Shoeing

[Obsidian_Fire]

This happens with my mare, one foot only. We use Dorm gel now, she’s okay. I have had her x-rayed ad nauseum and we’ve come up with zilch as to why she’d be so reactive, at least hoof-wise, but the sedative works - she’s quiet and everybody’s happy (and safe).

[Blagdongirl]

@kande04

Several boot manufacturers sell ice studs to go in their boots. We use them in the winter, and they work quite well because the ice studs provide the traction and the bottom of the boot prevents ice balls.

I have one mule that I can’t use ice boots on because his hooves are so narrow and pigeon toed that the boots twist, and then the gaiters rip off and the boot comes off. It’s a fit problem and I’ve tried, but just can’t find a pair of boots that fits him well enough that they’ll stay on. I can modify boots so they’ll stay on his backs, but not his fronts.

I do my own trimming so can keep the horse’s hooves the way they need to be so that the boots fit. Not that they need to fit all that well, because horse boots stay on horses quite well. Not necessarily as well as shoes, but quite well considering that they’re not nailed on!

In what way did your cob not “ride well” in boots?

She had very choppy strides in the scoot boots and not forward going at all, where as in shoes shes very forward going with ears pricked so much happier.

[Blagdongirl]

@Obsidian Fire

This happens with my mare, one foot only. We use Dorm gel now, she’s okay. I have had her x-rayed ad nauseum and we’ve come up with zilch as to why she’d be so reactive, at least hoof-wise, but the sedative works - she’s quiet and everybody’s happy (and safe).

When i asked my vet he said he did not think an xray would explain why this was happening, he would come look at the hoof and if i wanted an x-ray he’d take one but at £500 and it tell me nothing I was reluctant. Its not everytime but it is the same hoof. She has had shoulder pain that side so may be linked

[S1969]

@Blagdongirl

When i asked my vet he said he did not think an xray would explain why this was happening, he would come look at the hoof and if i wanted an x-ray he’d take one but at £500 and it tell me nothing I was reluctant. Its not everytime but it is the same hoof. She has had shoulder pain that side so may be linked

That seems quite outrageous for an xray? I think I paid something like $50-60 per image the last time I had them done. Maybe not even that much.

[kande04]

@Blagdongirl

She had very choppy strides in the scoot boots and not forward going at all, where as in shoes shes very forward going with ears pricked so much happier.

Interesting. Did you use them on her for very long before you switched back to shoes?

None of mine seem to care whether they’re wearing boots or shoes. A new horse will sometimes start off a little bit tentative in the winter when it’s icy, but as soon as they realize they have traction then off they go.

[joiedevie99]

Sounds like you need a new vet! You should definitely shoot some basic x-rays of that hoof and lower limb (pastern and fetlock). That price sounds absurd though. I’d expect to pay about $150 for 6-8 images of that lower leg (plus travel fee and sedation if needed), and I’m in a high cost area.

[punchy]

My horse does this. X-rays revealed nothing. We chalked it up to very thin walls and keep him barefoot or use glue-ons. I don’t know if it’s the nail, or the fact that when the nail head gets close to the shoe the farrier usually ends up hitting the shoe too, and that’s what hurts. It’s better when the farrier uses a smaller hammer and tap tap taps but we just avoid nails now.

[Libby2563]

@Blagdongirl

She has had shoulder pain that side so may be linked

That certainly seems possible. I may have missed this but have you tried giving an NSAID before shoeing to see if that helps?

[Blagdongirl]

@punchy

My horse does this. X-rays revealed nothing. We chalked it up to very thin walls and keep him barefoot or use glue-ons. I don’t know if it’s the nail, or the fact that when the nail head gets close to the shoe the farrier usually ends up hitting the shoe too, and that’s what hurts. It’s better when the farrier uses a smaller hammer and tap tap taps but we just avoid nails now.

My vet said x-rays would not show anything. I think it is thin walls. I am going to talk to the farrier as he is very kind and understanding.

