My farrier came out yesterday and put natural balance shoes on… He was barefoot since Oct. But his coffin joints were flexing positive and he was chipping up his feet from the hard ground. Vet told me to get front shoes put on. Farrier wanted to put these on to bring the toe back? Has anybody used these? I can take some photos.
I’ve had my horse in them for at least five years, maybe more. Love them. They ease breakover, and, for my horse really improve movement. We’ve tried taking him out of them from time to time, but he just doesn’t move as well. Not lame, just less confident/free.
i love the natural balance shoes and/or natural balance farriers. my farrier is trained in the natural balance “style” (i guess you’d call it?) and trims my barefoot horse beautifully as well as has been shoeing my mare with hoof/leg/soundness issues. she’s doing so well with his knowledge and skill. read up on the fit and function of the shoes/trim/technique. 
Great product in the right hands. The trim underneath the shoe is critical, however. Far too many farriers are not trained in the use of these shoes which can cause more harm.
If there are issues with the coffin joint, “regular” Natural Balance shoes may not be the best option although probably better than the typical, flat keg shoe. Ask your vet and farrier what they think about NB’s PCR shoes. These have been designed to relieve break over all the way around the coffin joint, not just at the toe. Again, though, any of these shoes require someone with experience and the understanding of the mechanics.
I suggest you visit the Natural Balance website. There are many tutorials available for free. The owners are fantastic and more than happy to answer any questions.
Been using them for at least 12 years on all my horses. most of my friends have switched to them for their endurance horses.
Thanks for the feedback. I was hoping it was a legit thing to use and not some weird invention. I lightly rode him yesterday and he didn’t seem bothered by them so I think we are good. I don’t think he will be wearing him longer than 1-2 shoeing cycles.
I have been very very happy with them for my horse who recovered from a DDFT injury. Have used them successfully for years.
OP, the website is a good place for information. Basically, the NB shoe is designed around hoof biomechanics and biogeometry. The intention is to 1) make it easier for the horse to develop and correctly use the structures in the heel area so that those structures function well and stay healthy; and 2) to make it easier for the lower leg joints to function by balancing and reducing the forces needed to move the bones and hoof through the various phases of the stride cycle. The ‘break over’ phase where the hoof starts rolling up off the ground is particularly crucial for many joint and hoof problems. If the toe gets long and the shoe is flat to the ground all the way out to the toe, it harder to start the hoof rolling forward, and the extra force needed to overcome that effect does no favors to sore coffin joints. The funky looking profile of the NB shoe encourages the hoof to start rolling over earlier with less force, so less force is exerted on the coffin joint.
I’m sure other COTHers can give you a better explanation of how they work, but that is a quick layman’s summary.
My horse got them last fall when she was diagnosed with some pretty big side bones, and they really helped her. Vet said she should always stay in them.
I have seen a few horses here shod in NB shoes. I don’t hate the shoes or the concept, but I have not been a fan. The reasons are because what I’ve experienced involves a not good underlying trim, and this particular farrier seems to always use too small shoes (short shod, no heel support). I’ve witnessed 2 vets agree with me on that but the farrier didn’t want to change. Not my monkeys or circus except I had to decline continuing to ride one of the horses because horse was too lame behind from the trim/heel issues.
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I have seen a few horses here shod in NB shoes. I don’t hate the shoes or the concept, but I have not been a fan. The reasons are because what I’ve experienced involves a not good underlying trim, and this particular farrier seems to always use too small shoes (short shod, no heel support). I’ve witnessed 2 vets agree with me on that but the farrier didn’t want to change. Not my monkeys or circus except I had to decline continuing to ride one of the horses because horse was too lame behind from the trim/heel issues.[/QUOTE]
Wait, what? Was this farrier using them on the horse’s hind feet, or was the horse sore behind from compensating for a shoeing problem in front? I’ve never seen NB shoes used on hind hooves.
He uses them all around on several horses, yes. With this particular horse, we got him to switch to a more traditional shoe behind but he didn’t fix the underlying trim or lack of heel support issue with those shoes either (so, didn’t help the lameness). I think said horse is currently barefoot and still not right. I regularly ride another horse that uses this farrier, and he has (too small) NB shoes all around. I can’t tell you why.
Grea, great shoe if, like any other shoe, they are put on correctly to a correctly trimmed hoof.
umm ya sounds like the farrier knows his $h!t and you want to keep him around
so you are not a fan of any farrier putting on too small a shoe, no matter what kind of shoe…totally get it neither am I. If someone crashes into me with a car, I don’t like the driver but doesn’t change my opinion of the car.
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Wait, what? Was this farrier using them on the horse’s hind feet, or was the horse sore behind from compensating for a shoeing problem in front? I’ve never seen NB shoes used on hind hooves.[/QUOTE]
Me neither. Just my small-footed navicular Appy mare (well, a QH with spots). None of my other horses.
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so you are not a fan of any farrier putting on too small a shoe, no matter what kind of shoe…totally get it neither am I. If someone crashes into me with a car, I don’t like the driver but doesn’t change my opinion of the car.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, like I said, I haven’t had any good experiences with this type of shoe, but the problem is not with the concept of these shoes themselves (except, I don’t get the point of them on the hind feet?). Can’t say I’d never use them myself, just not with this particular farrier. I’d like to see them applied well. FWIW, the one with the hind end lameness also had coffin joint problems up front (in both fronts), though only lame on hard ground. Horse had always worn these shoes or been barefoot with (in theory) a NB type trim. You would think that would be the type of horse who could most benefit from them, but they were doing him no good in (IMO) the wrong hands.
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He uses them all around on several horses, yes. With this particular horse, we got him to switch to a more traditional shoe behind but he didn’t fix the underlying trim or lack of heel support issue with those shoes either (so, didn’t help the lameness). I think said horse is currently barefoot and still not right. I regularly ride another horse that uses this farrier, and he has (too small) NB shoes all around. I can’t tell you why.[/QUOTE]
Huh. I’m pretty sure they are not meant for hind feet. But I could be wrong. This just sounds like a bad farrier.
The Natural Balance line of shoes includes both front and hind pattern shoes:
http://www.shopedss.com/brands/Natural-Balance.html
About a decade ago, Gene Ovnicek started experimenting with using front NB shoes on hind feet for certain lameness issues, and met with some success. He put them on one of my horses and it helped his sticky stifles, until I got him stronger and he no longer needed them. The NB hind pattern shoe is a good fit for many horses, and even some farriers who eschew the NB concept like to use the NB hind shoe on some horses.
I have noticed that the traditional NB front shoe (this one) can make the stride choppier regardless of how perfect the trim job is. Some horses benefit from this extreme breakover but for some it alters the gait. One of my mares wears them and they work well for her – she is laminitic. She just came out of glue-on Easy Shoes (loved them but they were kind of a pain and expensive).
My current farrier is an EDSS/NB shoer but uses many other types of shoes, depending on what the horse needs. My young dressage horse wears a more conventional wide web shoe.
My horse has worn them for years on front and been barefoot on hind. I love them. And my farrier loves I still refer to the as “New Balance” shoes/
