Losing shoes

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cheekywelshie

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My horse lost a front shoe just two days after being shod. They hadn't been turned out in that time, so it must have been when I was riding in the field. He lost the same shoe only two weeks earlier but I waited for the farrier to come for the next apppointment. Mine can't come out til Friday - so I've had to bite the bullet and find someone to put it back on (not cheap) so that I cans till ride this week...might sound mad but it's Xmas week , I have the week off and he's an old boy now I don't know how many Xmas day's we might have left! (We always go for a hack xmas morning). His feet are in good condition.

I"m wondering what to do, in the long run just keep fronts take backs off or think about going barefoot, I tried this before though and he is footy but I don't to keep forking out for new shoes every week.
 
Mine lost 3 fronts in the 6 weeks between being shod last time. I had the first put back on then didn’t bother with the other 2. So far they’ve stayed in since but I have just popped over reach boots on to see if it helps. They are out all the time so he wears them all the time. I’d definitely try them when ridden if that’s when yours are being lost. Get good big ones which go right to the floor.
 
cheekywelshie said:
My horse lost a front shoe just two days after being shod. They hadn't been turned out in that time, so it must have been when I was riding in the field. He lost the same shoe only two weeks earlier but I waited for the farrier to come for the next apppointment. Mine can't come out til Friday - so I've had to bite the bullet and find someone to put it back on (not cheap) so that I cans till ride this week...might sound mad but it's Xmas week , I have the week off and he's an old boy now I don't know how many Xmas day's we might have left! (We always go for a hack xmas morning). His feet are in good condition.

I"m wondering what to do, in the long run just keep fronts take backs off or think about going barefoot, I tried this before though and he is footy but I don't to keep forking out for new shoes every week.
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Try getting him fitted for a decent set of hoof boots - which you can either use barefoot, or at least have a spare tyre whenever he casts shoes, and keep him ticking over. Have a nice Christmas, both!
 
Three elements imo - horn quality, hoof balance and the balance of the horse in movement ie posture and movement patterns. You can work on the latter with proper postural groundwork which will actually change the way he moves all the time, not just when ridden. Essentially if they're less "falling forwards" which forces the front feet to stay on the ground for too long, ending up too far under the body.

Farriers talk about the breakover point and shorten the toes (in better and less good ways) and may of course also (always bad) try and keep the shoes really tight at the back, but feet AND body matter, and even vets and bodyworkers don't even address this as often as perhaps they should (IMO, remedial type saddle fitter).

Working on the hoof balance and horn quality is of course important and barefoot is a good way to do it, diet and management also helping both. Don't rush into it, be ready for some conditioning, but he could well be a lot healthier without shoes.
 
Mine list shoes three times in the space of a few weeks. Fields are wet and muddy and just couldn’t risk another coming off and damaging the foot. Mare has now been out of shoes about 9 weeks. Hacking has been curtailed a bit and she is now footy on rough ground - I’ve transitioned before so know it’s never a simple journey. It’s pretty annoying as off over Christmas too but I think there must be an underlying issue with hoof quality and this period will be better for her long term. Decent hoof supplement and boots in action and finger crossed I see some improvement.
 
It was the same hoof but his hoof is good no cracks and none of the other shoes have come off but that one twice in two weeks (one after two days) Had to get another farrier to put it back on so managed to do Xmas ride today
 
I had to get a different farrier in the end so I could ride this week. I just got the bill from the other for 100 so that’s 140 on shoes this week. My farrier said on Sunday he’d come out today but then never got back to me - I got someone else out on Tuesday. I think I’ll try the new one going forward.
 
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