Losing shoes every five minutes

[mbbillz]

Probably get these type of threads a lot here but wondered if anyone can help.
I’ve had my new horse about 3 months and so far his shoes haven’t managed to last a whole cycle and it’s driving me a bit mad. They’re done every 6 weeks and he’s lost them literally a day after being shod so it’s not like he just needs them replacing more often.

Every professional who has seen him has remarked on how good his feet are, yet we can’t seem to keep shoes on. He’s lost a front AND a back shoe today somehow which I’ve never even heard of despite being around horses for 20 years (like how is that even possible?!).

Last time he lost a front one (about three weeks ago) I thought it was maybe because the boots he wears weren’t quite big enough so I went and bought some different XL ones that literally touch the floor. I thought it had done the job but clearly not ?.

When he loses them it’s always a clean loss with no signs of broken hoof at all. I’m thinking of trying a new farrier just in case it’s something in the way he’s shod perhaps?! Yes the fields are pretty muddy at the moment but this isn’t normal surely?

Please no “just go barefoot” suggestions because all we have where I am is road hacking and I will need studs in the future so barefoot would be my absolute last resort.

Just looking for success stories or suggestions?! If this is a sign of things going forward then I am not enthused ?.

 

[PapaverFollis]

Change farrier.

Take just back shoes off.

Go barefoot but use hoofboots for work. Improve the quality of the hoof for when you need to shoe to use studs in the future.

Change feed balancers to improve quality of hoof.

 

[Red-1]

I had this with one horse with a farrier that had been good up until then. A new farrier made it all right again. The new farrier said that the hoof angle was off just enough that the foot wasn't functioning well enough, even though it wasn't far off.

After that, no lost shoes unless it was for something silly.

I would also say that some horses can't do a 6 week cycle, they need constant re-balancing.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

New farrier or try shoesecure, they are brilliant!! My old WB has terrible feet and would take a chunk of foot every time he lost a shoe. I used shoesecure first then changed farrier. That solved the problem.

 

[Gloi]

If you are road hacking boots are better than shoes anyway as the grip is better on smooth tarmac.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Overreach boots might help..sounds like he’s standing on himself (or the farrier isn’t great ..sorry).

 

[Arzada]

Please no “just go barefoot” suggestions because all we have where I am is road hacking and I will need studs in the future so barefoot would be my absolute last resort.

Luckily our roads are ideal for barefoot.

 

[SEL]

I know barefoot is your last resort but sometimes a little while out of shoes can give hooves the time they need to build up some strength. If you don't need to stud right now then boots are an option for roadwork and you don't have to worry about them being pulled off in a muddy field.

 

[asmp]

Ours used to lose a shoe at least once a month. A few years later and same farrier and he doesn’t lose them (touch wood). The farrier used to think he caught them on the (wire) fencing as they were clean pulls. I suspect he may have been right as horse did tend to lean over the fencing to eat weeds on other side but now we have electric fencing on the top rail.

 

[ycbm]

I know you said no barefoot but you listed road hacking as a reason. Road hacking is possibly the best surface of all for barefoot.
.

 

[asmp]

I know you said no barefoot but you listed road hacking as a reason. Road hacking is possibly the best surface of all for barefoot.
.

Is that why my farrier keeps telling me i should ride mine occasionally without his boots? I took the shoes off and replaced them with boots because he has large calcified sidebones and was no longer happy with the farrier banging his hoof, but it seems to me that it would be the worse thing I could do.

 

[ycbm]

Is that why my farrier keeps telling me i should ride mine occasionally without his boots? I took the shoes off and replaced them with boots because he has large calcified sidebones and was no longer happy with the farrier banging his hoof, but it seems to me that it would be the worse thing I could do.

I expect so. Smooth tarmac is a fabulous barefoot conditioning surface. Only the recently top-dressed roads tend to be any problem.

People always ask if it won't wear the foot away too much. I always point out that the old fashioned way of sharpening a cutthroat razor was to swipe it up and down a leather strap. In material science it's not always the softer material that wears away!
.

 

[AUB]

Mine does the same. Hooves are good, farrier does a great job - have had other farriers take a look, but the horse is turned out 10 hours daily on a slopy field with good horse friends and they have great fun out there! This time of year the field is of course somewhere slippery.

So what I can do limit her turnout to a smaller field without company. And I won’t do that.
Instead she has 2 pairs of bell boots on in front and one pair on the hind hooves. That helps a bit. Now it’s usually just 1 shoe per cycle and she actually managed to go may-october without any lost shoes!
I buy quite cheap rubber bell boots. I always buy bright pink ones so they’re easy to find when lost. And I buy at least 10 pairs at a time.

 

[super_cheval]

Kevin Bacon hoof formula or farriers formula works very well as a food supplement for regrowing hooves
I would 100% recommend Karatex hoof hardener, my boy used to be the same and I battled with this problem for years, at the end he kept his shoes until they were totally worn thin.

 

[mbbillz]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone ?. I’m trying a new farrier first to see how we get on! Along with starting a new diet plan from my nutritionist (which I was doing anyway) which will help keep his hooves strong and healthy. Fingers crossed!

 

[GG13]

I feel your pain.
One of mine used to pull shoes all the time. I’d tried various fixes and changes in diet to improve good quality but nothing worked. This time of year he could lose more than one a week so it just wasn’t feasible to keep him shod in winter.
I put it down to him being very ‘enthusiastic’ in the field, however for various reasons I changed farrier earlier this year and he hasn’t lost a shoe since!! He no longer even goes out in boots, whereas he used to wear 2 pairs of overreach on all 4 feet (and still managed to pull shoes!)
I can’t quite believe the difference.
I didn’t actually have an issue with how my old farrier shod him, but it clearly wasn’t right fo my horse.

 

[Britestar]

Many years ago I used a very eminent farrier, and my pony did the same. Pulled off shoes all the time. Changed farrier and it stopped happening. Didn't mean he was no good, just didn't suit her.

 

[SpotsandBays]

Are you using overreach boots? My boy can’t be trusted without them, and will wear them 24/7 when he’s got his shoes on as he can be abit of a t*t, and will stand on himself during his mad field moments or fizzy moments! Otherwise I’d be looking at the diet in regards to health hoof growth (although this could take a while to see changes), and possibly the farrier.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

You need to get Keratex hoof hardner. The reason he is losing shoes is because the nail holes are becoming enlarged as the feet get wet. The hoof becomes soft, the nail holes fill with water, the nail becomes loose and the shoe comes off.

The website states:
Keratex Hoof Hardener formula is patented and includes a unique flexibility agent as well as a hardening agent, making this the perfect product to protect your horse from: brittle, cracked, soft or weak hooves; soft, sensitive or thin soles; repeated shoe loss; transition to barefoot; hoof damage.

Keratex Hoof Hardener will strengthen and protect shod and unshod hooves, to restore soundness after sensitive soles and to prevent existing cracks from laddering up or across the hooves.
It works by cross-linking the keratins and proteins within the internal structures of the hooves, making hooves stronger from the inside out. Because it absorbs into the hooves, it will not ‘come off’ in the field, it will continue to work within the hoof whatever the weather and whatever the field conditions.

Since it first became available to horse owners in 1990 as the first product of its kind, Keratex Hoof Hardener has shown to improve hoof quality.

​

 

[Gloi]

I tried Keratex for quite a long time trying to get the feet to keep shoes on. In the end the only thing that improved the feet was removing the shoes for good.