to keep a sore horse barefoot or provide shoes for instant temporary relief?-

ApacheWarrior1

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ester that is correct - Ive owned horses 15 years and never had these issues before so its a steep learning curve for me..... tomorrow is decision day as farrier is due out tomorrow morning - and I have to decide between putting shoes on or going barefoot - but going barefoot is going against my Vet and my Farrier and I was hoping putting shoes on would just be a temporary measure to get everything under control and be able to then exercise him to get the weight down.... however it seems its not as easy as that?
 

rabatsa

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My donkey with sore feet had wide web shoes fitted to spread the load from the hoof wall but also protect his thin soles. After 4 months he was able to go barefoot again.
 

Kat

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ester that is correct - Ive owned horses 15 years and never had these issues before so its a steep learning curve for me..... tomorrow is decision day as farrier is due out tomorrow morning - and I have to decide between putting shoes on or going barefoot - but going barefoot is going against my Vet and my Farrier and I was hoping putting shoes on would just be a temporary measure to get everything under control and be able to then exercise him to get the weight down.... however it seems its not as easy as that?

If it is flat feet and thin soles shoes might not solve the problem.


My horse was lame in shoes due to thin soles. When her shoes came off for investigations I bought boots and pads. She was instantly sound in the boots and EPS 4lb pads having been so lame in shoes I was convinced that it was something massively serious. The first time she came out of her stable with the boots on she was like Tigger bouncing along!

My vet had advised keeping her in on a deep bed until she could be shod again in heartbars. The vet was gobsmacked by how she trotted up in the boots and allowed us to start introducing exercise in the boots immediately. I really can't say enough how much better boots and pads are than shoes. Vets and farriers often aren't very familiar with them and advise shoes as a default. It is scary to go against what they advise but there is brilliant advice and support on here from people who have been there.
 

Kat

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in the meantime I continue to spray his feet with frog aid daily, and hoof paste/clay and feed him Pro Hoof balancer, Mag Ox, Salt, in a tiny handful of Honeychop Lite and Healthy chaff.

Is that pro-hoof by progressive earth or the NAF one with the similar name?
 

DizzyDoughnut

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If it is flat feet and thin soles shoes might not solve the problem.


My horse was lame in shoes due to thin soles. When her shoes came off for investigations I bought boots and pads. She was instantly sound in the boots and EPS 4lb pads having been so lame in shoes I was convinced that it was something massively serious. The first time she came out of her stable with the boots on she was like Tigger bouncing along!

My vet had advised keeping her in on a deep bed until she could be shod again in heartbars. The vet was gobsmacked by how she trotted up in the boots and allowed us to start introducing exercise in the boots immediately. I really can't say enough how much better boots and pads are than shoes. Vets and farriers often aren't very familiar with them and advise shoes as a default. It is scary to go against what they advise but there is brilliant advice and support on here from people who have been there.

This! My pony was like a different pony with boots on. I did ask my farrier about shoes in desperation before we got the boots but he is brilliant and advised against it because it wouldn't solve the problem only hide it and make it harder to spot if things were deteriorating again. Plus nailing into an already weak foot would only make it weaker. The boots were perfect in that we could just use them when needed and pad them as necessary.
 

Pearlsasinger

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Is that pro-hoof by progressive earth or the NAF one with the similar name?


If it's the NAF one, please take him off it *immediately*. We found that our 2 riding horses were extremely footy when using NAF Balancer, when I looked at the ingredients, I couldn't work out which was causing the problem but neither could I understand why half of the ingredients were in there. Within a week of stopping it they were both 100% better.
 

paddy555

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If it is flat feet and thin soles shoes might not solve the problem.


My horse was lame in shoes due to thin soles. When her shoes came off for investigations I bought boots and pads. She was instantly sound in the boots and EPS 4lb pads having been so lame in shoes I was convinced that it was something massively serious. The first time she came out of her stable with the boots on she was like Tigger bouncing along!

