LOSING SHOES DUE TO THE BAD WEATHER

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dizz4

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Has anyone noticed a problem with retaining shoes due to the constant wet weather.... My horse has always had very poor horn which separates and then turns under (a bit like my nails which are really flaky then break) we tried the farriers formula and keratex hoof hardener but neither of these options seem to work very well. He normally has just front shoes and manages to keep these on very well and only usually loses a shoe if he pulls them off in the mud. He was shod just a week ago and threw his shoe off in the warm up arena at a show..... The foot is in such a state that I don't think the shoe will go back on.....

Has anyone else experienced this and any suggestions please..
 
TwoStroke said:
If the shoe won't go back on then you're in luck, and may join the ranks of the barefoot taliban ;).
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We have currently got 6 Welsh Cob horses in work and competing and only one of them is shod and that is my horse as he has got really flaky feet and they just look awful, normally shoeing works well for him but at the moment not...
 
dizz4 said:
We have currently got 6 Welsh Cob horses in work and competing and only one of them is shod and that is my horse as he has got really flaky feet and they just look awful, normally shoeing works well for him but at the moment not...
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Ah, in that case investigate the barefoot diet posts on here and PhoenixHorse forum. When your horse's diet is right, then his feet will be too, and you can shoe - or not - as per your preference ;).
 
TwoStroke said:
Ah, in that case investigate the barefoot diet posts on here and PhoenixHorse forum. When your horse's diet is right, then his feet will be too, and you can shoe - or not - as per your preference ;).
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I would be quite happy for him to go barefoot as I am happy to do that but he has always had bad feet and we've tried quite a lot of things to improve his feet....
 
dizz4 said:
I would be quite happy for him to go barefoot as I am happy to do that but he has always had bad feet and we've tried quite a lot of things to improve his feet....
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Well as I said, once the diet is right, the feet will be too :). Clearly you're struggling to find the right diet for your horse - perhaps you could post what you're feeding now, and someone may be able to help?
 
my horse has lost his second shoe within a week of losing the first. Im going to try barefoot with him as he wont be doing much work.
 
My Tb usually keeps his front shoes on well and only has them on as he gots abscess last year with hard ground. But i have now gone barefoot after having him shod twice and both times he pulled both shoes off the next day...i am not wasting my money for him to be a fool, he has good feet and now 4weeks in we are barefoot and happy hacking on roads, walking on stony track to field but still a bit footy if i ride him on stony track.
 
I would seriously consider a review of his diet.

ALL the shod horses I know that follow 'conventional' feeding regimes and have been allowed to graze freely in lush, knee high grass has shown severe deterioration in the quality of their horn over the last few months... my barefoot boy who follows a strict and balanced (minerals) barefoot diet, despite going footy on aforementioned long lush grass and very quickly removed from it has maintained BEAUTIFUL tough feet... if diet doesn't have anything to do with it, I'll eat my hat!
 
TwoStroke said:
Ah, in that case investigate the barefoot diet posts on here and PhoenixHorse forum. When your horse's diet is right, then his feet will be too, and you can shoe - or not - as per your preference ;).
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This sort of dogmatic post is rather tiresome...and extremely misleading IMO. I don't usually enter into the for and against of barefoot but this myth is repeatedly turning up on these threads, and could be very misleading to somebody with little experience.

Over many years I have had horses either shod or barefoot according to the individual. And yes, before you jump in and give me the usual taliban lecture on diet I am very well aware of all the hoof related issues connected to diet.

A lot of horses will happily go barefoot if their diet is managed correctly etc. etc. But not ALL horses can or should go barefoot, regardless of the diet they are on. For some unfortunately, much like humans, you can handle the diet anyway you want but the quality of the horn and or nail/hair growth will always be poor. Could be genetic I really dont know, I am not an expert and can only state my observations and experiences over the years.

It is a pity really that some people are determined to push the barefoot option no matter what, without giving the less experienced more of a fair and balanced guide to their possible options.
 
grumpyoldmare said:
It is a pity really that some people are determined to push the barefoot option no matter what, without giving the less experienced more of a fair and balanced guide to their possible options.
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I don'tthink people are insisting the horse goes barefoot - more that the OP investigates Barefoot friendly diets to see if she can improve the quality of their horse's horn...

It is easy to forget that many, if not most barefoot followers have been driven to follow this regime due to their horse previously suffering from hoof issues which couldn't be resolved following conventional methods, so making the statement that 'some horses just have crap feet' tends not to go down too well... understandably... and if that is the case then one would hope that the issue was thoroughly explored before coming to that sweaping conclusion...
 
When your horse's diet is right, then his feet will be too, and you can shoe - or not - as per your preference .

