Help please...Im getting desperate now...

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redmerl

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I really need some advise.

My TB cannot keep shoes on. At the moment we are losing one approximatly every 3 days and my farrier charges for putting shoes back on plus I cannot have anyomore time off work to wait for the farrier.
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Farrier says its because our fields are really muddy and my ned likes to play with his friend, alot!

He is on balenced diet and never goes out without OR boots on.

What can I do???? They are going out in summer fields next week but they still come off. He gets sore feet without shoes on. He cannot stay in 24/7 (he is crazy enough already) and really dont want to have him in a solo field as he loves going out with him mate.

Can I use Old Mac boots for turnout with traditional shoes on? I really dont want to have to ride in them and they are really expensive!!

Any ideas are very welcome! Thanks
 
had a tb that did that when we got him. the farrier was going to glue shoes on so that the feet could grow without nails weakening them. ended up of a hoof supplement which worked but gluing may be the way to go
 
Does he always go out with his mate or does he ever get left on his own? My TB managed to pull his shoes off when left on his own when I first got him .... then I realised that he stood pawing the ground the whole time I was out and the shoes came off
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I never leave him on his own now
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HI Guys, Thanks!

I had not considered gluing. Is the gule really stong? Did your supplement work? If so which one did you use?

He is never on his own, him and his mate go in and out together.

He lives in over reach boots, never has them off. He pulls off both backs and fronts.
 
used formula 4 feet which worked for us. also used keratex hoof hardener around the nails in winter and it is the most amazing stuff. painted on a wiggly nail it holds it in somehow. the farrier loves it as he can feel the change in the feet when paring as the horse used to not last more than 2 days without needing to be reshod. found out about glue from another remedial farrier. think the shoes are plastic or different material so they are lighter.
 
Have you tried Keratex hoof hardener - worked for my TBX boy who had a habit of losing front shoes. You basically paint it on kinda like strengthener for our own nails and it hardens the hoof wall thus making it less likely that nails etc can move and be pulled off.
 
my mares feet havent grown at all for at least the last 10 months. supplements did nothing. i am just hoping that once she gets on some spring grass it will help. anyway the nails were just falling straight out the holes. so would almost fall off as soon as they were put on. now we put glue on and then the shoe with the nails. the shoes havent moved an inch. but shouldnt your farrier know this? bit cheeky that he keeps charging you. mine wouldnt.
 
Do you have any wire on your field posts? My TB was the same but one day I watched him and he was pawing at the wire and pulling them off! Otherwise I recommend changing the kind of shoes - wide web shoes stay on well. I wouldn't recommend using old macs with shoes on for long periods as they tend to wear through and the boots are very expensive. The other thing is to make sure the hoof is dry when he's shod as if you have him shod when the hoof is wet, then when it dries out the nails get loose and the shoes fall off more easily. Over night in a stable is enough time for them to dry out. I harden also up my TBs feet with neat thick bleach - works a treat.
 
my farrier was soo upset that the shoes kept coming off. ended up forcing him to take some money when he came out suday morns!! however gluing shoes is fairly new for the more traditional farriers so your vet could recommend the local remedial farrier who should know.
 
I'd check the fencing - sheep fencing and single strand wire is terrible for pulling shoes off - you could run a line of electric fence inside it if so.
It might be worth changing the way he's shod - rolling the toes in front, and increasing the time for breakover behind if you think he's overreaching them off (or wearing O/R boots).
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a horse at my old yard had this issue due to very poor feet, tried a sort of gauze material so that the nail could grip to that rather than the hoof wall - worked miracles.

heard someone on here swore by duck tape round the heel - lots cheaper too!
 
my TB had his shoes removed all last winer because he had the same problem

it turned out that white line disease was causing no end of trouble, the wall was separating away from the white line and the hoof was becoming too weak to hold the shoes on

so he's been hobbling about all winter, poor thing, but i had no choice, his shoes have just gone back on and have stayed on for 3 weeks now so it seems to have helped *touch wood*

he's on NAF Pro foot supplement and it seems to be helping

ask your farrier about white line disease
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just in case its that causing the problem
 
I dont know if your farrier is doing it allready, but could he try and not leave to much shoe at the back? as it sounds like your horse is treading on them and pulling them off, i know it isnt ideal because of supporting the heels, but it is the lesser of two evils in this case i should think.
 
