Help With Horse Shoeing?

Question

I Have A Loan Horse And He Has One Badly Cracked Foot That He Had When He Was Little (We Are Thinking About Stapling This). But It Has Started To Get Worse And Also 2 Of His Other Feet Are Starting To Chip At The Bottom And Crack A Bit.

He Was On Field Rest Before I Got Him But Now He Has Started Doing Dressage And Hacking And Some Fun Gymkanas Ect. Not Jumping.

But He Has Had To Do Road Work Ect And Me And His Other Rider Have Noticed Him Treading More Carfuly Than Normal. He Is Quite Flat Footed.

Now He Is Bare Foot Atm But Obviously We Have To Do Something. I Feed Him Biotin And Put On Dry And Brittle Hoof Oil And Sometimes Keratex.

Could Anyone Tell Me A Bit About Equiboots. The Rubber Boots That Go Over The Hoof.

Prices, How To Fit, Any Good? Worth The Money? Have You Had Them? Ect :)

Also Any Other Tips You Have?

Would Really Appricate Any Help :) Thanks xx

Answer 1

Sounds like you are a good mom.  I would check with a professional horseshoer for advice.  That way he/she can look at his feet and make an evaluation.  If you ask on this site, we can't see the feet to see the chips, cracks, or balance.

Answer 2

have you tried any therapeutic shoeing, I know someone who's horse had a crack in its foot, and it got worse, she tried everything. But I'm not quite sure what the farrier did, looks like he just scraped two crosses into the horses hoof and the crack is almost gone completely.

Answer 3

I used Equiboots only for riding in the rain and for putting the horse in a trailer.  Ask your farrier about shoe plates - a silicone gel is applied to the bottom of the hoof with a protective plastic "plate" over that, then the horse is fitted with shoes.  I had a horse that was suspected of having navicular disease and these plates helped absorb the shock and kept her hooves in great condition.

Answer 4

feed it with wet cat food in a dropper

Answer 5

If he needs boots until his feet are in better condition, try Easyboot Epic boots with the gator.  Look them up on their website or at www.jeffersequine.com.  They are not that expensive and work great.  the sites will have the method of measurement for ordering your boots.  When I pull shoes, and the horse needs some support while his feet are heeling and growing in better, these are all I use.  Just make sure with a good fit that the toe is rolled so that breakover will be adequate for him.  Supplements usually have little effect and topicals usually cause more harm than good.  Feed your horse a good diet with free choice grass hay and turn out on good pasture.  that is all he needs to be as good as he can be.  Without shoes, his feet will have a chance to heal but be patient.  It will take a while.  Wearing shoes nailed on reapeatedly for a long time causes a lot of damage to the hooves so it can take a bit of time to get recovery.  With a good barefoot trim that is done on a consistent basis, he should be getting better in 3-4 months.  It will take 9-12 months to grow a new hoof wall.   the Epic Easyboots are the best on the market for transitioning to barefoot or anytime a horse is sore and needs protection.  Good luck to you.  Be patient.  It's a process.

Answer 6

It sounds like your horse may need shoes. Cracking, chipping, and soreness = a brittle, thin hoofwall, something that cannot correct itself if the horse is being ridden, especially on the road. I would not suggest rubber horse boots for a permanent fix, as just as much damage can occur in the field as in teh arena. I would continue the biotin, and get Hooflex by Absorbine as a moisturizer (it works the best b/c it still has an ingredient that irritates the coronet band and causes it to absorb th ointment.) Apply it to the coronet band only (otherwise you are just waisting it, the hoof wont absorb oil). In time the new growth will be healthier, but this could take up to a year, if ever, to completely go away.

Consult your farrier. A light riding shoe may relieve some of the concussion from riding on hard surfaces. It will also promote the hoof wall to grow thicker over time if done correctly. My husband is a farrier and we see this all the time, so know that it can be fixed if attended to!

Answer 7

try farrier formation expensive but worth it or ask your farrier what supplements he would recomend

Answer 8

My mates horse had terrible hooves, she tried everything! I think she had him on replacement shoes more frequently and thiner shoes! Good luck, it is a nightmare!

Answer 9

i don't know what breed of horse you have but my tb mare has got a pretty bad crack in her hoof too (as the normal shoe kept falling off- with the old farrier- making it worse) and so my new farrier suggested that if a normal shoe kept falling off, he could fit a proper racing one on, as its much lighter and the nails are much smaller, meaning that if it was to fall off it would come off without making the crack worse. the racing shoe is much thinner than a normal shoe and so it would wear out quicker but it would mean that the hoof can heal and so the normal shoe can be put back on.

but it does depend on the breed of your horse (a shire horse would not be suitable for this! etc)

good luck!

Answer 10

Before you put metal shoes on him, I would suggest have a barefoot farrier in and have your horse trimmed barefoot, with the mustang roll.  I suspect your flat footed horse has flare to his hoof walls.  The flare causes problems because too much pressure gets put on it, and then more cracks keep coming.  A barefoot trimmer would roll the edge of the hoof and that would keep pressure off the edge, and hopefully the cracks would quit spreading.

Obviously this is no guarantee, I haven't even seen the horse! but it would be worth a try.  Barefoot trimmers do things quite different than a normal farrier, you might watch some of Pete Ramey's DVDs called "Under the Horse" and you'll get the concept.

I have managed to keep my horses barefoot all this year.  I use Easyboots when I ride down the road or anyplace really rocky, otherwise they manage okay.  The first boots I tried were Cavallo, I didn't like the way they fit, they rode up onto the horse's fetlock.  Then I bought a pair of Easyboots, because my mare has small hooves I had problems getting the right size.  Later I went onto eBay and bought a pair of Easyboot Epics, which is the improved version of Easyboots, they come with gaters, which basically is a band that helps keep the boot in place.

I have had really good luck with my Easyboots.  The Easyboot Epics never come off accidently, even when I ride on soft, damp ground.  The basic Easyboots can be sucked off if the ground is too soft, but part of the problem is that they are one size too big.  They stay on well on hard ground.  Go onto Easyboot and read their instruction on how to fit boots.  All companies have good fitting instructions, basically you measure the widest and longest part of their hooves and then purchase a boot in that size.  You can either look on their websites, phone their 1-800 numbers, or trace around your horse's hoof and look at the boot boxes at the tack stores.  The cost was $60 per boot for the basic Easyboot, and $70 for the Easyboot Epic, so they didn't cost me anymore than it would to have had her shod all year.  And the boots are still in good condition, and should last all next year, too.  They claim they will outlast metal 3 to 1, I guess time will tell.

Hope that helps.  I sure had lots of questions when I was hoof boot shopping, too!