My vet had advised keeping her in on a deep bed until she could be shod again in heartbars. The vet was gobsmacked by how she trotted up in the boots and allowed us to start introducing exercise in the boots immediately. I really can't say enough how much better boots and pads are than shoes. Vets and farriers often aren't very familiar with them and advise shoes as a default. It is scary to go against what they advise but there is brilliant advice and support on here from people who have been there.

this. How are shoes going to protect feet if the soles are close to the ground plus you lose any early warning system for laminitis. Boots protect feet. I have fitted boots to any number of weirdly shaped feet. Unless you have oversize carthorse feet (and even many of them are possible) it is possible. I don't understand the problem. We are now so lucky, we have the choice of barefoot, booted or shod. Booted seems to be being discounted yet many have had incredible success. Booted and your horse would most likely be rideable instantly. There is no contest between the inconvenience of boots and the huge advantage of exercise over all surfaces to keep weight down.
 

MuddyMonster

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I would be extremely cautious about shoeing a horse which has been long term barefoot and happy.

I know of too many examples where that has been done and low grade laminitis has been missed and the horse has exploded into a critical laminitis case that is instantly life threatening.

I wouldn't do it, myself, unless I had identified something like Cushings that is impossible to control in any other way.
.

This, 100% .

I'd be asking vet's for PPID and EMS testing at this stage, too.

My native was tested earlier this year for both & came back borderline for both initially. After more tests, he was still just about within borderline but for both but we trialled medication
. I'm so relieved we tested and pushed for this as his first symptoms were 'just' stiffness and increased footiness.

He was on a track system and grass free turn out at the time so 'should' have been ideal for a horse of his type.

We managed to catch if early on and with management and medication, he is back to full work including trotting/cantering on gravel stony tracks without boots (or shoes).

I fear it would have been a very different outcome if we'd shod.
 

Reacher

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ester that is correct - Ive owned horses 15 years and never had these issues before so its a steep learning curve for me..... tomorrow is decision day as farrier is due out tomorrow morning - and I have to decide between putting shoes on or going barefoot - but going barefoot is going against my Vet and my Farrier and I was hoping putting shoes on would just be a temporary measure to get everything under control and be able to then exercise him to get the weight down.... however it seems its not as easy as that?
You don’t have to shoe tomorrow- you can defer the decision a bit longer while you try and find some boots that fit. You can hire them from hoof boutique. I do sympathise , it’s a pain trying umpteen different ones to find the make that fits.

Your farrier and vet don’t sound particularly clued up.

Agree with paddy below.
this. How are shoes going to protect feet if the soles are close to the ground plus you lose any early warning system for laminitis. Boots protect feet. I have fitted boots to any number of weirdly shaped feet. Unless you have oversize carthorse feet (and even many of them are possible) it is possible. I don't understand the problem. We are now so lucky, we have the choice of barefoot, booted or shod. Booted seems to be being discounted yet many have had incredible success. Booted and your horse would most likely be rideable instantly. There is no contest between the inconvenience of boots and the huge advantage of exercise over all surfaces to keep weight down.
ETA
FWIW - Our bridlepaths have sharp stones and 99% of the time I boot my horse as he does not like the stones. Either cavallo treks or renegades. There is a video in another thread of the same horse going round a Xc on Sunday at a gallop on firm going....so I’d be unimpressed if the vet/farrier advised me to shoe just because he doesn’t like a stoney track. I bet the vet/farrier aren’t familiar with hoof boots
 
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Hepsibah

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I would definitely trial the hoof boots. There is no downside to boots. They allow the hoof to do what nature designed them for, they provide cushioning of the sole, cause no damage or concussion to the hoof and they're in use only when the horse is working. There are so many designs out there now there will be something to suit you and your horse. I tried lots of different sorts (I bought used ones in the right sizes and resold the ones that didn't work for us) before settling on Marquis boots for one of mine and Boa boots for the other.
 

sbloom

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I would definitely trial the hoof boots. There is no downside to boots.

