Shoeing options- help needed please.

S

SAL66

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 June 2007
Messages
814
Visit site
My new horse hasn't the best hooves in the world but according to my farrier they arn't too bad.

He has pulled a piece of horn to the outside of his front hoof and I'm not sure how on earth the farrier will be able to put a new shoe on.

I don't want to go barefoot , so what else could I do to ensure that a shoe could be put back on, I did read somewhere that another user uses Equicast, so I'm wondering if a new shoe was nailed on could I then wrap the shoe over with Equicast to keep it on.

Ideas gratefully received.
 
Jessrulesdaworld- thanks I will have to ring the farrier up before Thursday this week because I can't be there when he is being shod, although I might have to try.

I will ask about the gel putty and I did look at those boots - old mac boots i think they were called- never used them before so quite new to me tbh.
 
Bad luck
frown.gif
It can become a vicious circle once you lose a chunk of wall as the farrier has less to nail onto to can't make as secure an attachment, hence the shoe is more likely to come off again and bring more hoof wall with it ... etc.

That was my fairly recent experience anyway, but not wanting to be negative.

What has worked well for us was a combination of things. Firstly I changed farrier, which might not be necessary in your case, but my previous farrier, although lovely, was a bit junior and I felt the nailing was a bit hit and miss, especially when he had less to nail onto. A lot of nails went in and then he pulled them out straight away as they weren't quite right. I felt this was weakening what wall we had. Admittedly my horse was a fidget. So the new farrier used shoes with quarter clips instead of a toe clip, which helped to stabilise the shoe and enable him to nail in a different part of the foot where the wall was sounder. He also used finer nails to stop it breaking up. Plus I gave her 10ml of Sedalin to keep her more still so he could place the nails accurately.

I have been feeding Formula4Feet which has brought down some stronger hoof wall, and using Kevin Bacon liquid hoof dressing regularly on my farrier's advice. I used Keratex hoof hardener on the very crumbly edges to start with, but this is best used in moderation as it can make to hoof brittle rather than supple. Kevin Bacon is better once the wall has stopped falling apart.

But back to your point, equicast can help get you past a blip with missing hoof wall, though I haven't used it personally. I did use equibuild on a previous horse which is an injectable pad that helped him keep shoes on.
 
I use equicast and yes it can be put on top off the shoe after it being put onto the foot.
smile.gif

But your could also use it without the shoe as it coveres the sole aswell so you wouldn't be 'barefoot' as such. I had to use them like this because shoes couldn't be fitted but he was too foot sore without them.

Good luck I hope the horn grows back quickly
smile.gif
 
Hi irish, just a question....why do you not want to go barefoot?! I used to have such trouble with my gelding, sometimes he did not even have enough hoof to nail a show on to..i tried everything, glue on shoes (soooo expensive) thousands (literally) of pounds worth of supplements, but still his feet were rubbish. Then thought about barefoot, after all, its the natural way a horse is supposed to be - not have great lumps of metal nailed to their feet, and have never looked back. Feet are strong, never chip or crack, and although he was a bit footy for a while, is never foot sore now. Do it - take those shoes off lol!!!
 
Thanks brightmount for your detailed reply, I have to agree with you in the fact its a viscious circle once loosing horn, and I'm now trying to think of ways on which to limit the damage if you know what I mean. Banging on a new shoe as best as the farrier can is really not the answer.

I currently feed Biotin but am inclined to think that either formula for feet or farriers formula might be the better option.

He is quite good with the farrier , but is the farrier I use the best that I can find in my area ?, I don't know, he's reliable, good with the horses and does a good price.

Jesterfaerie, yes I searched on here last night and saw that you used Equicast, why did you start using it? Could I do everything I do now ie hacking and schooling a youngster in this stuff?
Also where do you buy it from and is it easy to use?

Sorry for all the questions.
 
You can buy it from their website (equicast.co.uk) I personally do not buy it myself as my farrier buys it and applies it for me as I now has shoes aswell but you can do it yourself. It is easy to use you basicly apply the glue to the hoof and then apply it like you would a bandage (ie for a poultice).

I started to use it because my TB has VERY bad feet and my farrier has had good results of recovery from them so he told me to start using it to see if his feet improve.

Yes you can I used to hack out with only the equicasts on although you will not be able to do as much road work as you can with shoes on because they do wear away.
 
Thanks Jesterfaerie I'll ring my farrier about it so he can bring some for Thursday, I will try anything at the moment. As the road work goes I've only just started hacking my youngster out so I will never do a great deal at the moment.

I just want to give his feet a chance to repair themselves rather than keep damaging them.

Thanks again.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Plus I gave her 10ml of Sedalin to keep her more still so he could place the nails accurately.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry that was a mistake, I meant to say 2ml. On 10ml she would be comatose lol!!
 
I would recommend barefoot as a solution too. I use Old Mac G2 boots which do seem to stay put and they come with neoprene gaiters to avoid rubbing. Have a look at http://www.easycareinc.com/Our_Boots/old_macs_g2/Old_Macs_G2.aspx

I would also recommend using an equine podiatrist rather than a farrier to do your barefoot trim, as they are specialists in that area. Have a look at http://www.epauk.org/index.php or http://www.equinepodiatry.net/locate.html#UK for a KC La Pierre trimmer, they do an HPT (High Performance Trim). I can thoroughly vouch for Trevor Jones as he used to be my trimmer, he's a wonderful guy and a genuine lover of horses and so experienced!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top