But surely you must see what a sweeping statement this is? You are stating that without doubt, if one changes a horse's diet you can happily choose to shoe or go barefoot. How do you back up this statement that ALL horses can then go barefoot if the diet is adjusted.

This is simply misleading and untrue. I agree that many, many horses may be able to go barefoot and grow better quality horn growth etc. with the correct diet. However, there will always be some who cannot. That is my point and one that I think would be reasonable to make when you are advising someone on hoof care?:confused:
 
Avoiding all the pro/con barefoot stuff - it sounds like it could be some sort of infection? Have you tried any hoof disinfectants?
 
I'm afraid I agree with the others who have said the correct diet will improve the hooves, and yes I suppose I'm one of the barefoot obsessives but I can only go by what I've seen.

I'd been told my cob was too heavy built to manage barefoot doing roadwork and what do you know but we're now less than a month home from Rockley and have done over 40 miles of roadwork, but only since his diet and supplements were right.

I've seen cobs, warmbloods, TBs, Arabs etc pass through Rockley whilst my horse was there and without fail all of them showed improved hooves on the barefoot diet Nic feeds.

Give it a try OP, you might be surprised by the results, whether you want to keep shoeing or not. :)
 
grumpyoldmare said:
This sort of dogmatic post is rather tiresome...and extremely misleading IMO. I don't usually enter into the for and against of barefoot but this myth is repeatedly turning up on these threads, and could be very misleading to somebody with little experience.

Over many years I have had horses either shod or barefoot according to the individual. And yes, before you jump in and give me the usual taliban lecture on diet I am very well aware of all the hoof related issues connected to diet.

A lot of horses will happily go barefoot if their diet is managed correctly etc. etc. But not ALL horses can or should go barefoot, regardless of the diet they are on. For some unfortunately, much like humans, you can handle the diet anyway you want but the quality of the horn and or nail/hair growth will always be poor. Could be genetic I really dont know, I am not an expert and can only state my observations and experiences over the years.

It is a pity really that some people are determined to push the barefoot option no matter what, without giving the less experienced more of a fair and balanced guide to their possible options.
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Yes I believe you are right and from the get go my horse has had very poor horn quality and I think this is probably genetic, he was the last foal from our broodmare in her 20's she threw everything into the pot and produced an enormous foal who measures nearly 15 hands, he has always had a really dry frizzy mane and very flaky hooves despite what we feed him, he has been fine for many years with just front shoes but just lately they are worse than ever.... could this be down to the unusual weather conditions..... maybe...
 
dizz4 said:
he has always had a really dry frizzy mane and very flaky hooves despite what we feed him, QUOTE]

What is he fed on? and what is his grazing like?

I have been told my boy should be shod by numerous people due to his persistent footiness - funnily enough farriers were the only ones to refuse to shoe him... and thankfully with a bit of perseverance (over a year) and changing his feeding and management we have cracked it :)

Anyway, this isn't about shoeing or barefoot it is about trying to improve the quality of your horse's horn...
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CBFan said:
dizz4 said:
he has always had a really dry frizzy mane and very flaky hooves despite what we feed him, QUOTE]

What is he fed on? and what is his grazing like?

I have been told my boy should be shod by numerous people due to his persistent footiness - funnily enough farriers were the only ones to refuse to shoe him... and thankfully with a bit of perseverance (over a year) and changing his feeding and management we have cracked it :)

Anyway, this isn't about shoeing or barefoot it is about trying to improve the quality of your horse's horn...
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At the moment he is only having chaff, speedy beet and horse house mix when he is working as he is a native prone to putting on weight and at the moment the grass is growing like mad, so the problem normally is keeping the weight off.....
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grumpyoldmare said:
When your horse's diet is right, then his feet will be too, and you can shoe - or not - as per your preference .

But surely you must see what a sweeping statement this is? You are stating that without doubt, if one changes a horse's diet you can happily choose to shoe or go barefoot. How do you back up this statement that ALL horses can then go barefoot if the diet is adjusted.

This is simply misleading and untrue. I agree that many, many horses may be able to go barefoot and grow better quality horn growth etc. with the correct diet. However, there will always be some who cannot. That is my point and one that I think would be reasonable to make when you are advising someone on hoof care?:confused:
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Well, aren't you living up to your user name ;)
 
dizz4 said:
CBFan said:
At the moment he is only having chaff, speedy beet and horse house mix when he is working as he is a native prone to putting on weight and at the moment the grass is growing like mad, so the problem normally is keeping the weight off.....
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There's you're problem :). He almost certainly needs a better mineral balance. The mix also sounds a bit dodgy, what's in it?
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dizz4 said:
CBFan said:
At the moment he is only having chaff, speedy beet and horse house mix when he is working as he is a native prone to putting on weight and at the moment the grass is growing like mad, so the problem normally is keeping the weight off.....
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Is the chaff mollassed? My advice would be to make sure he is on a mollasses free chaff and cut out the mix - it could be that his diet is too high in sugar and starch.