Swap farriers!
My TB was prone to throwing shoes. There was the famous time when my farrier shod him first thing, I turned him out and watched the shoe go flying. It hadn't even been on half an hour.
I find mine is less prone to pulling off natural balance shoes. He lives in Woofwear neoprene overreach as I found the rubber ones did no good. He is on formula 4 feet, it has really helped improve the hoof quality. I have a farrier I trust now and he's only thrown one shoe in six months, compared to previously when I was lucky if they stayed on three weeks.
My farrier was very anti glue on shoes. They are a last resort. Very costly from what I know (as in stupidly expensive) and they can still pull them off. I'd go down the natural balance route first and spend some time talking to your farrier.
 
my horse TB as well did it we put him in a field on his own as he would play all the time and the other horses did not like him
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loads better and have shoes as he is on his own maybe not feizable for you but worked for me
 
Axel always used to pull off his front shoes, he too lived in over reach boots but still managed to pull them off.
My farrier at the time was great, but when I moved yards he wouldn't come out to the new yard so I changed farriers to a newly qualified young guy who is fab. Axel has lost only 1 shoe since september when he was losing them every 2 weeks before.
Have you considered changing farriers?
 
This sounds like a situation I have found myself in, though I'm hoping we have now turned the corner.

You are in a vicious circle with all the constant nailing which is weakening the hoof wall and making the shoes even more likely to come off, creating more damage and like others have said, there is probably some degree of white line disease in badly crumbled wall.

Been there, done it, got the t-shirt!

This is what I have done, and I'm hoping the improvement is here to stay:

1. Change farriers. Much as I liked the last one, I needed someone more experienced with more ideas. The new one has changed from a single toe clip to double in front, taken the toe back and set the shoe back a bit - though as others have said you don't need heel extensions for your horse to tread on. This has enabled him to nail into a slightly different area of wall, and the badly crumbled bit is now supported by the double toe clip. It's all looking very promising.

2. I was using Keratex hoof hardener around the nail holes, which is a product my vet recommends, and the last set of shoes stayed on 5 weeks despite being nailed into thin air. However the new farrier recommends Kevin Bacon, which I use every day (it has to be either/or as you can't use Keratex if you also use a greasy dressing). So far, so good.

3. Go for growth. Hopefully the grass coming through will help, but in the meantime, the wet ground drying out may create suction which is a hazard, though if you're on sand or chalk you willbe better off than those of us on clay. I am feeding Formula 4 Feet to encourage growth, to get rid of the over-nailed wall as soon as possible. Other means of encouraging growth are equi-build injectable hoof pads that spread the weight across the whole of the sole (this helped a TB I once had no end but it is quite pricey). Also going barefoot, though I can understand you may be reluctant as you would have to follow a programme and scale back the riding for a while.

4. Sedate to shoe. Maybe your horse is a good boy with the farrier, but mine gets very bored very quickly. A lot of her problems have come from misplaced nails that have had to be taken out when she waves her feet around and tries to kill the farrier. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner but my vet has given me Sedalin for the next farrier's appointment so he can place the nails accurately.

5. White line disease: with your farrier's co-operation, you could do a Milton soak when the shoes are off and before the new ones are fitted. 10 minutes per hoof in a 50% solution of Milton liquid (not tablets they are different). Mix it up in a small plastic container like a 1ltr ice cream tub or tupperware box, so it just comes an inch or two up the hoof.

Hope these ideas help. By the way I use Old Macs on my other horse who is barefoot, but I wouldn't recommend them worn over shoes (it says on the box you shouldn't except for loading), nor for turnout (if they come half-off and you're not there they could cause injury).
 
Naf Pro Feet; it really works, as well as containimng the usual biotn/methionin etc it has something that supports the liver to help absorption.
Racing plates, instead of normal shoes, fit really flush to the hoof wall so nothing to stand on.
Believe me, my Tb had 6 months of never keeping shoes on last year, his weaker off fore was coming off after 3/4 days, ended up with a quittor. Put him on the Naf Pro Feet, foot was growing within a fortnight, shod with racing plates and he didn't lose a shoe for five months, and that was only because my very wet fields started drying out and became really sticky. Also, when we get to summer (or if), keeping in during the day can help because they're not stamping on the hard round because of flies!
 
thanks everyone.

I got the yard today and he had lost another one (the same one that was put back on Tuesday) was so frustriated just sat and cried. Over reacting I know but Im just so sick of it.

Im despereatly tring to get my old farrier back. I will be trying every one of the sugestions.

Thanks so much!
 
Hi - I was in a similar situation with my old TB exrace horse.

Things that helped included: -

1) Feeding Formula for feet (but takes a month or two to show results)
2) Keep an ultra strict hoof hygience regime. I used Keratex Hoof Hardener 2/3 times a week and Keratex Nail hole disinfectant - that really helped.
3) I turned out with over-reach boots always
4) I changed farrier to a highly recommended remedial farrier

Muddy fields really don't help though.

Good luck! It is possible to manage rubbish TB feet but it is hard work too!
 
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