Advice for my OTTB :)

[caitypoo988]

Hi there! I recently got an amazing OTTB. He has the kindest heart, level headed, and so trusting! He would walk through fire for me if I asked him too! I am so lucky!

But… HIS FEET!

OMG I literally and am my wits end and don’t know what really works! When I pulled off his racing plates I put all 4 shoes on him. He kept losing a front shoe like once a week. Then the Farrier at the time recommended rim pads and venice turpentine daily. He was now so footsore I couldn’t ride him at all

Then we switched to full pads in the front and regular shoes in the back. He again keeps losing shoes almost weekly!

I finally took the back shoes off during winter because the ground was softer and he was in a gorgeous soft lush green pasture, but left the padded fronts on. Those lasted a good 4 weeks for once! Then he pulled a shoe!! I eventually switched to a different farrier who Hot shoes. My horse continued to lose a shoe a week in the winter and tore up his feet very badly! We even tried adding the glue to rebuild/ reinforce the sides and help hold the nails in but nothing really helped. Finally I pulled the shoes off, applied venice turpentine with DMSO (like my farrier suggested) daily and prayed for his feet to heal. We were doing ok in his field for a while!

I recently moved barns to a more active barn and his field is very rocky and a lot of gravel driveways, etc. So here we go again with the shoes! The farrier this time put aluminum shoes on because they’re so light weight. He pulled one shoe a week after having them on and now has had them on a week and they’re looking good. The only problem is they’re wearing down ridiculously fast because of the rocky field. My horse is also still so foot sore and it seems like nothing is really helping. The steal shoes and pads are too heavy according to my farrier and the aluminum is wearing down ridiculously fast!

Does anyone have ANY advice, tips, tricks to help me and my poor baby? Anything would be appreciated!

Thank you so much!

[Janet]

You have posted on the technical help forum (for stuff like help with editing posts).

You are more likley to get responses if you post your question on the Horse Care forum.

[Moderator_1]

Welcome to the site!

We moved your thread here to Horse Care, per Janet’s suggestion, where it’s a better fit and you’ll get more responses.

Thanks ~
Mod 1

[Sound_Horses_Win]

It seems that Thoroughbreds are more susceptible to having bad feet. I’m so sorry to hear of your issues with him and know how you must feel! I know of several horses that have had issues with feet and one I know for sure is an OTTB that have had some really good results with a product called GLC 5500RX. It’s actually a joint supplement, but because it has such a high absorption rate, it seems to also be helping with feet and hooves. I know of a a man that his horse was diagnosed as having thin soles on his feet and he’d often have sore feet… he put him on this product for 6 months before taking him on a cattle drive that was 40 miles over rocky ground, hills and all sorts of topography… he couldn’t believe how well he did and showed no signs of lameness or soreness! It might be worth a try. If you’re interested, I can email you some info on it and also discount info if you wanted to try it. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, too. I hope this info helps! I wish you the best!

[Sound_Horses_Win]

I meant to give you my email address to contact me if you’re interested in info on the GLC 5500RX product. My email is cuttingedgeperformance@gmail.com.

[CrowneDragon]

Do you keep bell boots on him? I find that really thick bell boots (either the thick-bottom pull on kind, or the Professional’s Choice Quick Wrap neoprene ones) help immensely. The bell boots need to be hefty enough to prevent him from getting his toe between his heel bulb and his shoe and prying it off. On top of that I would recommend looking into using casting material over his shoes if his feet are really torn up right now. They will help keep the shoes on and give a secure way to keep the shoe on without a lot of nails. Besides that it is just good horse keeping and farriery. Keep his feet as dry as possible, and make sure his breakover is appropriate (if he has a long toe and slow breakover, his hind foot is more likely to come up and grab his shoe). You may have to short-shoe him a bit at least for now to get his feet grown out (that is to say, the farrier leaves very little shoe extending past his foot for him to grab).

Good luck.

[dehere98]

My Chiropractic vet also recommends GLC 5500RX as a joint supplement. It is my understanding this product has had the studies done to back up their claim, atleast where joint pain is concerned.
Caitypoo- I went through this with a lovely TB who had ‘the worst hooves’ ever. He could not hold a shoe, even a glued on shoe. I finally decided to have his shoes pulled. He was miserable at first, but gradually his hoof quality improved over time. I kept him barefoot and booted him when the ground was hard during daily turnout. Eventually he got better. His rehab took about a year, but he went on to be an all around pleasure, trail riding horse and did pretty well in the hunt ring. If the horse keeps throwing shoes, pull the suckers for a while. Also try magic cushion, it is amazing at hardening soles. Time heals…

[Macimage]

[QUOTE=Sound Horses Win;7586487]
It seems that Thoroughbreds are more susceptible to having bad feet. I’m so sorry to hear of your issues with him and know how you must feel! I know of several horses that have had issues with feet and one I know for sure is an OTTB that have had some really good results with a product called GLC 5500RX. It’s actually a joint supplement, but because it has such a high absorption rate, it seems to also be helping with feet and hooves. I know of a a man that his horse was diagnosed as having thin soles on his feet and he’d often have sore feet… he put him on this product for 6 months before taking him on a cattle drive that was 40 miles over rocky ground, hills and all sorts of topography… he couldn’t believe how well he did and showed no signs of lameness or soreness! It might be worth a try. If you’re interested, I can email you some info on it and also discount info if you wanted to try it. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, too. I hope this info helps! I wish you the best![/QUOTE]

New member joins today and has six posts recommending products.

Any chance you sell them or get some type of referral commission?

[joiedevie99]

Ignoring the illegal advertising on this thread…

I’d recommend you take your horse to a sporthorse vet for a work-up. If the angles in his feet are wrong, he’s going to be more likely to pull shoes until they are corrected. Similarly, if there is some pain going on, he may be moving differently to compensate and pulling the shoes as a result of that.

If you rule out a medical reason, I’d look into putting a casting material over his shoe, then a bell boot over that. Or try a pair of these under a pair of regular bell boots: http://www.doversaddlery.com/grab-boots/p/X1-04267/

[PeteyPie]

[QUOTE=Macimage;7586638]
New member joins today and has six posts recommending products.

Any chance you sell them or get some type of referral commission?[/QUOTE]

Why give a referral commission to oneself?

[PeteyPie]

[QUOTE=Macimage;7586638]
New member joins today and has six posts recommending products.

Any chance you sell them or get some type of referral commission?[/QUOTE]

Why give a referral commission to oneself?

(Meaning Caitypoo988 and Sound Horses Win, not you, Macimage.)

[merrygoround]

To the OP In case they are a legitimate poster.

I think you need a new farrier.!!

[BoyleHeightsKid]

^This…

Going out on a limb here (well, not really) that your horses feet are not in balance. Gonna bet he’s got long toes and low underslung heels… and gonna bet that your farrier is not managing him properly.

Get thee to a farrier that’s experienced in dealing with these types of issues.