What are my options? Please help Im feeling so very down

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SAL66

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My horse has 3 good feet 1 bad one, keep trying to keep a shoe on resulting in pulling off too much horn.
A new farrier came out tonight and said that he couldn't put a shoe on , not enought to nail on to, and left.

So current situation is horse slightly footsore on one of his front hooves but shoes on fine on the rest (3), I need to carry on working him, so do I buy a boot thing to put on his shoeless hoof, if so which one, or do I make the decision to go barefoot to harden his hooves off to hopefully start again at some point with shoes.

If I go barefoot will he be footsore to start with until his feet have hardened off , does that mean I can't ride him?

Sorry to sound vague, but this is a new problem for me and I don't like it.

I so welcome advice and success stories as I feel so very very fed up.
 
We have one nicknamed "cardboard feet" he has to have filler put in his feet in order to put a shoe on!! he also has to wear over reach boots at all times. This limits his shoe loss to minimal for him!
 
The new farrier said to me to turn out in overreach boots, which is fine I don't mind doing, he aslo mentioned that he could have infection from the nails ??? causing the hhof problem.

My main worry is what I do whilst the hoof is repairing it self, I guess I'm going to have to buy a boot tomorrow to put on him, but which type?
 
My friend uses the Boots on her horse as he loses shoes all the time, don't know which brand she uses but I think it would be worth buying some decent ones and keeping him barefoot - but with the boots on, for 6-12months so his feet can grow. My friend hacks out on roads and round fields and had never had a problem with them.
 
Maybe go with the boot and invest in some keratex hoof hardner in the process,good stuff!!I would refrain from going barefoot especially if feet are that bad!!Depending on what breed he is and his foot conformation will depend how sore he gets,tb's ae terrible with front feet when they lose a shoe
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Thanks guys.

Hafos he's a tbx, but more Tb than anything, I am just getting so much conflicting information i don't know which way to turn.

I think I'm going to put a boot on him tomorrow, which one i don't know as yet and see how we get on.

I have a new farrier coming next week to see him so hopefully he'll be able to help me more than this one did tonight.
 
My lad had very little foot at one point due to throwing a shoe,farrier still got a shoe on..you have maybe been fobbed off,go with the boot!!
Most tb's struggle without front shoes,due to flat soles,and them bearing more weight on the front feet naturally,yes if you leave them long enough they should harden,but he will be uncomfortable!plus if you are doing roadwork his feet will wear down very quick!
You know your horse so do what you think is right for him,they are all different!!
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Can he just wear one boot on the front? , the rest of his feet are fine, its just one of his fronts thats the problem.
I don't know why I don't want to go barefoot I guess its just seeing him going footsore.
 
it cant be comfortable for them,i hate to see them stumbling on stones etc!!That i am not sure of as have never used them...cant see why not,if it to replace a shoe cant see it being any different,maybe have a quick look for some info on the net about them,or ask a reputable tack shop,they should know the answer,or at least advise you!
 
Thanks Guess I'll be trawling around the tack shops tomorrow .
If anyone else has any other suggestions or ideas please post , but I'm off to drown my sorrows in wine and feast on losts of chocolate and more than likely take it out on my OH!
 
out TB did this a few weeks ago, farrier came out, trimmed him and couldn't get shoes on as there wasn't enough horn. We used Cornucrescine hood hardener for soft and crumbly feet, he was very sore so on bute and box rest. After 2 weeks the farrier managed to get shoes on him which was brilliant as we were expecting it to be 6 weeks. The hoof hardener was great and he's on a supplement too now
 
do you know what the infection is?

ask your farrier next time, if its white line disease/seedy toe (same thing) it would be best to get rid of it while the shoe is off

i had the same trouble last winter with my lad so all the shoes had to come off while i treated the white line disease, now his shoes stay on and we're all happy
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white line disease is caused by fungi and bacteria eating away the white line causeing it to crumble, once it gets in the foot can get weak, flaky and crumbly and shoes just fall off all the time.

it's worth ruling it out i think
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My pony had this problem, partly due to laminitis. His hoof condition was quite poor, so I was advised by farrier to give him farrier's formula. This in turn, made his hoof grow too fast but not thick.
I ended up going down the root of having stick on shoes. They take quite a time to apply and aren't cheap but they made my lad more comfortable and gave him time for his hoof to recover.
 
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