Thinking about returning to shoes :-(

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unicorndreams

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My 11yo TB mare has been barefoot for 18mths after being shod most of her life. She seemed to transition pretty well, with hoof boots on the fronts initially as I could not get hind boots to work with her twisty foot action. By the end of last winter we were hacking out fully bf and only towards the middle of summer (when the grass was really short) did I need to put boots on again. However she started to get a bit short and reluctant behind and I invested in some Renegades for her hind feet as these seemed like the best option for staying on. She was better in the boots but was then hit by a mahoosive sub solar abscess (possibly brought on by her kicking the stable wall!) - this was November time and she's not been fully right since. The new sole is quite tender and she is gimpy on that foot still, with the boggy going the boots are twisting no matter how tight I do them up and I don't trust them to stay put, plus she seems to favour that leg after i take the boot off (too tight?). On a positive note, her feet look fab, neat, good frogs, solid wall and a much improved DC but the soles are clearly still a bit thin as she is once again feeling the stones.
She is on Copra, oats, linseed, Equimins Advanced Complete with extra copper and Zinc to boost it, and ad lib dry haylage. Grazing is virtually non-existent as fields are like mud-soup!
So I am faced with the likely prospect of popping shoes back on (even if as a temporary measure) to make her comfortable again until I can figure what else to try. Any suggestions before I call the farrier?
 
I don't see any issues with shoeing to allow her damaged sole to heal, then taking the shoes off when she's ready. What a shame that she had such a bad abscess.
 
unicorndreams, there might be more going on in there still...if it's taking so very long, then I would get your regular hoof care professional and your vet in communication to see if there's something brewing, perhaps with X-rays? No shame if you do decide to re-shoe for a while, but in that case, I would get the trimmer and the farrier talking about it together (assuming that it's not the same person!), so that the farrier knows all the history, and that there is a professional understanding among them how the case will be taken forward.

louparkinson, another one? Please make your own thread.
 
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