loose shoe or not?

[OrangeAndLemon]

Sorry, this feels like a really stupid question.

Yesterday one of the girls at the yard asked when E was due to see the farrier because she thought it sounded like he had a loose shoe. I checked, it seemed well attached and I walked him around and it sounded normal to me.

Picked his feet out this morning, nothing obviously wrong with his shoes. Walked around to the mounting block and seemed OK. Hacking out seemed fine but tripped a few more times than normal. Our hacking buddy asked if he had a loose shoe, said I wasn't sure anymore. There was the occasional dodgy sounding step where I'd thought the shoe would actually be hanging off.

When we got back a few more people listened and thought he did sound like he had a loose shoe but again, when I picked his feet up, the shoes seemed very firmly attached. He is only shod in front.

Farrier is aware and will check him but, is it possible to have a loose shoe without it actually seeming to be loose?

 

[Theocat]

Yes - you can sometimes hear a loose shoe, and when you look it feels very firmly attached! It can also be intermittently clinky until it gets very loose. If several people agree it sounds loose, it probably is.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

great, thank you.
I was worried I'd be wasting the farriers time.

I should have mentioned, it is just over 3 weeks since he was last shod and only has a small patch of mud to walk through outside the field (which he usually leaps because he doesn't like squelchy mud) so he isn't in mud which might be putting extra pressure on the shoes. He generally goes up to 8 weeks between new shoes because we don't do much road work and the ground is sandy here. (the farrier checks after 6 weeks because he is at the yard weekly) and the condition of his hoof is pretty good.

 

[be positive]

great, thank you.
I was worried I'd be wasting the farriers time.

I should have mentioned, it is just over 3 weeks since he was last shod and only has a small patch of mud to walk through outside the field (which he usually leaps because he doesn't like squelchy mud) so he isn't in mud which might be putting extra pressure on the shoes. He generally goes up to 8 weeks between new shoes because we don't do much road work and the ground is sandy here. (the farrier checks after 6 weeks because he is at the yard weekly) and the condition of his hoof is pretty good.

If the farrier is coming he may just need to tighten a nail or put a new one in, better done before it does come off and it does sound as if something is slightly loose.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

thanks both.
He isn't due to be ridden or worked before the farrier sees him and has good sand tracks and well drained fields until then. I think the farrier would prefer to fix an existing shoe than make another one (he needs very big shoes - 19inch of metal on each, so the farrier always needs a couple of days notice before fitting new shoes)