…ideally for a classic TB foot (and I mean recently classic, ie somewhat shelly, sadly, not old-school.) Now that he’s grown the quarter-grab injury out and we are riding more, I’m wondering about shoeing. My old OTTB pretty much was ridden in the ring, not out over deep grass, sandy roads/tracks, trails in the woods, etc. Lucky and I do that just on the boarding farm. So Benny generally had either steel or aluminum shoes, depending on how much showing we were doing, but it was always on flat arena footing. Since I would like at some point to take Lucky hunting, what are suggestions for shoeing for a tenderfoot TB? When I talk to the farrier, what do I need to be concerned about for riding on non-groomed, non-ring surfaces?
Thankfully for me it’s been a while since I had to deal with shelly feet on a hunter…but when last I did, early to mid 90s, I had good look with a wide web steel shoe as recommended by farrier. Provided good protection without pads.
JMHO!
Bev speaks wisely. But steel only, recommend a swedge too. No aluminum. Wide yes! And all 4’s too.
Wait until you’ve hunted some and are riding cross country a lot before you think about things like caulks or borium or something fancier. Most horses do just fine with 2 front shoes but I think your child needs 4. JMHO!!
If he has a problem keeping them on; don’t be afraid of side clips. I think they save the foot.
What wateryglen said. Wide steel shoes w/clips on all 4 is what has always worked well for us, and drill/tap them for studs in the winter.
Yup, the wide steel shoes would be where I’d start too. They provide a lot of support to the foot.
Steel on all 4, clips if indicated, full swedge.
If your horse is also blessed with flat or sensitive soles, or the footing is godawful hard, don’t be afraid to use leather pads (or whatever your farrier recommends).
But that’s for hunting. If you’re just starting to take your TB out on trail rides and little schooling stuff, you can just do the fronts with steel and a full swedge. I’m assuming his back feet are ok. If not - shoe them as well.
Knowing you, I feel safe assuming the horse has a good trim/heels are not underrun, and his nutritional needs are met.
So… any thoughts on when he might be ready to hunt?
Some of our fixtures are pretty rocky. I do steel on all four. Starting in about November I have them drilled for removable studs and in Dec I usually add snow pads which are fantastic. I use the rim kind which are like a flexible plastic or rubber tube that line the inside perimeter of the shoe but don’t cover the entire hoof/sole surface. I feel like I have good traction in all kinds of conditions. I don’t go out when conditions are icy.
Weight matters
I am going to add another perspective. My vet wants the shoes to be as light as possible for the conditions. The literal weight of the shoe impacts the movement of the hoof. The tendons and ligaments are quite sensitive to the thrust that the extra weight gives.
My vet is a lameness specialist and a multiple world champion in endurance riding. She does understand the rocky and varied terrain that we can have.
The literal weight of the shoe impacts the movement of the hoof. The tendons and ligaments are quite sensitive to the thrust that the extra weight gives.
Agree completely - but can’t shed much light on the best shoes I am afraid as all mine hunt without them (we are also on tough terrain a lot of the time, though the video was taken when we were just out exercising:http://www.vimeo.com/10374491).
NicBarker,
Do you go on asphalt roads, too? In our area, the hunts will trot along the roads. We have a tiny space on the edge and a quick drop off. Have you checked out an of the alternative hoof boots or the sole guard type products? I would love to not have to go to shoes for the season.
Yes, we do roadwork - sometimes at more than a trot(!)…
More clips here, but a bit fuzzy 'cos they were taken with a headcam…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnD-2Gg_CNkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R2XikyTH4o
For a horse to hunt without shoes, I’ve found the most important thing is to get the horse’s diet right - its not rocket science but optimal mineral balance, low sugar, high oil, high fibre (grass is a huge problem for us in the UK) and then work, work, work - as long as its within the horse’s comfort level, to build as healthy a hoof as possible. Its amazing how much work hooves actually need to stay healthy(!) - mine seem to do best hunting twice a week/3 times a fortnight…:eek:
I don’t use hoof boots etc - not very practical for us so I’d rather get the feet good enough to cope without. I like things as simple as possible 
Not sure there are any boots out there that I would trust for hunting, anyway…
We’ve got 5 that hunt barefoot at the moment - some are about to start their 7th season and all but one had pretty cr*ppy feet to start with 
nicbarker, love your headcam videos! And I am still snickering over the white horses that ended up with mud from hoof to hock. My first horse was a white (well technically gray) TB and he was hard to keep clean. Everybody’s turnout looks wonderful.
I heard lots of clip-clop, like metal shoes, where those the horses around you? The trails looked full of rocks.
I am still snickering over the white horses that ended up with mud from hoof to hock
We have 3 greys:eek:…though only one of them is in those films!
Yes, as you can see and hear, most of the horses in the field are shod. The unshod ones are mine - the grey, the bay I am filming on and the bright bay who you can see in front/to the side in some of the early footage. The 2 bays together did just over 1300 miles out hunting last season
Glad you enjoyed the terrain!
Tell Us More, Please
Hey NicBarker,
I am amazed at what you use for trails/roads! Were they in place by the Romans? I thought we had some steep tough territory in the Virginia hunts, but you certainly have the most amazing. The views from on top of your hills (?) must be awe inspiring. Would you tell us more about your hunt and your project horses? I looked at your blog and you seem to be involved in university work, too.
