TB back shoes off...?

marley and danni

marley and danni

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im thinking of taking his back shoes off farrier says he prefers to do it in the wet weather in autum rather than when the hard ground come in winter... is this best for him?

he wont be doing a lot of hacking on the roads about 1 mile at the very most once a week. the rest will be done on grass paths (bridleways) and some schooling in a soft sand school.....

thanks :)
 
My TB had his back shoes taken off a few years ago and has always been fine. I can't remember what time of year it was - i think possibly autumn or early winter?
 
AW thanks thats great to hear... farriers comming on monday... it will only be untill end of feb then he will have a full set again (as i dont do much with him through winter)
 
Horses for courses. Our TB can't move without shoes - on all 4 feet!

I'm also a little surprised at your farrier's comment on taking shoes off while the ground is wet. TBs have notoriously soft feet, and wet weather, certainly for ours, is the very worst time. We keep his up together with copious amounts of Biotin (which really does work, long term) and Keratex.

Anyway, hope your boy does OK. But he may be very tender on an loose gravel etc. on the roads?
 
he had back shoes before i got him and hes had them off while i have had him and he copes fine not footy at all... but its another matter when his front are off :(

ill speak to the farrier and see what he says. he said hes like to take them off when the grounds soft (not so much wet) as it will be easier transition for him.
 
well the farrier said 8 weeks ago that his feet were looking the best they have ever looked so good sign... except hes lost a few nails in this horrible weather!

i think he will adjust ok but obs i wont do anything unless my farrier thinks its a good idea! hes done well with marleys fee this last year and the hoof wall looks very healthy!

Hes on double doses of biotin alpha a and pink powder :)
 
Tbh you need to speak to people on here such as Oberon who is great with this sort off thing. Plus do plenty off research ESP on diet. Tbh I would change his diet totally, alpha a can make horses very footy and pink powder I don't think is the best for barefoot. A diet such as fast fibre, equimins advance complete, salt, calmag and micro linseed is a great barefoot diet. Keratax I wouldn't put near hoofs tbh. If you want a great book to read go for " feet first" fab info and advise.
The trim is very important and your farrier must not par the soles or frogs of the horse, sometimes less is more :)
grass is also a concern for many, do some research as I could carry on allday.
Iv got 5 horses barefoot, 1 more to go and that includes a tb who has hoof problems. I believe any horse can go barefoot but it's the owners that stuggle and most are on unsuitable diets. A horse that can't stand without shoes STILL has the same issues just the shoes mask it.
I failed 1st time round due to not knowing enough but a few months of research every night showed me there was more to it than just " taking shoes off" which a lot off people think and diet is so so important. Hence now iv learnt more , 5 are bare so far.
I would be seriously worried if any of my horses couldn't stand without shoes. I would be wondering what was up.
 
None of my TB's have ever had back shoes on, and any that did have them when they arrived soon had them pulled! They have hunted, hacked for miles, sj'd, xc, etc etc... They now don't wear any shoes at all but thats for a different thread... :)

Footiness and sensitivity to stones etc is mostly to do with diet, look at it first before you remove the shoes. Very simple changes in feeding can make massive differences to feet. I would never have thought I'd have all 3 unshod but I do and they are all doing well but only because I pay attention to their diet.

Good luck!
 
I took my tbs shoes off and he was crippled on the front- worse than 2 broken legs style, would not move at all just tried to jump on back legs a bit! I had the fronts put back on and left the backs off and within 2 seconds was sound! That was a few years ago and no problems since :)
 
My TB has always only ever been shod in front as his back feet are fine without. We do a lot of hacking and never had any issues but like previous said each horse is different :-)
 
jo_currie said:
I took my tbs shoes off and he was crippled on the front- worse than 2 broken legs style, would not move at all just tried to jump on back legs a bit! I had the fronts put back on and left the backs off and within 2 seconds was sound! That was a few years ago and no problems since :)
Click to expand...

Any idea why your horse was so sore without shoes?
 
My TB mare was barefoot. Did loads of road work too and she was totally fine. Can't remember what time of year the shoes came off though as it was years ago.
 
for me "if it aint broke............" n all that.

my mare has fronts on and according to my farrier "has great feet"....shes out on field rest....and still has shoes on ! because i dont believe in changing something if its working already.:)
 
Mine had his shoes off, couldn't walk. Two weeks later walking normally :-) we couldnt go into a native tribe and walk around with nothing on our feet like they do! It requires time!
Taking the shoes off when the weather is wet isn't great because the feet will be soft, then you get problems with sulcus infection and thrush. They will then feel all the stones etc as the feet will never get a chance to dry out and harden up. The only advantage is the softer ground will make him more comfortable in the initial stages of them coming off.
 
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