I'm a BIG fan but there can be downsides, they do change the flight of the hoof, whether it's breakover, or muscular issues further up. Generally the consequences are either nil, or negligible, or at least WAY more minor than the problems they are solving or avoiding, but they're not always 100% perfect.
 

MuddyMonster

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I find also depending upon your hacking (and how sensitive your horses skin is) that boots can rub.

I found that for short-ish off road hacks or purely road work hacks, boots were great for us. But, I did find that when we did a lot off road they rubbed as I dont think they cope so well with water & other debris getting in them.

I'm glad I don't need them now as it is less faff when we cross the rivers and do long off road hacks.

They're not insurmountable problems and definitely better than shoes would have been IMHO, but they were a downside to us.
 

Hepsibah

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I'm a BIG fan but there can be downsides, they do change the flight of the hoof, whether it's breakover, or muscular issues further up. Generally the consequences are either nil, or negligible, or at least WAY more minor than the problems they are solving or avoiding, but they're not always 100% perfect.
Agreed, nothing is 100%. In this situation I would say there are no downsides to trying boots. Like everything else though, getting the ones that suit your horse in particular is key to how successful it ends up being.
 

paddy555

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I'm a BIG fan but there can be downsides, they do change the flight of the hoof, whether it's breakover, or muscular issues further up. Generally the consequences are either nil, or negligible, or at least WAY more minor than the problems they are solving or avoiding, but they're not always 100% perfect.
that is true and barefoot is obviously better. However comparing the downside of boots to shoes then to my mind there is no contest.
 

tda

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The good thing about boots is you can take them off if the going is good, and if you want to barefoot you will have to get some bare miles in somehow to condition the hoof
Once the shoes are on that's it for 6 weeks and you are no further forward
I use scoots they are pretty forgiving on fit if you are mainly walking to get going
 

NOISYGIRL2

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Have only owned him two years but as far as I am aware he has never been shod, he spent a harsh winter living out last year in some extremely wet weather - Ive recently moved yards to a very stony gravelly yard and while he has always been sensitive on his feet, now he is definitely feeling it..... currently trying to clear the thrush and upping his balancer to something a bit more fulfilling... he has been brought off the grass at night lately but he wont tolerate any kind of muzzle. Problem I have is if I don't exercise him he isn't going to lose weight.... and I cant exercise him as he is sore on the hard ground - tried various boots but none fit.

What does your farrier say ?
 

Kat

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I'm a BIG fan but there can be downsides, they do change the flight of the hoof, whether it's breakover, or muscular issues further up. Generally the consequences are either nil, or negligible, or at least WAY more minor than the problems they are solving or avoiding, but they're not always 100% perfect.
The downsides are also WAY more minor than the downsides of shoes.

One of the most important factors with boots is that you are only altering the flight of the hoof for a few hours a day not 24-7.
 

tallyho!

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I think if you have hoof issues, then you have dietary issues which have caused metabolic problems that affect the hoof.

Catch 22 situation here (this algorithm works both ways): hoof pain <=> inactivity <=> diet <=> weight gain <=> metabolic issues.

You need to fix one to affect all the others - it is systematic.

However, I always start with a detox like L94 or global herbs restore. A bit of kidney/liver support never hurt any horse and I have found that they all improve with it, whomever I have spoken to about it. You may find that just a detox fixes the sensitive hooves by itself. Then you can start exercising again at least and begin again with a very stripped down diet and sugar-restriction.
 

Kat

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Do I need to repeat what I said?

"Generally the consequences are either nil, or negligible, or at least WAY more minor than the problems they are solving or avoiding, but they're not always 100% perfect. "
Was that aimed at me? If so you have misunderstood me. I wasn't disagreeing with you, just amplifying the benefits of hoof boots v shoes.
 
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