Thin hoof walls to shoe or not to shoe??

[emmae]

Right... my horse has been on and off lame for a while now, with bruises, (she has been x-rayed and there are no other issues other than thin walls) vet and farrier agreed to go down the glue on aluminium heart bar route for a couple of shoeings to let her hooves recover... one shoe came off on her first full days turnout and the other came off two days later… not very good for £130 for two front shoes, and this doesn't fill me with confidence baring in mind the fields are only going to get wetter (they are bone dry atm) and her feet had been dry poulticed for a week prior to the shoes going on to remove any moisture and to harden up her hooves for the glue, don't think the conditions could have been much better tbh!

A few people have mentioned going barefoot and using hoof boots for a while till her feet get more accustomed to having no shoes, I have spoken to the vets who aren't very keen on this i don't think (my vet is away so have spoken to another vet from the practice) but i was warned that vets aren't keen on horses being barefoot.

I like the theory behind going barefoot, but i don't really want to go against the vet and farrier…… Confused… i just want the best for my horse.

Opinions??

 

[Jenna1406]

I am not sure if the aluminium heart bar route is the same as what Im about to say lol

My friend asked my farrier about shoeing mini shetlands but he advised that its awkward because of the thin walls and suggested "imprints" i had never heard of it before. If you google it, you will get some details on it.

 

[TigerTail]

wow for the cost of the glue ons you couldve had a pair of boots....

Id take them off, get the edges rolled but make sure the trimmer/farrier doesnt touch ANYTHING ELSE and get boots. Also get diet low sugar and starch and a decent mineral supp such as Pro Hoof/ Forage Plus

 

[Wagtail]

My TB hates being shod and so 3 months ago I removed his shoes and turned him away. He coped fine in the wet weather but as soon as the ground got hard he went lame. He is as lame as a dog. Vet has said it is not lami, and it is just that he is barefoot and has bruised his soles. I have ordered some easy boot trails for him. I should get them this week so will let you know how I get on. IME most vets are against barefoot. I think it is to do with their training and the emphasis on remedial farriery. My other horse is having imprints fitted shortly. But these are extremely expensive and will not be a long term solution. When the insurance runs out, I will be buying her some hoof boots too. I have always been very traditional and my horses have always been shod. However, since my sister trained as a barefoot trimmer, I have done a lot of research into the issue, and the more I do, the less I like the thought of nail on shoes. They really are not good for horse's feet. Problem is, we have bred horses and paid little attention to the quality of their feet, and we therefore have many horses that cannot cope without shoes (or boots).

 

[KSR]

I don't understand the whole anti no shoes thing personally..

Horses are born with the feet they need, mostly, so the grazing and feed we put in them is super detrimental to many horses as is Workload on unnatural surfaces, genetics and selective breeding..

Of my 8 horses, one had shoes/clogs and the others have never been shod.. If they need shoes they will get them in time, but only after other avenues have been exhausted..

Of my horse with shoes, I always said he'd be dead without shoes.. Sure enough, 72 hours without shoes and I had to pts.. (other things going on, lots of hoof pathology)..

I don't understand the vet/farrier mentality of shoes being a necessity though when clearly they are not..

 

[emmae]

Thankyou guys…

jenna, they are similar to the imprints but they are...3rd Millennium Aluminium Heart Bars. But i guess the principle is the same.

Tigertail, that is what i'm thinking, maybe getting a proper barefoot trimmer to come and have a look rather than a farrier.

Wagtail… that is the same as me, the more i look into taking the shoes off the more i like the idea, and the less i like the idea of heart bars… it would be a possibility to go bak to nailing on the shoes once her feet have recovered, but tbh, i can't see myself doing that, and i never thought i would say that!

KSR, from what i hear vets have very little training on hooves and farriery at vet school and therefore rely heavily on their remedial farrier, most of which don't like barefoot horses!

