Hoof Quandary......

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Keep Trying

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I am not quite sure what's the best thing to do with my mare.....

I took her shoes off in September 2010 and her hooves have improved tremendously since - except for her soles (particularly on the front) which still need to thicken up more.

The problem I have is that I want to compete her in ODE's this year and I don't think the soles will thicken enough to do this at the current rate of growth.

I was thinking of putting front shoes back on for the season and then taking her barefoot again in the Autumn/Winter but am not sure if this will cause the improvemnents she has made to regress - does anyone have experience of this at all?
 
I've put fronts on my Tb last Spring following footiness caused by worming, as the wormer was a long lasting one it was going to be a while before being out of her system, so I put fronts on just for the summer. I took the shoes off in October and she was back to rock crunching within a couple of weeks. She has been brilliant all winter. I think any spells without shoes gives the hooves a chance to recover and improve. After all it did used to be good common farrier practice to not shoe back to back and have a break from shoes, but this seems to have fallen out of fashion.

This year I don't intend to put fronts back on, but we will see how it goes :). I now know a few people who just shoe for the summer which seems to work for them and allows their horses a break.
 
I have had this problem before, I would leave her barefoot and get some boots (Easyboots, Cavallos, Old Macs, Boa) Whatever suits, mine suits Easyboots on front but some people find them crap. I would say you can't go wrong with Cavallos, they sell some specifically for sports (special treads). I think you can get them to take studs though I don't compete at a level or in conditions where they are necessary so I am not certain..

This way you can keep the good work you have done on the barefoot and compete?
 
Hi All,

Thanks for the information.

I am going to have a chat with my farrier when he attends this week to trim her feet and I have got boots for her already which are very useful, but I don't think that we are allowed to compete in them??

I was going to try BE80T this time and I would be surprised if BE allowed hoofboots but I'll give them a buzz this week and see what they say.

Thanks again.:)
 
The more stimulation her soles receive, the quicker they will thicken.

However there is absolutley no problem with shoeing for the season.
 
If you left the shoe for as long as you can manage then shoe her just for the summer it won't undo all you hard work. Even just the break from shoes over the winter will have, as you've noticed, improved her feet no end.

What WILL undo all your hard work is your farrier chopping off her frogs and getting gungho with the knife on the soles. Make sure you say to your farrier you don't want her frogs or soles touched because many farriers will routinely par the soles and frogs for shoeing.
 
Hi All,

Sorry to come back with this but someone has mentioned Equipak Soleguard as opposed to putting shoes on.

Does anyone have any experience of using it and if so would it be suitable/safe to compete with?

Thanks in advance.:)
 
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