Hi Whicker,
Think we are in danger of going OT on this, so hope no-one is offended…Our hunt is the Exmoor Foxhounds, in the UK, and we definitely have hills rather than mountains, they are just a bit steep and stony 
Today there is no view at all as we are sitting in typical British rain, as so often happens - of course I only film in dry weather(!) We have fabulous hunting here for 9 months of the year and its a passion, the rehab horses are another passion and are also my job - I could go on all day but that would be seriously OT
[QUOTE=JSwan;4983128]
So… any thoughts on when he might be ready to hunt?[/QUOTE]
Lol, well, if he doesn’t start to like jumping…the biggest issue is in fact a trailer, as first, it’s 180 miles away, and second, I don’t have a vehicle that can haul it yet! I’d like to get him riding out in company, though, as soon as I can find how to get him there. He’s horribly blase about everything when he’s alone, but I’d like to see how he behaves with a calm group.
His feet are…not bad, with the biotin. But they’re TB feet. Lots of growth and new sole now, but a tendency to crack and flake. Also the farrier’s working on readjusting, as he was growing out a quarter grab all last year and his RF was at a slightly different angle than the L. I also am starting to suspect he’s a little tender-footed, and his very-much-NOT-flat feet have me picking out more pebbles in nine months than I think I did in fifteen years with the old horse. He is never off, but there are days when he goes just a little–not quite on, either, like something is bugging him but not enough to limp or head-bob. No heat, no swelling, no obvious signs of discomfort, his masseuse has never found any muscle issues in his back, so I’m beginning to think it’s sore feet.
We also ride on a variety of footing–the arena and track are sand, the fields are deep growth, the trails are bark chips, the lanes and round pen are turf or dirt, there’s a lot of slope to all of it and subtle terrain changes. He was a turf racer by preference, so he doesn’t necessarily have a problem with deep, but that also meant he’s used to having particular shoes.
I’ll talk with my farrier about the suggestions here. I’m sure we don’t need borium yet and we aren’t going especially fast over anything but the sand track so caulks are probably overkill at this point, too, but my big conern is how the wall could handle steel at this point. My old horse usually got aluminum plates, but he was only in the ring, most of the time, and besides that he also made a hobby out of pulling them as fast as he could.
St. Croix eventers. Best.shoe.ever for any horse doing any fast cross-country activity. Beveled the entire outside length for roll over at any point which is excellent for varying terrain. Comes with sole relief beveling as well. Available in steel and aluminum. Aluminum is lightweight - less apt to stress the hoof wall than steel. Aluminum also grips the road - no need for studs which stresses the horse’s legs.
danceronice -
I’m not one to jump on bandwagons or tout miracle cures and whatnot… but you might want to check out Epona shoes.
It doesn’t sound as if you’re quite ready to take the plunge, so doing the whole caulk/borium/swedge thing might be premature.
But the horse may be a bit sore so that’s not good either. And if the hoof wall isn’t very strong nails might just cause more problems than the shoes fix.
Boots might work too, but I never had much luck with those on the Free Horse. Spent a lot of money, though. (sigh)
A fellow COTH member invited me to her place to see her farrier apply Epona shoes on one of her horses. The horse had some health/hoof issues.
They can be nailed on or glued on, they come with or without pads.
I can put you in touch with the COTH member who uses them, if you’re interested. I talked to her farrier too. Nice folks.
Not sure these would work for you but the lady who uses them does a lot of trail riding on varied terrain and the shoes hold up fine - most importantly her horse is doing well.
I’m not an expert on shoeing and shoes and boots and stuff… but the Epona shoes just looked pretty interesting.
gothedistance - farrier just applied those shoes to my guy. Great minds think alike! :D;)
still JMHO!!
GTD! Generally aluminum doesn’t work for most larger or regular sized horses hunting imho. Aluminum might work for ponies/arabs but bends too easy or breaks when hard ground, rocks & stuff. I think maybe titanium shoes are a good hard lighter shoe to consider maybe? Agree w/St Croix eventers and that aluminum would work for trail riding but hard hunting? Nah…
And side clips could be a god send to keep his feet together. Then farrier can use a thinner/smaller nail too. s
Hmmmm. Well…I hunted a 17h warmblood --not a lightweight by any stretch of the imagination, may I add! – for two years in aluminum St Croix eventers because he would.not.stop.tripping in the horrid steel keg shoes that some stupid schmuck of a “farrier” (and I use that term “farrier” loosely to designate some of those idiots out there nailing shoes on horses) put on this lovely creature because the owner thought (wrong!!!) that big horses need steel shoes. I took over his shoeing, and he immediately stopped tripping and stumbling with the aluminum eventers. Never once did the aluminum split or bend or break. And we hunted twice a week in Orange County hunt country and Middleburg/Piedmont.
I hunt and endurance ride in the same shoe. Frankly, just conditioning for endurance will beat the crap out of the aluminum shoe (they do “melt” away much quicker than steel), but otherwise they shoulder the abuse of rocks and nasty trail for miles and miles and miles. I can gallop hardtop roads in them without batting an eye while others blanche at the sight and don’t dare go faster than a slow trot, even with studs (which are really bad for the legs). For hunting…well, I consider the aluminum St. Croix unbeatable. I would stack them up against any other shoe out there, and come out on top. 
I do use the eventers that have side clips. You need them for the fast, hard gallops over varying terrain.
Small nails are not better for shelly feet. :no: They give away too easily under stress. A good nail suited to the size of the hoof will hold the shoe on securely, Kerotix (sp???) or some really good hoof hardener put on the hoof wall after shoeing, and daily hoof supplements in the feed should help build up a better hoof over time.
ANOAEDN - hope to see you guys out while hunting this year. I’m hoping to “play the field” a bit more by capping with other hunts this season – now that I will have two hunting ponies ready to go…AND a brand spanking new BIG truck with 4 wheel drive to take me anywhere and everywhere. Whoo-hoo!!!
