I have a wonderful OTTB who is always throwing the same shoe. This 4-5 weeks, he’s thrown his shoe 3 times. I could cry. . I was supposed to have my first lesson in 8 months today â˜¹ï¸ I use Keratech hoof hardener every other day. What else can I do? I’m about at wits end.
Is he pawing them off? Or pulling them off? If the former, thats a LOT of pawing, and I’d be concerned about long term soundness for such a repetitive motion.
Do the shoes have clips? That’s something I’d try next to keep the shoe on.
Each time he loses his shoe it weakens the integrity of the hoof a bit, so it can become a vicious circle.
I also have an OTTB and he used to lose front shoes somewhat frequently (though never 3x within a month!) so now he almost always has pull on bell boots, which seems to help. Plus I think his feet quality has improved overall with good farrier work and diet including a feed through hoof supplement, plus occasional Durasole application. He hasn’t lost one in a while knock on wood
Cupid, what do you recommend for supplement? Do you know name or brand of pull on bell boots! Not sure if it’s pawing or pulling. It has been ver wet and muddy this year. He also likes to paw in the water trough when it’s warmer.
Well, it matters, because if he’s pulling the same shoe repeatedly, it is probably a farrier problem. If he’s pawing and somehow the shoe is catching on something and that is why it is coming off, it might be a ‘horse’ problem and there might be a solution (like bell boots.)
What does your farrier think? Can you find the shoes and if so, can the farrier see where they are bent and/or how the nails have pulled? Sometimes a farrier can tell how the shoe came off (e.g. stepped on by a back hoof)
I use Horseshoers Secret. Previously I used straight biotin and feel like we lost less shoes shortly after switching to the Horseshoers Secret but that could be a coincidence.
I just use basic ribbed pull on bell boots, I think these are what I have now: https://www.ridingwarehouse.com/Centaur_Ribbed_Pull-On_Bell_Boots/descpage-CRPOBB.html
aside from being a bit tricky to put on and take off they work well, and my horse has never had any ribs or problems (whereas he has gotten rubbed from a single ride in velcro bell boots). I’ve tried both the black and gum, having read that the gum ones are stretcher and thus easier to get on and off but didn’t notice the difference. I’ve had the current pair over a year, he wears them 24/7 most of the winter (I take them off occasionally like for shows, then leave off a few days) and they’re just starting to crack.
Have you tried duct tape? I tape my rambunctious guy up before turn out every morning. He loves a good gallop and accompanying gymnastics in turn out and after loosing at least one shoe between every 6 week farrier visit, I started taping him up then putting bells over the duct taped barrier and the shoes have survived the pasture acrobatics ever since (yes I knocked on wood)
Interesting technique, thanks for sharing. Seems like a lot of work for daily (but better than shoe hunting I suppose!) but something I’m going to put in the memory banks.
Quarter boots/grab boots cover that heel area similarly, and can be used under a regular bell boot for extra protection in extreme cases. They don’t work for every hoof shape, but if they do, they tend to stay put.
https://www.jacksmfg.com/Grabbing-Boots,2879.htmlhttps://www.jacksmfg.com/Grabbing-Boots,2879.html
To the OP, just to clarify…your horse was often pulling this shoe, and now you’ve had a particularly bad month? Or all the losses were recent? If it’s chronic, I would definitely look at how the horse is shod as a potential factor. If it has just been repeating after one initial loss, I’d suspect significant hoof damage. Your farrier might have to get creative and even consider patches, and you might have to be extra careful/aggressive about protection at least until it grows out.
And 100% agree that pull-on bell boots are your friend right now, no matter what the cause.
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Unfortunanty didn’t have great results with the quarter boots… shifting and bruising at the heels despite cutting them down. The taping daily isn’t a big deal, I skip the electrical tape part and just give him breakfast grain, pick the hooves while he’s eating (I would anyway even if I wasn’t taping, and give the roll a few turns around each front before putting bells on. Maybe adds 5 minutes to turn out prep? Definitely beats lost shoe and not getting to ride that day!
