinds off in April and fronts off in September. With a good diet and management it is do-able or at least until she has grown a stronger hoof :)
 
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