 

[Oberon]

1) Get some pics of his hooves (side view, front view from the ground and sole view).
2) List what he's eating.
3) Any history of note.
4) What area are you in?

 

[Waltzing Matilda]

Contact an equine podiatrist epauk. There is another one but I can't remember initials. They can speak to ur vet and work with them. Explaining that they are fully training and what they would do and y. X

 

[Nickles1973]

I am currently going through similar with my horse. My farrier is trialing a new product which is not so much a glue on shoe more a resin hoof extension shaped like a shoe. It is called vettec superfast. If you google it you can watch a you tube video of shoes being fitted.
so far our experience is proving to be mixed. It is definately helping my horse transition. He is sound over all surfaces. His soles are thickening and the wall is definately growing where they had stalled for months before. However, they are needing to be repaired at least once a week. And since this is a learning experience for my farrier he has refused to charge me anything since the original fitting.
It could be worth you discussing this option with your farrier.
If you are anywhere near me I would be happy to give you the details of the farrier I am using. (Though i don't know how pleased he'd be lol)

 

[Andalucian]

When you understand what makes walls grow thick and healthy the answer you seek is obvious.

The shoe stifles the way the walls should work, delivering too much force to them which should be partially borne by the frog and sole at the toe. This means they can't cope and over time become thinner and break down.

When walls are thin like this the only way to improve them is without shoes IMO.

 

[Yertis]

You could have a look at the Epona polymer shoe which can be glued on and then a cast to keep it there, it covers a lot of the sole for protection and is 2 part with a gel inner part over the sole so also doesn't peripheral load the hooves http://www.eponashoe.com/products/castinghooks.htm
and for a list of farriers in this country http://hoof-help.co.uk/farrier-map-hoof-help.html

 

[Goldenstar]

When you understand what makes walls grow thick and healthy the answer you seek is obvious.

The shoe stifles the way the walls should work, delivering too much force to them which should be partially borne by the frog and sole at the toe. This means they can't cope and over time become thinner and break down.

When walls are thin like this the only way to improve them is without shoes IMO.

I agree
BF in the future or not the not the only way to get thin wall stronger is correct diet a good hoof supplement and a rest from shoeing.
The better boots now means you can use the horse during this time to a certain extent but I usually give a complete break from riding at first but I lead them astound daily.

 

[Pale Rider]

Andalucian, spot on.

The idea that shoes protect the feet is completely wrong. Getting this across to the average horse owner is difficult, most people you talk to who don't have anything to do with horses understand how it works.
My theory is once someone has been indoctrinated with the erroneous concepts of shoes, they argue more vehemently in favour of what is wrong to justify what they have done.

 

[Goldenstar]

Andalucian, spot on.

The idea that shoes protect the feet is completely wrong. Getting this across to the average horse owner is difficult, most people you talk to who don't have anything to do with horses understand how it works.
My theory is once someone has been indoctrinated with the erroneous concepts of shoes, they argue more vehemently in favour of what is wrong to justify what they have done.

Then they see a nail sick horse with its taken shoes off and it's sore and say there you go it's unkind to keep it without shoes seemingly oblivious to the fact until the heel sole and WALL are doing the job they are designed it is understandable the horse is sore.

 

[LucyPriory]

I agree a thin wall is a sign of poor hoof health and both diet and movement issues need to be addressed.

Worse still though is the concept of shoeing a horse with thin walls. IME they invariably suffer some degree of nail bind even if not obviously lame.

 

[fatponee]

My TB has thin hoof walls and shoeing him used to be incredibly difficult for my farrier.

Last Autumn all shoes were taken off and we haven't looked back! I use Easyboot gloves on the front when riding on stony ground and have changed my horse's diet to a 'barefoot friendly' one. No way would I go back to having shoes on him ever again!

 

[tallyho!]

So many people think bad feet are a genetic thing... only very isolated lineages probably do have a predisposition.

I still believe, and it gets stronger, that nearly all horses and ponies can grow a good hoof!