Why horses lose shoes

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TheFarrier

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Just thinking that perhaps a few people have not read this yet.
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Hopefully more where this came from am working on the second article already and some questions and answers.

Comments greatly appreciated
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http://www.voicesforhorses.co.uk/advicea...ll-DipWCF-.html
 
I know why my horse loses shoes - combination of not great horn quality and a predilection towards running around and having a huge stride. Hence - removing shoes and half his foot unless wearing over reach boots all of the time.

Good article though!
 
Thank you!  That was a very interesting article. 
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So many different reasons too!  Generally speaking my 17.00hh mare usually loses a shoe due to the nails wearing away.  She is shod every 6 weeks, but is very heavy on her shoes.  My other mare tends to lose hers due to overeaching or treading on the opposite foot whilst travelling.  Thankfully neither lose a shoe on a regular basis.
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Yes over reach boots are a not often enough used brilliant invention
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It amazes me how few horse owners use them because in the long run they cost less than having shoes put back on all the time
 
With my old farrier, who, bless him, was fantastic but was getting too old and therefore his apprentice was doing most of the work so the quality of the shoeing wasnt great. Merlin would loose shoes every other week, and i believe it was because he was cold shod.

My new farrier is absolutely fantastic (kerian if he is reading this!
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) and hot shoes my horse - he has been shod with kerian for 1 year now and has lost 3 shoes in that time, usually because my beast has been doing something idiotic
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I believe that it is the hot shoeing that makes the difference as the shoes are put on differently
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I have owned Meg for 16 years, she has only ever lost 2 shoes, both in mud, she is shod with heart bars & pads. Kizzy went through a stage of pulling her fronts off in the stock fencing, she was a real scavenger when I got her as she was a rescue gypsy pony, Adrian started making her shoes with hunter heels, & she hasn't lost one for years. Neither are shod behind so is this a contributory factor do you think?
 
Hehe well you kinow my saga with shoes this last month or so! Touch wood they're staying on at the moment as my farrier has 'rolled the toe' or something.. I believe that means putting the back shoe on slightly further back so she catches her front shoes with hoof and not metal... She wears overreachers when out as well of course!
 
My horses get turned out in O/R boots because I cannot bear having to tell my OH that one of them has pulled a shoe off looning around the field. And he makes me scour the fields to find them if they do (which I would anyway in case they trod on it).

I have been known to get my small children to tell Daddy that one of the horses needs a shoe put back on, cos I'm too wimpy
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Have to say that my horses never lose shoes unless I turn them out without boots, cos my OH is the best farrier in the whole wide world (sorry The Farrier, I'm sure you're the 2nd best
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I have owned Meg for 16 years, she has only ever lost 2 shoes, both in mud, she is shod with heart bars & pads. Kizzy went through a stage of pulling her fronts off in the stock fencing, she was a real scavenger when I got her as she was a rescue gypsy pony, Adrian started making her shoes with hunter heels, & she hasn't lost one for years. Neither are shod behind so is this a contributory factor do you think?

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Not really as hind shoes are set back and so the fronts would still be pulled off with the horses own toes.
 
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Hehe well you kinow my saga with shoes this last month or so! Touch wood they're staying on at the moment as my farrier has 'rolled the toe' or something.. I believe that means putting the back shoe on slightly further back so she catches her front shoes with hoof and not metal... She wears overreachers when out as well of course!

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No. only fronts have the toes rolled this is done for horses that over reach though as it speeds up the breakover and helps prevent the back feet catching the front as the front foot will have already moved off.

The shoes at the back will have been set further back and helps stop the horse from over reaching in the first place

Im glad they have stayed on!
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ok will do. Tell him i have seen some very interesting wear patterns in several point to pointers and they had one thing in common... a rider with a gammy knee!

My wife is different from you i think i would get merry hell if our shoes came off
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She organises me and is great at it.
 
Must just be lucky then!! & of course have a super duper farrier Mr Adrian Devereux, was truly amazing when I watched him working off the xrays to make Megs heart bars.
 
my new farrier has made jayjays tighter and shorter in a bid to keep them on, and so far he has
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, with the last farrier he lost his front 4 times in 2 weeks
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he also wears overreach boots 24/7
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Must just be lucky then!! & of course have a super duper farrier Mr Adrian Devereux, was truly amazing when I watched him working off the xrays to make Megs heart bars.

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Adrian was OH's best man at our wedding, and you're right, he is a fantastic farrier! OH says he taught him (Adrian) everything he knows
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Thats really spooky!! Who's your OH?? PM me if you prefer, Adrian is coming tomorrow, so can let him know we met on here.
 
TheFarrier - This is a great idea!! Really interesting read! One thing I would like to ask is the mare in my siggy has very big feet for small legs, and can tread on her own feet. I noticed that the farrier the yard uses has put what I can only describe as "flares" on the outer edges of her hinds, why would that be?

Defo keep up with the Q & A's!!
 
Oooh, here's one for you
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. My farrier and back man would like extensions on Dizzy's hinds to help strengthen her hocks(?). When I put it to the Newmarket vet, this was her response:

"Regarding the shoeing - plantar extensions are fine but it may be worth extending both the medial and lateral bars of the shoe as opposed to just the lateral as more even heel support will help the suspensory ligaments."

Note: Dizzy had secondary damage to her hind SL as a result of a pelvis issue ('bony irregularities').

I'd like to have pins put in her shoes (farrier prefers them to road nails) to try and stop her slipping on the road
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. Vet isn't too keen due to trying to maintain the balance, but it can't be doing Dizz any good slipping and going down on the road
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- I await her response. Farrier says he can put on each side to maintain the balance.

Just realised I have really asked a question
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, but your thoughts would be appreciated
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Pins are slightly bigger than nails but wont change the over all balance of the feet and i agree with your farrier that two per foot is probably the way to go.

You can have length on both shoe branches but the width will only be on the outside as the last thing you want is the horse standing on itself if you try and expand the metal width on the inside too.

Extending both (through the heels) will keep her legs straight and balanced which is probably where the vet is coming from because if you only have the extension through the heels on one side this creates uneven pressure through the legs
 
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