Natural Balances Shoes - fronts?

[chestnut cob]

My girl has NB shoes behind and they're brilliant. Really helped her out. When the farrier first put them on we talked about potentially having them on the fronts as well, but decided to stick with normal shoes. Now I'm just pondering it again...

Are front NBs the same as the backs (as in, they look like back shoes)?
What are the benefits of having NB on the front? She used to drag her hind toes and tended to trip, but that has all stopped since the NBs have gone on the fronts.
She has crap front feet which tend to crumble around the nails. Wondering if NBs on the fronts would help with this?

Thanks

 

[misterjinglejay]

According to my farrier, NB shoeing should use normal shoes but place them in a Natural Balance way eg rolled toe, side clips (as in hind shoes), and with the break over point set back. Apparently, they should be sited about one thumbs width from the apex of the frog.

He says that the actual NB shoes are factory-made in the Far East somewhere, and cannot be altered to fit the horse, and that the pre-formed nail holes are set at the wrong angle so the nail can touch the white line and cause problems (and get cast).

For the crumbly nail holes, try using Kevin Bacon hoof ointment or Keratex nail hole disinfectant.

My boy had terrible feet, switched to NB on all 4 feet, used KB and Keratex, and a year later his footsies are fab.

Good luck with yours - feet can be a real pain in the a***!

 

[KatB]

The NB showing method is just about foot balance. I have a traditional farrier, but he shoes alot of horses with shoes that appear to be NB as he says they put the feet in a more natural balance and stop long toes which is the problem with "traditional" shoeing. Mine has them infront, and they just look like squared off shoes without the toe clips. The actually shoe area is a bit wider too

My horse doenst go any differently in "normal" shoes or these, but it just keeps my farrier and I happy with his balance and length of toe

 

[cellie]

I use natural balance on front feet because my horse had low heels and long toes.He had terrible hoof quality and I put him on a supplement his horn is very good now and strong.The diet is a very important part in hoof horn quality but it takes 6 months to make a real difference.

 

[Laafet]

Murphy had fab feet until I had to use the yard farrier who only shod NB, on one of the yards I was at during Uni. He went from fantastic moving dressage horse to a shuffley hack, who tripped up all the time and his toes got long and heels low. I don't know if it was the NB or the farrier but I would never do it again. Took the shoes off as soon as I moved and it took 6 months and a huge foot absess to get him back to normal.

 

[shellonabeach]

My boy is NB shod in front - last week when he was shod the farrier suggested using the hind NB shoes on his fronts to help support his frog (I haven't seen the hinds before as my boy is only shod in front).

The hind shoes are actually very different in appearance. The fronts have no toe clips and a much wider toe. I have an old front shoe at the yard so will try to get you some pics of it and the hinds which are on to add to this thread.

 

[Natassia]

My horse has arthritis in one of his pasterns and has NB shoes in the front as my farrier recommended them, he never tripped much before and only trips now when he's not concentrating or has found something to look at. But I will carry on with them because they stop his toes getting too long too quickly, he's shod every 5 weeks.

 

[doris2008]

My horse is shod in this type of shoe. It has side clips, is set further back than traditional shoes & supports the heel as much as it can. Toes are rolled slightly.
My horse has gone from 2/3 tenths lame to 1/2 tenth intermittantly since having the shoes first on 6 weeks ago. Very pleased so far. Horse moves totally differently.