Shoes have come off for winter break but now he is footy

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redriverrock

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We decided to give horseys a short break till jan so when farrier came last wed they all got a trim but no shoes.
I did wonder how the wimpy TB would cope as we have tried this before and he does get footy. The first day he seemed fine as his fields are all either muddy or lush grass...the problem started after we had a very hard frost and the soft mud has now turned in to rock hard ruts. None of the horses have had laminitis but was warned about grazing frosty grass so kept them in the bare paddock with haylage, the problem is this is the field that is the roughest.
Have spoken to the farrier today who is happy to put shoes back on but would like to give him till the end of the week to see if he is any better.
So I suppose my question is how long should I leave him before I put front shoes back on or should I let him toughen up abit?
 
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Mine has no shoes just now, and was fine until the ground froze. Now he is footy on rutted ground but fine on everything else. The shod horses are also pottering about, as they are sliding down frozen peaks when they walk. I would find somewhere flatter for your horses to turnout, then at least they will be more comfortable.
 
Well without wishing to sound horrible I am glad my horse is not the only one! We have fenced off the worse bits and Ive put a large round of straw on the ground around where the haylage is to help.
 
You can make temporary pads with baby nappies and gaffer tape (poultice style, but without the animalintex bit).

I suspect that the Farrier trimmed too much off.
 
Festive Faracat said:
You can make temporary pads with baby nappies and gaffer tape (poultice style, but without the animalintex bit).

I suspect that the Farrier trimmed too much off.
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Its possible he could have over trimmed I guess but Im pretty sure he didnt. He has had front shoes on for as long as I have had him (4 years) as he dosent seem to cope without them though in light work he does cope without back shoes. I like to give him a break from shoes but we seem to have timed it just when the ground goes hard...up until friday we had nothng but sloppy mud so wasnt a problem.
 
Typical, clearly everyone in the Lincolnshire area can blame me for the frosty nights!
The nappy idea sounds like a good solution...I am very reluctant to stable horsey as he hates a change in routine to the point where my vet has put on his notes not to box rest (he colicked within 24 hours the last time we tried) so was wondering about hoof boots when the ground is hard...nappies sound alot cheaper!
 
I just remembered - someone on here said that you can buy cheap yoga mats, cut hoof shapes out and put them under the nappy to give a bit more padding/protection.
 
Well its bad timing, as not only is he coping with the feeling returning to his feet after being shod he's also on ground thats rock and hard and keeps poking his new extra feeling feet!

Id give it a couple of weeks to settle down - nappies, or turnout boots with pads in will help.
 
TigerTail said:
Well its bad timing, as not only is he coping with the feeling returning to his feet after being shod he's also on ground thats rock and hard and keeps poking his new extra feeling feet!

Id give it a couple of weeks to settle down - nappies, or turnout boots with pads in will help.
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Bad timing seems to be abit of a pattern with me just lately...bloody weather! I know barefoot is a big debate on the forum but I am seriously considering whethever I should look into it further, it cant be right for a horse to have to rely on shoes to be sound.
 
It isnt - its just become the norm - like rugging.

Ive got 2 bf - both sound on all surfaces :) Im over the bridge from you and the horses were going better on the icy roads than i was at the weekend! Me slipping, them striding out like right troopers!
 
Oh I have BF envy! I am going to spend sometime researching this I think and see where we go from here...can I ask do you have a bare foot trimmer and if so would they come over the bridge!
 
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