Putting shoes back on?

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hatters

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Ok, so my ex-racer came to me with just front shoes on, however struggled to keep them on, so off they came, wasn't sore without them so just got on with things as normal (came off last October, so shoeless for 9 months now).
Feet look much better, farrier always comments on improvement of quality of the hoof etc. About 2 months ago he came in hopping lame, abscess in hind foot, puncture wound visible (probably from galloping around field on stones), farrier released pressure, poulticed, came sound. About 2 weeks later, lame again in front, not hopping lame, but lame, eventually found small abscess in front foot, poulticed, and is now sound.
I thought the 2 abscesses were down to being barefoot, however farrier says not, apparently would have had the abscesses anyway.... farrier says have front shoes back on if I like but didnt say it would make much difference, many people on yard also saying put some shoes on. Not sure what to do?! His feet are a bit cracked now the weather is dry (farrier says superficial and nothing to worry about), I am worried putting them back on will undo all the work which has improved them (if he keeps pulling them off again), but also don't want a lame horse I can't ride due to abscesses! Farrier is booked in for a weeks time, so I need to decide what to do - any advice?
 
Sounds a similar dilemma to me & my TB!
He had his shoes off in sept last year, however he hasnt really worked since. His feet have improved massively but hes far too foot sore for work not on a surface.
Have you thought about getting him some boots?? Much cheaper than shoes in the long run & will enable his feet to grow as you want them without the risk of so many absesses (hopefully!)
 
I have recently had a couple of abscesses in my horses, both on feet without shoes. I can't see that shoes would make that much of a difference BUT that experience seems to have proved otherwise. I doubt that putting shoes on will suddenly make his feet bad again and if they are fitted well they shouldn't be pulled off too easily. It's really up to you- he may never get another abscess in any case, just bad luck. Sorry I'm not much help.... :(
 
I was very happy with his feet before the abcesses, looked really good, and he has never been sore, happy to trot on roads, but I am careful about where we canter, and avoid stoney parts of tracks etc. Looking at him galloping around his field, I am sure he never feels the ground! Suppose I will ask farrier for more advice next week. I just don't want anymore abscesses!
 
I will be watching this thread closely too. I have a SFxID who had her shoes removed exactly for the same reasons and to give her a break if I'm honest, last July. She is a lot happier without shoes and goes fine on the roads and fields but we are surounded in stoney tracks everywhere and I am on the cusp of having the shoes back on as it seems so unfair on her to struggle on instead of just getting out there and having some fun. I do have the Renegade boots for her fronts in which she goes well in, but they are not fitting right just lately. I'm proper fed up and feel stretched as to what to do for the best?

Sorry to kidnap your post hatters:o
 
No problem, good to share similar experiences! I also worry about him out hacking, and feel a bit guilty, but he does seem fine. I thought about boots, but he does lots of galloping around the field and I think thats where most of the damage occurs, and I don't think he could wear them 24/7?
 
Boots aren't designed to be worn 24/7 permanently though it's fine to leave them on in the field for short periods where necessary - recovering lami cases for example.

Abscesses occur just as often in shod feet as in barefoot feet - if you get repeated abscesses they are a sign of weak internal structures. It can take 18 months for a horse that started with bad feet to grow a really strong, healthy foot - that's two growth cycles. One thing is for sure if you have a weak foot putting a shoe on will not improve things, however keeping that same foot bare will give it chance to keep growing stronger and stronger. To grow a strong foot you need as much blood circulation in that foot as possible. Putting shoes on significantly reduces the volume of blood pumped round the foot. You may have to live with the odd abscess until the foot gets stronger - they are distressing but they are natures way of expelling gunk from the foot so that it can get healthy.

For horses that have been barefoot for a while but are still footy on stones then this is almost always down to diet. I'd be interested to know what you feed your horses hatters and elsbells, including what their grazing is like. If you treat your horse as if he was a laminitic i.e. starvation paddock turnout, extremely low sugar/starch diet, no carrots, no likits etc then you have a much much better chance of having a barefoot horse that is sound on even the rockiest/stoniest or flintiest of terrains. Hoof boots are a compromise until you can get diet sorted out - there are plenty of different makes out there so if one brand doesn't fit then there are others to try. It's very common for hooves to change size and shape signifcantly after removing shoes - it's common that the set of boots you buy immediately the shoes come don't fit 6 months later. But it's a very good sign of a new healthier hoof!
 
