How much work with only 3 shoes?

J

Jingleballs

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My boy has pulled a front shoe (again!) and was wondering how much work I could do with him until the farrier comes out in a week or so? He was shod over 2 weeks ago and will only be working either in a sand school or on grass.

Thanks

K x
 
Well if it was one of my horses it would be absolutely none as he is a complete wimp. He has lost 4 shoes this month and I'm being to dispair.

If its my other horse then I would only do some small amounts of work in the school if he felt level.

So it really depends on the horse.
 
you can work for as long as you want in the sand school, unshod ponies cope with out a problem in a sand school and it wont do him any harm, if your doing it on grass make sure that the ground is not hard enough for it to chip away at the foot. Obviously shorten your riding time on him if on hard grass, but it shouldnt do him any harm in a sand school or relativly soft ground with a bit of give in it or plenty of grass.
however, if for anyreason the hoof does start to get a bit lame or over chipped (theres nothing you cn do about chipping really) then lower his riden work or stop.
 
I think it just depends on your horse. My old TB would have curled and died if I threatened to ride him without all 4 shoes present - but my mare carries on as normal and hardly seems to notice.

Depends on how much of a wimp you horse is!
 
I'd sooner work with a back shoe off though, coz so much of a horse's weight is on his front feet. Just keep an eye on him at every stage and if he's footsore then you'll have to stop. Some get too sore to even walk without a rider on rough or stony ground. Gotta be sympathetic I reckon.
 
Depends on your horse...if my tb loses a front he is dog lame,lol,such a wuss....however even if feet ok i do believe it unbalances them...i dont work him on that basis until farrier has been....should be ok in a sand school as surface soft and hooves will not be sinking level anyway...however i would steer clear of grass and roads...when you think he will be 1/2inch higher up on 1 side than other so couldnt posibly work level on a harder surface
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Just my opinion mind
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,others may do different
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My horse wouldn't be worked with a shoe missing......& I'd want the farrier to come & sort the problem quicker than a week or so. The longest I've ever had to wait for our farrier to come & refit is 48 hours, mind you he's very professional, in the event of being even slightly late he'll phone & let us know. He's the same price as everyone else in the area as well
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Depends on the horse. My tb would need to be stabled on a deep bed on top of rubber matting or he would die!! My Welsh/Tb on the other hand, who has feet as hard as granite, could cope unshod with roadwork and hacking but would be really pottery in a sand school as the sand works its way up the white line.
 
Having 3 shoes is not the same as being barefoot - the horse will be unlevel as well as having an unprotected foot. I would play it by ear but not expect a lot of work in the school.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Having 3 shoes is not the same as being barefoot - the horse will be unlevel as well as having an unprotected foot. I would play it by ear but not expect a lot of work in the school.

[/ QUOTE ] i agree and also can be alot more strain on other tendons etc from being un level
 
Depends on what kind of horse you have!! I got home yesterday very excited about jumping my tb only to find he'd pulled his near fore shoe halfway off and it took me 10 mins to lead him back to the yard from his field which usually takes about 2 mins. He was SO lame its unbelieveable and you would have thought he'd broken his leg!!

Took it off, pouliced it and stabled him last night and you wouldn't know there was anything wrong this morning. He's still in though until tomorrow a.m when the farrier is coming. He'd only bruise his sole if I turned him out.

Therefore - would ride a TB with only 3 shoes!!
 
its depends on when your horse threw the shoe did it do the damage to the hoof ? sometimes when a horse throws a shoe it can be the start of acrack in the hoof wall or a chunk of hoof can leave a place susceptible to brusing
if the loss of the shoe changes the way the horse strides or the way the hoof stikes the ground it could make you horse suscreptible to lameless by putting excess stress on tendons and or ligament structures that work abnormaly hard maybe its a small chance of lameless by once it sets in lameness is a pain to patootie to deal with
i would limit my self to turn out or inhand exercising (walking out ) till a farrier can replace it
 
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