Also restricting his access to rich grass - again too high in sugar and this year I have seen a notable increase in crumbly, cracked, collapsing feet at my old yard which coincided with horses being turned out onto fresh, super lush pasture for the first time ever... not just a coincidence... this is several horses of all shapes and sizes.

I have recently (four months ago) been converted to feeding micronised linseed and as far as I can see, it is brilliant for the coat (and mane and tail) and for the feet. You might want to give it a try - its about £20 a bag but if you feed a mugfull a day (all that is required) it will last you at least 4 months. You may also want to supplement magnesium and feed brewers yeast. Both made a marked difference to my boy's feet. you may also find with these supplemented, the addition of Biotin also helps.

I couldn't care less whether you want to keep him shod or not but I am pretty damed sure that his current diet is not helping his feet.
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Regardless of all the above,am simply posting to say that our farrier came to replace two thrown shoes this week(very unusual for the horses in question) and told us that he has been replacing thrown shoes left,right&centre in the past 3wks or so. Said he'd not known anything like it for a long time and could only think the weather was the problem.
 
My horse was losing a shoe a week, recently shod, earlier in the year when it was very wet and he was in a poached field. He didn't do any damage to the foot - the shoe and all the nails just seemed to pop straight off leaving the wall intact. He's got pretty strong, sturdy feet and holds them well usually - it was just wet and mud that seemed to be making a difference.

He's fed mollassed sugar beet :eek: and hi-fi :eek: and cheapy nuts :eek: and lots of rich green grass :eek::p
 
I keep mine stabled for a good few hours a day at the moment to give their feet a chance to dry out. Horse always lose shoes when there is prolonged wet, feet get soft & sodden. I don't suppose this a particularly popular simple solution tho
 
I really don't miss having to walk in the field these days and have to immediately check that all four shoes are on.....one of the benefits of barefoot I feel smug to say!

Anyway OP - I tried Keratex for years on my last horse's shod feet - it didn't do a bloody thing - save your money. There is nothing you can put on the outside of your horses' feet that will help - the stuff that helps comes from the inside. I really feel for you as I went through so many years of shoes coming off and the hooves deteriorating all the time! I don't miss that heart-sinking feeling of looking down and seeing that one has come off again.
 
Loads round here are loosing shoes left, right and centre. All the rain has given us very lush grass and the feet are crumbling because of it, added to the constant wet ground.

It makes me SOOOOO glad none of mine are shod :eek: . I currently hear nothing but 'I can't ride today as he/she's lost a shoe', whilst my lot are padding about with their little bare tootsies regardless. :D
 
There have been a huge amount of lami cases over the last couple of months.

Many horses are losing shoes and suffering with poor wall quality.

I'm seeing lots of threads asking what lotion people should put on their horse's hooves. "Kevin Bacon lotion" (aka lard) is the cry....but then people are complaining that the wet weather is causing a problem to the hooves?

This confuses me....there are complaints that it's either too wet or too dry and either one is a reason for poor hoof quality:confused:

I didn't know hooves were so very delicate to environmental changes :p.

Can I pip up with another suggestion regarding all these problems?

High sugar levels in the grass. Low levels of magnesium, copper and zinc.
Before we blame the weather and genetics for all the hoof problems in the world...let's look at the grass.

Before we blame the weather and genetics for all the hoof problems in the world...let's look at the diet first. We can't do anything about the weather or genetics...but we can tinker with the diet.

I know it's tiresome and repetitive...but it REALLY makes a difference when you feed them exactly what they need - especially at this time of year.

Then, when the hooves are right, they can do as much exercise as possible - which is the other wonder cure.

And I mean that for shod and barefoot horses.
I have no interest in whether people shoe or not - it's their horse and their choice.
 
Of course if you're determined that feed makes no difference at all you could always try it just to prove us wrong! ;)

I too have seen the many posts advocating this lotion or that potion and in my time have tried many of them. My horse's hooves have never been in better shape than they are now, and should anyone require further "proof" I keep both my horses on full livery at the same yard, my boy is barefoot and on a barefoot diet, his hooves look amazing and have done 45 miles of roadwork in the last 3 weeks or so. My youngster is shod and is on the usual diet of chaff and mix with no supplements. Both horses are on the same grazing and only out at night. She hasn't lost a shoe yet but her hooves are crumbly and look a real state. They never have in any other year I've owned her (4 of them). I wonder what's making the difference?

For what it's worth I'm changing her over to the same diet as my lad is on, so I can see what happens, although I'm pretty sure her hooves will improve too. :)
 
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