Shoe dilemma

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whiteclover

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Horse has lost a shoe (again, twice now in two weeks). It could be because hes running around in the mud. So would you get his shoe put back on or pull the other one off? Bearing in mind hes slightly footy in trot on the foot with no shoe on. Hes got no back shoes on currently but strangely came to me with back shoes on but no fronts.
 
I'd see if he could go unshod. I'd have farrier remove shoe, not do it myself. Then have a read on here for the threads about getting the diet and exercise right. You can always use hoofboots for riding if you need to, sounds like it would be less hassle than trying to keep him shod.
 
What does your farrier think? He knows your horse's hooves & is in a far better position than I am to tell you whether or not he can do the work you want without shoes since he can actually see the horse & his feet! Running around in mud shouldn't, in normal circumstances, make a shoe come off - does the horse have a bad action?
 
Shoes should not come off in mud, in wet weather we get knee deep, welly pinching mud, but not once have the horses lost a shoe, I have lost more than one welly.
We feed gelatine powder to help strengthen hooves and it does seem to work
 
I have the same dilemma with tb, he overreaches when he is galloping about and off pings a shoe (he also wears over reach boots all the time), sigh. I am considering going unshod if I buy him but only loan atm. Owner wouldnt go for it and he also gets footy on the missing one.

Does yours have quite shallow soles? I am thinking of getting boots for the fronts, some people put them on over shoes anyway for turnout to keep shoes on, maybe you could try that.
 
Take them off, adjust diet to suit barefoot, perhaps a tiny bit of keratex while he adjusts once a week should do, lots of walking on tarmac to toughen him up... In the end it will save you money and it won't take long until he stops being footy as long as his diet is correct, my tb mare was footy to begin with and she was slightly flat footed too which didn't help but we did it all without keratex hacked and hunted barefoot through the stoniest of places with no problem... She turned into a little mountain goat :)
 
If the horse is footy with no shoes on then appears sound when shod, he still has whatever problem is causing the footiness, but the shoes are masking the problem not providing a cure.

For some people this is enough and are content with this situation, others choose to tackle the underlying problem and have a horse which is sound either shod or barefoot.

There are a myriad of reasons why a horse is footy when the shoes come off, and unless the cause is obvious like thrush, or thin soles for example then discovering the true cause of the lameness can be a protracted affair, which will encompass a fundimental change in the management and feeding.

If the owner decides to rise to the challenge and does produce a sound barefoot horse, it is comforting to know that there is nothing going on within the hoof, masked by shoes, which will come to light further down the line when the condition reaches a level where it is not masked by shoes any more. conditions like navicular springs to mind, amongst others.
 
Pale Rider said:
If the horse is footy with no shoes on then appears sound when shod, he still has whatever problem is causing the footiness, but the shoes are masking the problem not providing a cure.

For some people this is enough and are content with this situation, others choose to tackle the underlying problem and have a horse which is sound either shod or barefoot.

There are a myriad of reasons why a horse is footy when the shoes come off, and unless the cause is obvious like thrush, or thin soles for example then discovering the true cause of the lameness can be a protracted affair, which will encompass a fundimental change in the management and feeding.

If the owner decides to rise to the challenge and does produce a sound barefoot horse, it is comforting to know that there is nothing going on within the hoof, masked by shoes, which will come to light further down the line when the condition reaches a level where it is not masked by shoes any more. conditions like navicular springs to mind, amongst others.
Click to expand...

Excellent post....and very true....
 
mandwhy said:
I have the same dilemma with tb, he overreaches when he is galloping about and off pings a shoe (he also wears over reach boots all the time), sigh. I am considering going unshod if I buy him but only loan atm. Owner wouldnt go for it and he also gets footy on the missing one.

Does yours have quite shallow soles? I am thinking of getting boots for the fronts, some people put them on over shoes anyway for turnout to keep shoes on, maybe you could try that.
Click to expand...

funny you should mention that, he does over reach and he stands quite close together.
 
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