Natural Balance Shoes (and Foot Expansion?)

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K27

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I would be grateful if you would be able to share your experiences of NB Shoes/shoeing in general- for years one of my horses was shod with Wide Webbed Rolled toe shoes and has always had really good feet however for the last 2 years he has been wearing NB Shoes, I have noticed that for the last year or so the horn quality isn't so good so he has needed a foot supplement for the first time ever (which to be honest I've always not been sure about feeding foot supplements),

I've now come to the conclusion that maybe its the NB shoes that are restricting his foot growth in some way as the foot can't expand? there is slow growth to his front feet especially. Previously he has always grown a lot of foot. His diet is well balanced.

I have noticed that there are rub marks on the heels- is this because the heels are contracted?

Does anyone have any ideas? should I go back to the wide webbed rolled toes? My horse is very sound, (and the NB shoes have been put on well and I am pleased with my Farriers work though.)

If you have any thoughts/ideas I would be very grateful of your help!

Thank you for reading this far- bit of an essay I know!!
 
Ok well NBS are in fact just a rolled toe shoe.. and to befair the shoe width is a fair size with them too.
I do not think that if the shoe is fitted right that it can effect the quality of horn growth..
Also.. no foot which is shod with nails can expand simple as!

if you have some pics i can look at i can give you a had. the heels contract when the shoe is ill fitting..
I'm off to a funeral now, but will reply later.

Lou x
 
See, I experienced to total opposite with Benj.
He had terrible feet. Was always told that, oh, this horse will never grow heel etc blah blah.... but now, his feet are amazing! It is all to do with correct skeletal alignment and the flow of blood.

I will say though, when Benj was shod NB by my old farrier, his feet did blow out of the sides......but I now know that it was the fact that the old farrier would just rasp the walls of his feet to fit the shoe.
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My 2 a Welsh x and a TB have been shod with NB shoes for years now and they have been fine ..

TBO they have been part of the recuperation for my Cushings horse and he had 10 degrees of rotation of the Pedal Bone, following the dreaded Laminitis
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Mine and a horse I have alot to do with both have NB shoes on infront. Both have got very good horn quality (mine used to have shoddy feet!) and have never had a problem with them at all. SOunds like a farrier problem to me, not a shoe problem....
 
Many thanks to all of you for your replies! - very interesting- I've decided that I'm going to carry on with the NB Shoes with quarter clips that he's been wearing after reading your feedback-I've always been pleased with them and my other horse has great feet that has these shoes.

I've come to the conclusion just my horse going through a slow foot growth spell! - I'm lucky that we have a very good NB farrier who does a great job of shoeing, so I guess I will see what he can recommend! Maybe I'll try Formula 4 feet or Farriers formula- Thanks again though for replying!
 
both of mine in NB shoes on for last 7 years the other for about 6 months had no problems as such the one that has had them on for 7 years used to lose shoes all the time but since been in NB has been a much better quality of the hoof will also depend on many factors such as feed/grass ground/bedding and also work load sometimes you have to loook at the bigger picture for the full answer.
 
My TB has NB shoes as they are the only thing that keep him sound - his has collateral ligament damage. Previously his feet were of very poor quality and he grew very little new hoof. He is now on Formula 4 Feet which made a very noticeable difference. From talking to my new farrier I have gathered that 'trauma' to the hoof can cause it to temporarily stop growing. My horse had a tendency to pull off shoes every few weeks and so was constantly being shod. This caused concussion (he has very thin soles and low lying pedal bones) causing his feet to go in to shock and therefore not grow. Now he is going six weeks between shoeings and his feet have never looked better. Has your horse been doing a lot of work on hard ground that could cause concussion? Hope that makes some sense and doesn't sound like total nonsense!
 
I found that my horses feet broke up and looked a mess vey quickly when in the shelf bought NB shoes, he now has wide webs, rolled at toe slightly and set back with quarter clips and is fine in these.
My farrier commented that the pitch of the nail holes in the shop bought NB shoes doesn't always suit all horses as the angle is quite shallow
 
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