Shoes all coming off 3 weeks in? Help

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Jericho

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My new big 16.2hh idxtb type is proving a bit tricky regarding his feet. He is shod all round but he is loosing shoes very frequently on all feet and his hooves are cracking and falling apart as a consequence. It seems like the clenches rise and the shoe becomes loose almost as if the hoof shrinks? This is about 3-4 weeks into a cycle. This cycle a front shoe has now come for the second time in one cycle and the two hind ones are hanging on by a thread. My farrier is away for a week so I have an emergency one coming today hopefully and I am very tempted to say just take all shoes off to give his feet chance to grow and strengthen a bit as putting nails through the hood wall clearly is weakening it. He does have collapsed heels and v flat feet and he is very sore on his now bare hoof walking on track to field so if all shoes come off he is going to struggle and riding out will definitely be off the agenda for a few weeks!

In terms of diet he is on a handful of happy hoof plus Baileys Lo cal balancer with extra biotin, magnesium ox, salt and joint supplement plus he is out 24/7 on good grass. His old owners said they didn't have any problem with his feet and said along with farrier that change in regime ie being out on grass 24/7 might have caused it as the feet get damp overnight with dew then dry during day plus rich grass etc.

Any advice gratefully received? Should I take shoes completely off for a few cycles?
 
I was in exactly the same position as you with my big chestnut. Same breed, big 17hh chap, kept losing his shoes. Each time he pulled one, you'd have that bit less hoof to work with. I'd had various farriers over the years and some had more success than others but he seemed to be getting worse. So i took off his hinds with a view to possibly trialling him for a spell without shoes. He was without hinds for 6 weeks and i kept him in light work, didn't really notice a difference. Had him shod in front again and a week later he pulled off both fronts in the field, taking all the remaining hoof with it, and to make matters worse, stood on the toe clip of the shoe with his barefoot hind, puncturing his sole. By the time i got to the yard he was non weight bearing on the hind and lame in both fronts and was shaking with the pain / effort of keeping himself upright.

I decided to leave him as he was, as there really was nothing left to try and shoe, and kind of inadvertently started a barefoot rehab. Due to wet conditions i was struggling to keep the sole puncture dry so resorted to keeping him in and hand walking him on dry tarmac twice a day. He was unhappy over anything rough or stony but as soon as i got onto flat tarmac he was better. For a good couple of weeks this was the only exercise he had.

For a horse that would normally be very lame on a lost front shoe on anything other than a surface, he improved quickly with the hand walking. So rather than rush to put shoes on, as the feet were still looking rather square as opposed to round, about a month or so in i got a barefoot trimmer to come and assess him.

She was very encouraging about his feet generally, and gave me some pointers on his management and feed, but again his management wasn't horrendous from a bf perspective, i just tweaked it a bit to reduce sugars further. So i figured i'd give it a go and that was about 5 years ago.

It does take some management, but in the long run i've found it easier than having him shod, as he would always lose a shoe at the most inappropriate time. I dont like to have my horses fat or round, they are fed a low sugar high fibre diet and i'm careful to ensure he does enough road work to keep his feet sound and hard. I dont take barefoot management to the extreme like some, he lives out from April to October on grass, but what i do works for my horse.

I've also got a youngster that i'm bringing on and she is currently barefoot too. Her feet / management wasn't great prior to me getting her, so i'm working on getting the feet as good as i can before i entertain putting shoes on. The reason for me shoeing her will be so i can use studs.
 
When I first got my fella, his feet were much the same, so took the shoes off pretty much straight away and gave him a break from shoes to let his feet grow out a bit. Overhauled the diet etc and he was reshod after about 8 weeks. Feet were in much better shape, although then about 18months after that ended up taking shoes off completely ;)
 
I had the same problem with my 16.2hh ID x Tb as well! Had them taken off in the end. They hardened up very quickly with the right management - he's been without shoes 3.5 years now, all being inadvertently going barefoot. I still use the same farrier. Maybe taking them off and using hoof boots until they've hardened up and grown out a bit could be an idea?
 
The collapsed heels and flat shape of the hoof capsules are reason enough to give him a good, long break from shoes. Were they that shape when you bought him? If they weren't, then maybe a new farrier should be considered?

I suspect that you will have to do some work to keep him comfortable without shoes, but it will be worth it in the end.

So, to tackle the poor horn quality, get him on the 'barefoot diet' AKA a sensible diet for all horses regardless of whether they wear shoes or not. ;) Stop the happy hoof, there's a reason why it is often called crappy hoof by barefooters. Get the diet as low in carbs (sugar and starch) and as high in fibre as possible. Feed straights. Also cut the multiple supplements and replace with one good one (eg Pro Hoof, Pro Balance, forage Plus, Equivita...). Feeds that i found worked with my horses are unmolassed sugar beet, oats, micronised linseed and straw chaff. Feed that caused issues were anything with molasses, moglo (which is also molasses) or alfalfa. Some people find that Spillers high fibre cubes are OK to feed, but as a rule be wary of mixes and cubes.

Once the shoes are off, you need to get the horse using the back of his hoof, so flat/heel first landing. Landing toe first is bad. So he needs to be comfortable and if he needs boots, it really would be worth getting him some. Then you need to stimulate the hooves by walking him (in hand if required) on surfaces that he is comfortable on. If that's smooth tarmac or even just sand, then start there. build up the distance walked slowly and only move onto a more challenging surface when he is ready.

Read the Rockley Blog as it is very encouraging reading their reports and seeing the photos of the improvements that their patients are making.
 
For his long term well being and if you are happy to boot for riding I'd certainly consider giving his feet a break to get those heels (and flatness) better.
 
Thanks all. My gut is definitely saying his feet need a break from shoes and nails. I'll sort out his diet although to be fair he is getting minimal hard food just lo cal balancer with tiny bit of chaff to mix and I'll invest in some hoof boots. My other mate was barefoot for a while albeit not entirely successful as she never really could cope with stones despite a year of trying barefoot. She is back in fronts but her hooves were in excellent condition.
 
If you need to put shoes back on so be it but at least you have much healthier feet to put in them :)
 
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