Feed wise, he only gets low sugar, high fibre, being an ex-racer I didn't want to encourage stomach ulcers etc, he gets top spec balancer, unmolassed chaff (alfa a oil and have recently tried TopChop Alfalfa), top spec cool condition cubes, and in winter he had speedibeet. He was thin when I got him, and can drop weight, although is a good weight now, so I have to consider that too. His grazing is ok, about 2 acres for him and his friend, which is divided into two sections, so its never too lush unless rested for a while. In winter he had haylege, which kept the weight on nicely, however I am aware its fairly high in sugar. However he hasn't ever been footy, whether that is diet related or not I am unsure - he just adapted fine being shoeless. I just worry about stones puncturing foot, which is how I believe the first abscess came about, or gravel entering the white line and causing abscesses that way. I have some photos of his feet pre-abscesses which I could post later for those interested.
 
Forgot to say, he is also out 24/7 as doesn't like being in for too long!

mrdarcy, what you say about improving growth etc all makes sense as his feet look so much better than when he had shoes on!
 
There are shod horses getting an abscess every day, it's just par for the course with horse ownership. It is probably the commonest cause of lameness in horses.

I find it incredibly ironic that people in general on this forum will always believe the farrier when he/she tells them that their horse needs shoes, even though this is very often not true, and here you are with a brilliant farrier telling you that your horse did not get abscesses because he had no shoes on, and you don't believe him.

Please, thank your lucky stars that you have a horse who can do barefoot easily, write off the puncture'd hind as an accident, because it was, and ask around how many people's shod horses get an occasional abscess and let him off the front one. In any case, the two are probably related. He trod on something with the back one which punctured a hole (this is not classic "pus in the foot" when it results from an identified puncture). My guess is that he also trod on the same thing with a front foot, but not so hard, and damaged the sole which took two weeks to brew into the "new" abscess that you think is unrelated. I'd put money on the two being linked, the timing is spot on.

If your farrier is not in favour of shoeing him, please listen to him/her.
 
I have always gone with my farriers suggestions, such as taking the shoes off in the first place, I trust his judgement over my own/people on my yard - just sometimes there is a fair amount of pressure to put them back on! I'm glad others also think the abscesses weren't barefoot related, I hope to keep him shoeless for as long as he is confortable, as I believe the benefits are worth the hardwork (and good on my bank balance).

Good point about both abscesses being related, didn't think of that - but does make sense.
 
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Els feet do look good at the moment, they have changed shape, they are nice and smooth and are as hard as a rock! They even clip clop on soil and we have never had an abscess or hooves falling apart type issues yet, it's just she does struggle on all the tracks. She is out 24/7 on about 1.5 acres to herself and I give her a handful of cheapo nuts from the agri suppliers and unmollased alfa just as a thanks when she comes in for her work, which by the way is six days out of seven. I have to confess though that I did take away her field lick last night:o.

This thread drove me to speak to my trimmer yesterday, she's coming out on Sunday and she feels that the internal structure of Els feet needs more work and she needs the time to be allowed to get it there as I have only just started using her again. The flare has to be got on top of and I have to a least see it through to the winter to be fair, which I plan to do. Els was an institutionalised horse for a long time and I guess she was never without a full set of shoes until I had them removed last summer, so it will take time and I do realise that. I do feel proud though when we trot out on the road though and her feet sound louder than my friends horses shod ones!

I'm going to have another go with the Renegades as they are adjustable and I think I just need to get the adjustment right. Her fronts are a lot better shape, no wings now, but obviously bigger. The boots are fantastic when they fit and we have even galloped in them.

Barefoot for me is not so much cheaper as my trimmer charges £40 every 5 weeks and that's not really why I want it to work anyway, I really desperatley want to do it for my horse, for her wellbeing, her comfort and her health. I will really will be gutted if those shoes have to go back on:(
 
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