[Blagdongirl]

@Libby2563

That certainly seems possible. I may have missed this but have you tried giving an NSAID before shoeing to see if that helps?

No but we are the next time to see how it goes but funnily enough it is not every time.

[Blagdongirl]

@joiedevie99

Sounds like you need a new vet! You should definitely shoot some basic x-rays of that hoof and lower limb (pastern and fetlock). That price sounds absurd though. I’d expect to pay about $150 for 6-8 images of that lower leg (plus travel fee and sedation if needed), and I’m in a high cost area.

Apparently it all depended on how many were needed, call out sedation etc., and it all mounted up!

[Blagdongirl]

@kande04

Interesting. Did you use them on her for very long before you switched back to shoes?

None of mine seem to care whether they’re wearing boots or shoes. A new horse will sometimes start off a little bit tentative in the winter when it’s icy, but as soon as they realize they have traction then off they go.

I have a cob so because of the feathers we have two different sizes of scoot boots and we used them for 2 half years on fronts. It was so hard to get a good fit between trim cycles. She needs them on her backs as well now. We do a lot of off road hacking but to get to soft ground we have very stony hard tracks.

[Blagdongirl]

@Obsidian Fire

This happens with my mare, one foot only. We use Dorm gel now, she’s okay. I have had her x-rayed ad nauseum and we’ve come up with zilch as to why she’d be so reactive, at least hoof-wise, but the sedative works - she’s quiet and everybody’s happy (and safe).

I know what you mean, even if it does not hurt she is very apprehensive with front feet. Backs you would not know she is being shod. Will give have to see about a sedative.

[Blagdongirl]

@S1969

Sure, the farrier could be the problem. A 2nd opinion wouldn’t hurt. But why do it without an xray which might give real information? Somehow I am having trouble believing a vet said an xray of a foot wouldn’t help.

He said from what I had said he felt it wouldn’t help but he would come and look at the foot and if I wanted an ex-ray then he would do one. He split the charges down and once totted up was very expensive for it to reveal nothing

[JB]

@Blagdongirl

My vet said x-rays would not show anything. I think it is thin walls. I am going to talk to the farrier as he is very kind and understanding.

That is the whole point of xrays - see what’s going on inside that isn’t (readily) apparent from the outside.

[kande04]

@Blagdongirl

I have a cob so because of the feathers we have two different sizes of scoot boots and we used them for 2 half years on fronts. It was so hard to get a good fit between trim cycles. She needs them on her backs as well now. We do a lot of off road hacking but to get to soft ground we have very stony hard tracks.

I’ve stuck with Easyboots, because even though they’re harder to put on they stay on well, and aren’t as fussy about fit.

I also know how important regular hoof conditioning is to bare hooves, so carry my boots with me instead of just automatically putting them on for every ride. Then, if we get on the gravel roads (stony, hard tracks) and a horse seems too ouchy I’ll get off and put the boots on until we get off the roads again. It takes a little more effort, but horses need to use their hooves to develop strong bare hooves, so the more they can go barefoot the less often I need to put boots on them.

I’ve also gotten much better at putting boots on and getting them back off again!

[qhaftershock]

My gelding started protesting to nailing onto the right front after 3+ years of the same farrier/shoeing. We struggled to figure it out and I just started loading him with Previcox before farrier visits. About six months after he started resisting nails on the right front, he was diagnosed with Lyme disease and treated. Never gave us any trouble about that right front since, even without the Previcox. Correlation or causation, we never truly figured it out. But something to think about if you are in a Lyme area.

[Blagdongirl]

@qhaftershock

My gelding started protesting to nailing onto the right front after 3+ years of the same farrier/shoeing. We struggled to figure it out and I just started loading him with Previcox before farrier visits. About six months after he started resisting nails on the right front, he was diagnosed with Lyme disease and treated. Never gave us any trouble about that right front since, even without the Previcox. Correlation or causation, we never truly figured it out. But something to think about if you are in a Lyme area.

Thank you food for thought, will check.