Going to try some bell boots, , ,don’t quite know understand how they work. At this point I have nothing to lose. Have had crazy months like this before—rarely that he has pulled shoes like this though. Today he had twisted a rear shoe—looked more like an X., he is a tb, so he can be a bit rambunctious. Him and his buddy kick a lot—wondering if he caught it on the wire fence. He’s been in heavy mud and successfully kept four shoes, go figure. Thanks for all the advice!
They work by covering the front shoe (so they have to be long enough to reach the ground at least when “tipped” like a bell) so that the hind foot can’t overreach and step on the shoe. In a hind shoe, I think they would really only work a little to help if the horse stepped sideways and stepped on his own foot.
If the farrier is not cutting the shoe where it protrudes beyond the heel, the horse can pull the shoe off by standing on it with a hind hoof. If you have square dog fencing, they can pull it off on the fence.
I don’t think a shoe could be pulled off by pawing. Instead what you would see is the shoe getting thinner and thinner. JMHO.
You could try glue-on shoes. Standing in mud all day is not great for hooves. What has your farrier said?
The research shows that biotin is the best option for hoof quality. It takes 9-12 months for the hoof to grow out, If you were using the biotin for several months before switching that is what got you the improvement.
Mud slows their feet down so the timing can be off a smidge. When they pick up the front the mud can slow it down just enough so the hind clips it stepping into the hoof print. The tips of the front shoes have to be long enough to support the heels. Too short and the heels grow over the tips of the shoes.
Also consider where the nails are and how crumbly the holes are. My farrier says that if the nails are too low they won’t hold as well. She often adds an extra nail on the inside for mud season.
My gelding is boarded outside and has been living with mud forever. Biotin has made a huge difference in hoof quality. The farrier said the wall and sole are both thicker and stronger. He rarely loses a shoe. He usually comes to the gate when I call, but a few weeks ago he was engrossed in a fresh round bale. When we started for the gate I saw something weird on the ground. His shoe, of course. The only other one I found was years ago during mud season. I gave up, then tripped over it about 10 feet from the gate. For some reason he does not keep aluminum shoes.
I used bell boots but the mud builds up between the boot and the hoof so I stopped. I ride 5-6 days a week and hose his legs at the wash rack if the hose isn’t frozen. I haven’t had to deal with scratches in forever, but he gets a bit of thrush on the hinds occasionally. He has a 2-degree pad in front, but the farrier adds powdered copper sulfate to medicated packing which works. Tuesday she said the skin on his pasterns was soft and pink.
So the farrier came out today and said my horse is definitely pawing. He is antsy—doesn’t stand still much under saddle or for the farrier. I think he’s worse this year; I chalk it up to this horrible rainy/muddy weather making our turnout/riding schedule very intermittent. He’s been tricky to slow his pace under saddle as well. The farrier suggested tying him to a tree a bit every day to make him learn to stand quietly, and although this won’t stop the pawing, it would probably slow it. Thoughts on this please.
So the farrier came out today and said my horse is definitely pawing. He is antsy—doesn’t stand still much under saddle or for the farrier. I think he’s worse this year; I chalk it up to this horrible rainy/muddy weather making our turnout/riding schedule very intermittent. He’s been tricky to slow his pace under saddle as well. The farrier suggested tying him to a tree a bit every day to make him learn to stand quietly, and although this won’t stop the pawing, it would probably slow it. Thoughts on this please.
What did he say about the shoes? He thinks the shoes are being lost because the horse is pawing?
What kind of turnout does your horse have? And what does he eat (how much hay/grain, etc.?)
Not going to comment about training to tie yet; it helps to know the rest of the environment. Pawing is often a behavior seen because of boredom. You can’t really “fix” that by tying him to a tree.
He should stand still with you with a halter and lead before you try tying him.
Standing still means just that. Not moving his head to you for attention. Not investigating things around him. Etc.
How does his weight look? Does he eat his grain well? Clean up his hay? Have you pulled a fecal recently? How much turnout does he have? What kind of riding are you doing with him? Have you palpated his back/is his sore anywhere ever?
I would be curious if he has ulcers or anxiety from discomfort somewhere. You say he’s difficult to slow under saddle, does he get rammy and inverted when he gets quick, or he just bulldozes through you? Is this a front shoe he keeps losing? Would you be able to post some photos of his feet? I wouldn’t tie a horse like that to a tree. Sounds like a recipe for an injury.
