shoeing

Amy567

Amy567

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I'm on my phone so apologise in advance for spelling mistakes and odd looking words.

I have a new horse arriving tomorrow (beyond excited!) he has typical TB feet and is very flat footed, he also has sensitive imblanced heels, mainly left fore (I know, sounds like a lameness waiting to happen etc) but the imbalance should improve with correct shoeing, my farrier is.brilliant and is highly recommended by the vets etc, so that's not a problem. This horse also has sensitive legs, shown by a couple splints, one of which is still a little puffy (got a 6 month garuntee on it) so thinking wrap up in votton wool type horse!

My main reason for starting this post os different types of shoeing, my current mare (who is also tb with flat feet and had lameness issues) currently has conventional shoes and concussion pads, which my vet doesnt think.much of, but it's so she can work on hard ground without going lame instantly, and they wotk for her.

There's also less conventional shoes, sych as Cytek (sp?) shoes, which I've heard really mixed reviews from and a farrier claims they reduce concussion because the horse lands square on the hoof, not heel first (not sire how this works) and there's other plastic shoes to reduce concussion, but move a lot and make nails loose etc.


So, HHO, I'm putting it out there for a discussion on shoeing, types of shoe you use, what helps your horse, what doesn't etc. Any farriers advice would also be brilliant :-)

thanks in advance, cookies for all that answer :-D
 
I'm afraid I'm clueless but I will bump this as it would have taken me ages to type on my phone !

Could also try the vet / hoofcare section for knowledgeable answers. X
 
Firstly there is no genetic link between the breed and terrible hooves. The damage is caused by constant shoeing from a young age (think how young TB's are when they are backed).

Would you consider a break from shoes to help the hooves recover?
 
Splints aren't caused by "sensitive legs" but by strain: eg unbalanced hooves putting unnatural stresses on the limbs as the horse moves, or working an unfit horse too hard.

Why don't you discuss shoeing with your vet and farrier?
 
My Tb mare's feet were much improved by natural balance shoes with a gel filler, but it was not cheap. She has now got bare back feet and they look great, her fronts however, i've had to put shoes on, she just wasn't coping, and she lived with an expert barefoot person who managed her diet and everything. Diet could also help, low sugar, low starch maybe biotin and/or magnesium in the diet. Best to speak to your vet and farrier, they are the ones who helped my mare
 
My only experience of Cytek shoes is not brilliant but I know they've worked for miracles for some.
I had Natural Balance shoes on one of mine, he's thin soles/crap feet I was very happy initially but he started to go footy & sore. Something I was assured couldn't happen with them.
Let's just say I've now changed farriers & the horse has only just come sound again :( I'm not saying it's the shoes but actually in this case they weren't doing the right job for this horse yet the farrier kept banging them back on month after month not listening to my reservations about his footiness.
Farrier shoeing him now is brilliant & has talked me through every option to help the horse from 'conventional', to bar shoes, to gel pack, to imprint to bare foot (something we have done successfully with my other horse) He listens to me & tells me what he is doing & why.
That's the moral of this tale. Any shoe is only as good as the person nailing them on.
 
My only reservation with barefoot is that we have a gravel drive that they walk on, and no off road hacking for about 5 miles, and then that's on a private drive until fields, I know about the horse trainers etc and I've tried them when one of mine lost a shoe once, can't remember why we tried it tbh, but, they are very difficult to actually fit. We also don't have an arena anymore with a surface, so we have pretty hard ground when it's dry, at this point I don't do much with them other than walk, bit of trot, tiny amount of canter etc. There's also competing, I use studs a lot whilst competing, which you can't put on without a shoe haha.

My main aim is to help his flat footedness, healthier hooves etc. which we will get supplement and use Hoofbeat to stop cracks etc
 
one I'd have isn't suitable for having his shoes off either. He's an eventer who I hope will hit a decent level so a bit of thought now getting him 100% will pay off
 
If you take the shoes off and sort the hooves out, you can always shoe again if you want to.

You might not need to though. People do hunt and event BF (there are posters on here that do just that).

My mare was fine on tarmac, small stones (gravel) and hard mud from day one and I was told that she would never cope without shoes.
 
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