I’ve got a 5 year old Trak/Perch cross size 4 front shoes, barefoot back feet. I’ve NEVER had a horse pull shoes like this one. It started with pads because she’s super flat footed and would get sore. We got that worked out so no more pads. My farrier would come out once a week to tack the shoes back on. He’s a great farrier so that’s not the problem. She kept her shoes on for 2 weeks this time which was a record and them BAM while riding the other day pulled BOTH front shoes off. She lives in bell boots (have tried 6 different brands). It honestly just seems like she doesn’t know where to put her big ole feet and legs! She’s super green (just broke a few months ago) so I know that’s part of her “where do my legs go” problem when riding but we are working on that. But any ideas on what to do? I hate to have her go barefoot because of her flat feet and she gets sore. Anyone ever tried those Cavallo boots? Anything? She has excellent hooves now. I’m just at a loss here!
I can sympathize! We are going through something similar, long story, but our situation was created by the ex-farrier. Husband’s horse, who never had a problem has pulled six shoes in two months. I am ordering Cavallo boots this week. They come highly recommended by a friend whose husband is a farrier.
In the meantime, we wait, and pray to the hoof-growth goddess.
I have one horse who pulls front shoes all the time when he is barefoot behind and never when he is shod all around. The small weight difference changes the timing of his step and the hind foot is too quick. He does not actually need hind shoes but he wears them anyway. Young and green sometimes result in timing issues with feet no matter what but sometimes it will help them if everything is balanced. Good luck as it is super frustrating when they keep yanking their shoes off 
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I agree with kt-rose. Put shoes on the hind feet to slow them down. Also, a lot of farriers, yes even the good ones, will square the hind toes thinking it will help prevent the hind feet from grabbing the front heels. WRONG! Squaring off the hind toes just speeds up the breakover of the hind feet, they leave the ground sooner and reach the heels of the front feet even faster.
You want to speed up the front feet and slow down the back feet.
chicamuxen
Though you say you have a great farrier, I still question the trim. I’m wondering if the toes are left too long. If you’re feeling brave you could post pics.
I’ve had farriers square the hind toes on shoes, on certain horses, to keep from overreaching and cutting the heel bulbs.
I agree. square the hind toes, and make sure the front toes are not too long and they have a good heel. I would suspect the front toes are too long and the heel is becoming underrun. My hrose never pulls shoes, until I had a farrier who did not, despite instructions, keep his front toes short. Within two shoings he was pulling shoes every week. Found new farrier who squared the back and kept the front short with a good heel base and its been 3 years and not another shoe pulled.
We typically square upon the back but ALSO keep front toe as short as possible. Also shoes behind can sometimes help. I have a great farrier. My current competition horse was a HORRIBLE shoe puller for the first 6 months (he was fresh off the track) then we finally got his feet good and his balance right and he stopped pulling them. He is very VERY short coupled and just steps under himself easily.
Current fresh OT boy is also a bad shoe puller…and has crappy small feet. I know in another year, we will likely have a better foot on him and not have this issue. But we did have to put glue ons on him for a bit.
Sometimes this is caused by the farrier…but it can also just be a phase.
Good luck!
Almost exact duplicate of BFNEs experience. We lost most of our first competition season as he pulled off shoes and then bruised his feet. No real issues for the past 18 months
BFNE beat me to it, you may need to consider glue-on while surviving this tough phase.
Pulling shoes is such a vicious cycle: bad feet need the support of shoes, but bad feet don’t hold shoes. Then every time a shoe gets pulled off it sets you back and the process starts all over.
And those are HUGE shoes you’re dealing with!
Best of luck, all things in time …
We had one that was constantly pulling shoes as well. He was super tight in the back and would start off quite cold backed. As soon as he learned to start stretching out through his back he quit pulling his shoes on a weekly basis. He too lived in bell boots to no avail.
[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;7742529]
We typically square upon the back but ALSO keep front toe as short as possible. Also shoes behind can sometimes help. I have a great farrier. My current competition horse was a HORRIBLE shoe puller for the first 6 months (he was fresh off the track) then we finally got his feet good and his balance right and he stopped pulling them. He is very VERY short coupled and just steps under himself easily.
Sometimes this is caused by the farrier…but it can also just be a phase.
Good luck![/QUOTE]
HEY! We have this horse! I’ve had this farrier for 8 years doing anywhere from 5-8 horses and I can count the lost shoes on one hand, that is until we got a Finger Lakes finest last year. He’s a big boy, still young and uncoordinated and has a huge stride. Hopefully for DD, this will pass because he’s been out of work for about 2 months due to the lost shoe/abcess, repeat cycle. Thanks for giving us hope.
What is his turnout situation. Is he in at night or out? When the humidity is high, I have to bring my horse in at night or his feet get soft in the early morning dew and he pulls off his shoes. My farrier (who is very good) is my barn owner and grouses at me when this happens and I have to call him to fix it. He says horses with big feet round feet do especially bad in this kind of weather because their feet just suck up the wet.
Also, with the boots, you need to make sure they aren’t on all the time as they can hold moisture in his feet. They need to come off for several hours a day so his feet can dry. So, if he pulls while riding or turned out, use them then, but take them off while in his stall.
[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;7742529]
We typically square upon the back but ALSO keep front toe as short as possible. Also shoes behind can sometimes help. I have a great farrier. My current competition horse was a HORRIBLE shoe puller for the first 6 months (he was fresh off the track) then we finally got his feet good and his balance right and he stopped pulling them. He is very VERY short coupled and just steps under himself easily.
Current fresh OT boy is also a bad shoe puller…and has crappy small feet. I know in another year, we will likely have a better foot on him and not have this issue. But we did have to put glue ons on him for a bit.
Sometimes this is caused by the farrier…but it can also just be a phase.
Good luck![/QUOTE]
Going thru a similar thing as what BFNE is… Same farrier for 10+ yrs, great farrier, think I’ve had maybe one shoe thrown during this time and that was because the cycle was long… newest horse has been pulling shoes LEFT AND RIGHT for the past 4 months!! lost the entire summer competition season but it is okay - here’s hoping it is a phase for you and me both and our dopey horses just don’t know where to put their big ole feet. havent tried the glue-ons, but i find sometimes adding the pads can make them more likely to pull it off.
Mine has such an overtrack in the hind that he clears his front hoof prints by three inches - so it’s no small wonder he is pulling shoes.
It may benefit you to see what situations your horse is pulling the shoes in. The paddocks often have a lot to do with it, or paddock mates.
