Shoes off for TB's Winter break- worth it for only 8 wks?

rising_promise

rising_promise

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Hi all,

Of course I have in the past and will again discuss this with my farrier but he's training in America this week so after some opinions.

My 5yo ex racehorse has had a busy year (I got her last November). We've worked from scratch and she has been fantastic with wins in dressage and placings eventing (she's done 2 x ODE) so I want to give her a couple of months holiday and pick her back up again at Christmas. She's such a tryer and always done whatever I've thrown at her with great enthusiasm so I think she deserves a rest before (hopefully, fingers crossed!) starting a proper eventing season next year.

She has horrendous feet though. My farrier is very good (I know everyone says that!) and works hard to improve her feet but she has very soft/ thin soles- he says she has 'soles like fag papers' and so is prone to abscesses- she's had 3 since I've had her ( year). He has so little to nail to as she hardly grows any foot that she's a bit footy for a few days after she's shod.

I'm thinking about taking her shoes off for her break to try and harden her soles and encourage hoof growth but will it do any good for only a couple of months?

My farrier has always said the best thing to do with her would be to turn her away with no shoes for 6 months but that's just not practical so this is a compromise.

My previous horse only had shoes on to enable me put studs in to event in the Summer but she has rock crushing feet and was no different on any surface (soft/ hard/ stony) without shoes but my TB will be a different kettle of fish.

Will this be of any benefit to her feet even though only for a short period?

Thank you :)
 
It will help her feet but you may find they break off completely up to where the nail holes currently are, so will still have the problem of not having enough wall until they grow a bit more. Could you not start bringing her back into work in boots and only have her shod when your competition season starts?
 
Gloi said:
It will help her feet but you may find they break off completely up to where the nail holes currently are, so will still have the problem of not having enough wall until they grow a bit more. Could you not start bringing her back into work in boots and only have her shod when your competition season starts?
Click to expand...

^ this...

And also in answer to your question I believe it is worth it for 8 weeks, you won't believe the difference, go for it!

My horse has only had his shoes off for 2 months and the difference now is astounding (thread is here - http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?625956-Odd-feet-on-new-horse-opinions-please if you're interested there are before and now photos to give you an idea)
 
Thanks both, yes I think trying to get her back into work in boots to extend the time she has them off would be a good idea. It's all going to be just seeing how she goes but I appreciate your input.

Kezz- wow, what a difference!
 
Thanks Rising_promise. Good luck with your girl sounds like a short break could help her.

The old school hunt yards I've been at, always remove the hunt horses shoes for their summers off, unfortunately these days many hunters also have summer jobs so feet no longer have time off, but it worked for them. :)
 
rising_promise said:
Thanks both, yes I think trying to get her back into work in boots to extend the time she has them off would be a good idea. It's all going to be just seeing how she goes but I appreciate your input.
Click to expand...
Great idea especially with thin soles which need to grow thicker rather than just harden. As I'm sure you're aware diet is a big factor in growing thicker soles. Some short articles you might find helpful. There are more in depth ones under the articles tab.
http://www.hoofrehab.com/HorsebackMagazineArticles..html
 
Definitely worth it, especially if you can leave them off a bit longer by using boots. I'd look at the diet as well as it does make a massive difference when you get it right. My ex-racer had terrible feet when I first had him - thin soles, poor quality horn, no heel, tiny frogs, etc - and they were very slow to grow. I had to have his shoes off as he was loosing them so frequently that it was getting difficult to put them back on! Nearly 6 years later he's still unshod and his feet look fantastic. They've completely changed shape and he now has a lovely large frog and much tougher soles. It did take a while for them to sort themselves out - it was nearly a year until he was comfortable on all surfaces and with some tweaks to diet and management they've improved even more since then - but it was well worth it. :)
 
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