Natural Balance Shoes

Bosworth

Bosworth

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 February 2006
Messages
5,268
Location
devon
www.ballhillequestrian.co.uk
Have just called in a second opinion farrier to see if he can come up with any ideas to make my uncomfortable oldie more comfortable. He has Danilon everyday but since moving house the farrier I have used has refused to put on wide webs and Falco is clearly uncomfortable. I am also not happy with the length he is leaving on his toes or my other horse so am looking to move to second farrier

The second opinion farrier had a look at him and has suggested Natural Balance shoes, I have never tried those - can anyone give me any info on how they affected your horses way of going, what were they used for ie, navicular, sidebone, ringbone etc.

I have tried eggbars, Heart Bars, raised heels, pads, and barefoot. The only thing so far that seemed to ease him was wide webs, but I am happy to try Natural Balance if there is any possibility whatsoever that they will make him more comfortable. Any info gratefully received as he is a much loved oldie who doesn't want to retire
 
i would not hesitate to swap farriers and try natural balance as well. i have swapped recently and would not go back realise what a pile of poo old farrier was ( he never told me my horse had a foot inbalance in 3 feet for a start) good luck. which part of the country are you?
 
I think wide webs would have had a similar effect, but the NB shoes offer more support on heel and because the toe is pulled back means there is more natural foot alignment than with normal shoes. I would definitely give them a try aslong as your farrier knows what he is doing....
 
I am happy to swap, I am really insistant on decent feet having previously had a bad farrier, then finding a fantastic one who shod my horses for over 10 years. I move house 6 months ago and was recommended the current farrier, but am just not comfortable with the shoeing. It's not bad, just not good and my oldie is clearly not comfortable. I am struggling to find any info on what Natural Balance will bring to him
 
sorry - forgot to say - I am in Devon. The wide webs have worked brilliantly for him for about 5 years, the current farrier just insists on using standard concaves, and despite my having asked time and time again for wide webs, I just end up with concaves. I am moving to teh new farrier as he straightaway agreed to wide webs on both horses, and then suggested he would like Natural Balance shoes on Falco and asked to see his xrays/ scans/scintigraphy results so I feel a bit more confident in his desire to help my old chap
 
The success or otherwise of any shoe depends on the way that it is fitted. Correct trimming is the foundation to any shoeing, the shoe then helps to build on this. Your farrier should be able to explain to you the reason for using a particular shoe and its intended effect. If your horse goes well in wide webbed shoes I would suggest that you try to persuade a farrier to fit them. There are advantages and disadvantages with N.B. Shoes, they are unfortunately a bit over hyped as a cure all so it would be sensible to check carefully the reasons for there use in your particular case.
 
i have tried to find out info on the web on Natural Balance pros and cons - but very little on there - you either love them or hate them and the farriers appear to be split along teh same lines. the new farrier is rebalancing the foot as the current farrier seems incapable of doing so
 
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the NB shoes offer more support on heel and because the toe is pulled back means there is more natural foot alignment than with normal shoes.

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I do not know of any reason why an N.B. shoe will necessarily give more heel support, also pulling back the toe will not change the hoof alignment, its affect is on leverage. Long toes need to be shortened, not pulled back.
 
my horse doesn't have long toes, he is out of balance now because of the current farrier - but has never had long toes. in fact he has really good foot conformation. The new farrier will rebalance but suggested the Natural Balance as a trial to see if they do have a miraculous effect. if not then we return to Wide webs and more pain relief
 
Sorry
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When I read your first post
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I am also not happy with the length he is leaving on his toes

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I took it as his toes being too long, did you mean not enough length?
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All I can say is that my boy has been wearing them since last summer after tripping over his own feet constantly. My new farrier didn't have them on board (forgot to ask him) so he was fitted with normal shoes this time - he's back to tripping over his feet and nearly stacked it in the school the other day!

I can't rate them highly enough and once this 6/7 weeks is over he's having them back on again!
 
sorry spotties -it was my other horse that has his toes too long not this oldie. The oldies feet actually look ok until you lift them up and check for the balance. but he has joint problems so standard shoeing practice has to be worked around rather than stuck to rigidly. He struggles being shod every 7 weeks - actually far happier shod every 14 weeks, needs support around the foot - cannot cope with eggbars/heart bars as far too restrictive in the heal causing serious bruising. I have been told teh Natural Balance shos should help support teh heel but not restrict it
 
The best person to ask is Sally2008- try PMing her. She is very up to date with the NB shoeing and her farrier is one of only four farriers in the world with the highest level of Natural Balance certification.
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In my horses case there was more heel support because the shoe is fitted further back on the foot, so is longer in the hell and offers more support. Sorry I didnt word it very well, but the toe of the shoe is fitted further back, which is what i meant by pulled back....

http://www.tfp.uk.com/natural.htm explains it better!!
 
thanks everyone - well have just spoken to the farrier and we are going to try the Natural balance, I can go back to the wide webs if Natural balance does nothing, but to be honest I have nothing to lose. He is not comfortable, Danilon is not making him more comfortable. he is starting on Riaflex complete next week so hopefully i will see an improvement in his comfort levels.
 
Hi

Where abouts in Devon are you, I have a fantastic farrier who comes to wellington so if you are any where near Im sure he would come to you and fit a set for you. Hes fab !!!

PM me if you require details
 
One thing i would say is make sure your farrier is qualified to fit NB shoes. My lad had them on last year and his feet ended up going a bit splayed at the bottom (its the only way i can describe it!) because the farrier i used, although he came highly recommended, didnt really know what he was doing. I am now usinga diff farrier and the change has been for the better. However, like most things with horses what works for one doesnt necessarily work for another and I have heard very good things about NB shoes!
 
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