My horse lost a shoe, what to do?

Question

Yesterday my horse lost a shoe, it didn't do any damage to his hoof or anything. And of course my farrier is out of town for the week, I've been calling around to see if someone will come up but I keep getting answering machines. I was wondering if it would be bad to ride him, and when I rode him if I could put something on his foot so it wouldn't be bare. It wouldn't be hard riding just a little wtc and a cross rail or two, we have a pretty deep sand ring so I don't think it would bother him, I just want to make sure.

Answer 1

yes it would be bad to ride him with 3 shoes on and one off

Answer 2

I second duct taping the hoof.  This will keep the hoof from cracking, especially since it's not used to being unshod.  Just take it easy and stick to the soft footing in your arena.  

Answer 3

If he isnt ouchy on it, you should be fine riding him lightly... i wouldnt jump him tho.  

Answer 4

You'll be fine. Just avoid hard or rough surfaces. If you horse has a history of bad feet I would avoid "hard" work all together. If his feet are generally "O-k" feel free to ride him.  Jumping should be fine just watch if he starts to become hesitant or "ouchie" on that foot. Just keep an eye out for bruising and possible chipping.

If he does have foot problems what we do when a horse loses a shoe and we have to wait for the blacksmith, we either keep them in the stall and walk them out 3 times a day OR turn them out in a small paddock. With both options we put a layer of vet wrap around the hoof along with silver duct tape over that to prevent the vet wrap from tearing. The vet wrap will act like a "padding" and "protector" until the blacksmith can come out.

Answer 5

He'll be fine. Just make sure you watch rocky areas and also make sure you check his hoof regularly for breaks or chips.  

Answer 6

i know this sounds stupid and you probably think it will look bad, but rap duct tape around his hoof (the bottom of his hoof), do it really good and it will stay on for a while. my mom does this to her TWH when we cant get his shoes replaced, cause he is really ouchy on the rocks

but take it off after your ride

Answer 7

On sand he will be fine shoes are only a necessity if you are riding on roads or stony areas. For a week it won't matter if you ride him as normal only on the sand surface.

Answer 8

I wouldn't ride because you don't want to cause any damage to the hoof. You can still turn him, just wrap the hoof with a diaper, the new born size should be a good fit unless he has really big hooves, and duct tape.  That will protect the foot.  

Answer 9

You can grab an easy boot to put on the foot with the missing shoe. Missing a shoe puts a horse off balance so I would not suggest riding him. Take this opportunity to have fun with him and work on ground work. Sometimes we get so caught up on riding that we forget to spend time on the other stuff. If you really want to ride I would keep it at the walk and definitely don't canter or jump.

You're horse is off balance and there might be some damage done to the hoof that you can't see.  

Answer 10

too bad the horse lost the shoe, give him yours so he has one too.  NO, you should not ride him .

Answer 11

1.  Put your horse on a regular 6-8 wk schedule with the farrier and you will less likely be faced with this problem again.

#2.  No, I would not ride him.  Leave a message for your farrier to call you when he returns and let him know that he has already lost a shoe and if you found the show or not.

Answer 12

I'd ride him as long as he feet are already strong and hard. Just ride him lightly, I'd so not much jumping and no galloping. Do not try and play the farrier, could turn out nasty!

Answer 13

you'll be fine :) make sure you call the farrier AS SOON as he gets back in town :):)

HAVe fun with your horsey :)

Answer 14

Yvonne, Oregano's answer is the only correct one on here, and I speak from experience myself. My sister plays polo and keeps four horses, and every so often one of them will lose a shoe, especially if it's late in the cycle between shoeing and farrier visits. Unless the hoof has been visibly damaged by the shoe as it comes off, then there is little risk of injury to the horse, and she will work them as usual. Work in this case generally means they get ponied instead of ridden, and she'll call the farrier as soon as possible. That's generally the recommended procedure- and we have never had a horse go lame from it. I have a dressage horse- polo isn't my cup of tea- but when I have her shod this fall prior to showing her, I will do the same thing if per chance she should lose a shoe.

Most horses who need shoes anyway are generally doing hard work, or they have a hoof problem such as contracted heels which requires them to wear shoes or go lame. It's always a good idea to invest in a set of farrier's tools, such as a nail puller, a rasp, and tongs, and to get your farrier or vet to teach you how to remove a shoe in an emergency. If you knew how to remove your horse's other shoe, then you wouldn't need to ask this question. As far as work goes, I would hold off on the jumping, but there's no reason why you can't do a basic WTC work. Just take care to stay away from ruts or really deep parts of your ring, and avoid mud, if there is any. Also, make sure you take plenty of time to warm up at the walk and the trot before you go on- so you can make sure your horse isn't having problems with his balance due to the missing shoe. Other than that, he should be fine- though I would also limit the amount of time he works, especially if the ground is hard. Too much pounding on an unprotected foot might make him sore, and you want to avoid that if possible.

Did you manage to save the shoe that came off?? If so, then you'll want to give it to your farrier when next he comes, because if it's undamaged and in good shape, he can simply put it back on. We have another horse who boards with us, a young TB, and he has a tendency to lose shoes quite a lot because his feet are very shelly and flaky. It's gotten to the point where I have learned to check the pasture he lives in when I go out to feed him, just in case he's lost a shoe- so I can find it. It's better to put an intact shoe back on than have the farrier make a new one- it will save you money.

I hope this helps you out.  

Answer 15

You can put something like an Easy Boot on him until you can replace the shoe, or pull the other shoe.  Any problem from light riding with a thrown show would be from the imbalance in heights between one side and the other.  

Add: If he's only front-shod especially,  just pull the other shoe so he's not carrying his weight unevenly distributed.  Even if you aren't riding, if the farrier can't get out right away to fix a pulled shoe, you should remove the other to avoid causing your horse discomfort.

Answer 16

shoe-shop.com

Answer 17

I would just walk him around in the sand pit for a while and see if it seems to hurt his foot at all.

I cant tell you if it will or not, because i dont know if your horse is tender footed or not. Or how he will take. I think that would be the best thing to do walk him in there and see how he takes, and if he is ok, then ride him for about an hour. I wouldnt ride him long or anything difficult, just walking or trotting would be best.

Hope he will be ok!

Answer 18

if you arent going to ride hard or through rocks he will be fine its a back shoe it will be even better if you are worried about his hoof being torn up duct tape. its seems weird but my horse losses his back shoes all the time (he wears them down like crazy) and he has gone for a week with out one shoe dont worry

Answer 19

which hoof?

Usually if they're not continually on hard surfaces, they can do without the back shoes.  More weight is shifted towards the front.  So unless he's on special shoes for leg/hoof problems it shouldn't be too dramatic.

Don't put things on his foot that aren't measured up and correct for his feet, it'll just be dangerous.

Answer 20

I would say do not ride your horse. Your horse losing a shoe and then being encouraged to do do work on it is like you walking and exercising with one sneaker on. It will make the horse unbalanced and there may be some pain or soreness in your horse's hooves. People shouldn't just shoe their horses because they think they should, usually it's because the horse's feet are weak or something like that, so definitely DON'T cause undue strain to your horse's feet. Hooves without shoes tend to crack and wear more because there is nothing protecting them, unless you want your horse to have two totally different wear patterns for when your farrier returns .. don't ride him. You can get one of those shoe substitutes like the boot thing just so the horse won't be off balanced, but don't ride with that .. You and your horse can wait a week.