Shoeing after laminitis recovery

[Iloveeverycat]

Hi,

my mum’s horse had mild laminitis over a year ago due to being overweight

she had a long time off work (not due to any illness / fault of her own)

I’ve brought her back into work. She’s always had front shoes , but had them taken off due to not being ridden . I’ve been riding her in hoof boots . Barefoot , she can be sore walking on stoney ground (not due to laminitis , she was always like this without shoes due to always being shod from a young age) although she has actually got better since I’ve brought her back into work

I was going to get front shoes put back on but now I’m unsure what to do

People who have had a similar experience , do your horses that have had laminitis tend to do better shod or barefoot with hoof boots ?

is there any way that shoeing can make it worse / trigger lami coming back ?

I’ve asked my farrier who said that every horse is different so it’s hard to tell

just wanted to know what everyone else thinks ? She has recovered now and has never had it since

she will need new hoof boots either way as the ones I used to bring her back into work are old

 

[HappyHollyDays]

My Connie had laminitis 4 years ago and I had steel shoes put back on him when he started working again. Last year when slim, very fit and in full work he got concussion laminitis from the hard ground so he had his shoes off for 8 months while his feet recovered but he just couldn’t cope once back in work without them so I tried hoof boots. Even though I already have one in hoof boots it was apparent he wasn’t getting on with them so I had Duplo composite shoes put back on rather than steel. The difference in the way he moves is very noticeable, he almost floats in trot and the shoes move with the foot rather than being a rigid add on. I will never use steel shoes again but as your Farrier says every horse is different and it’s a bit of trial and error until you find the right solution.

 

[Iloveeverycat]

My Connie had laminitis 4 years ago and I had steel shoes put back on him when he started working again. Last year when slim, very fit and in full work he got concussion laminitis from the hard ground so he had his shoes off for 8 months while his feet recovered but he just couldn’t cope once back in work without them so I tried hoof boots. Even though I already have one in hoof boots it was apparent he wasn’t getting on with them so I had Duplo composite shoes put back on rather than steel. The difference in the way he moves is very noticeable, he almost floats in trot and the shoes move with the foot rather than being a rigid add on. I will never use steel shoes again but as your Farrier says every horse is different and it’s a bit of trial and error until you find the right solution.

That’s a good point- rubber shoes will absorb impact whereas steel shoes do the opposite I guess (I know you had different shoes , mine gets on ok with boots though ). That’s an important factor for me as we have to go on a lot of roads to get to off road hacking and we don’t have a proper ménage . I’m leaning more towards boots because she seems to be doing fine in them up to now and like I said she’s actually becoming less footsore on stoney ground when the boots are off

 

[Iloveeverycat]

That’s a good point- rubber shoes will absorb impact whereas steel shoes do the opposite I guess . That’s an important factor for me as we have to go on a lot of roads to get to off road hacking and we don’t have a proper ménage . I’m leaning more towards boots because she seems to be doing fine in them up to now and like I said she’s actually becoming less footsore on stoney ground when the boots are off

Sorry , I know you said you had different shoes rather than boots , I mentioned boots in my reply because she does ok with them ?

 

[meleeka]

I would point out that the early signs of laminitis are harder to spot with a shod hoof so personally I’d keep using boots if they are working well.

 

[ester]

If she’s fine with boots on why change?

 

[Iloveeverycat]

If she’s fine with boots on why change?

I agree , but there could be some benefits to shoes that I wasn’t aware of which is why I was asking for people’s experiences ?

 

[ester]

Nope they have their place/boots don’t work great for all.
I’d make sure your nutrition ticked all the boxes hoof wise but otherwise carry on as you are