new shoe job is much, much better
I’d still consider x-rays just before your farrier comes out to help direct the way.
It’s a new farrier
A definite improvement!
Move your appointments closer together. No horse can go 8 weeks. Hope this new guy works out.
This is the first time my horse went this long without his shoes being redone, the farrier i was using got hurt so he wasn’t able to come for a couple of weeks, there usually done every 6 weeks.
You really aren’t listening. The horse needs to be shod every four weeks, at least until his feet are correctly. Not because you are trying to see how long he can “go” before he “needs” to be shod. That’s not the point, and you need to realize the point is to correct really bad feet.
The reason these feed are so bad is because the heels are so underrun he has no support in the heel, and his toes are still too long. The heel of the hoof should be straight under the heel bulb, almost. Your heel is under the hoof somewhere. If you can’t start having his shoes reset and feet trimmed every four weeks, I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t kow why your goals are to go so many weeks between shoings, but that isn’t what your goals should be. If you get the horse done every four weeks, the shoer will be able to make adjustments and he may be able to reset the same shoes, so that may help in some ways with the cost, but if you can find a shower to correct the heels and back up the toe, get him to come out every four weeks.
Yes i understand I was just saying how long I usually go and I’ll have the farrier adjust him at 4 weeks, i really appreciate everyones advice
Yes I understand completely and will have his shoes reset earlier, I really appreciate everyones advice
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A huge difference with your new Farrier. The angle of the hoof now aligns with the pastern. Keep up the good work!!!
But you said he had to go eight weeks because he grew so slowly? I’m confused.
Good job on finding this new farrier, and hopefully you’ll be able to keep the horse on a tighter schedule. Good luck!
Feet like those are gonna go really south really fast. Keep on top of them.
Much, much better!!! Take it slow on those new angles! Still agree that rads would be good.
Glad you’ll be getting him done more frequently!
Where are you applying the Keratex? You should be painting it on the soles, avoiding the frog, maybe 3 times a week. More then that is just wasting the not so cheap product. Painting it on the outside of the hoof doesnt do much, if anything, except maybe around the cliches to try and lessen the chipping and cracking that’s almost unavoidable this time of year between dampness and fly stomping.
Anyway, you cannot change the texture of aready grown hoof, it’s not living tissue any more then your fingernails or hair is. The sole is and you can apply a hardner but Venice Turpentine will do the same thing far cheaper. Used both over many years, decades really. Never saw a difference in the effect or lack thereof. Both seem to toughen the soles a little used regularly. But they don’t really solve the root cause of the “thin soles” or bad angles from a poor quality farrier.
Couple of my TBs couldn’t go barefoot due to ground conditions and went in front shoes with rim pads. I liked those, solved the ouchy problem whether “thin soles” or minor navicular changes. Speaking of which OP really needs to get some x rays to see if something specific is going on inside the hoof that can be managed instead of throwing the " crappy TB feet" label on them and dumping money into what’s not wrong with them. Crappy feet is really not a unique breed characteristic, it’s a sign of bad farrier work, nutrition and environment on horsesof any breed.
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I agree you need a new farrier. Call your vet and she who he/she recommends. I think your vet would agree that this farrier work will compromise the integrity of his tendons and the internal workings of his feet.
I had X-rays done on his feet last year and the vet and farrier didn’t find anything major wrong with them
Things can change in a years time, just because nothing was found on last xrays. Doesn’t mean xrays now won’t show an issue.
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Even a horse with good feet, if kept in shoes, 6 weeks is too long.
Good on you, OP. The new shoes are a big leap in a better direction.
sometimes, it takes a change in eyes\hands, even if you thought you had the best job possible.
he managed to throw a front shoe again, just after a week and a half of having new shoes
Well, sometimes crap happens - the horse steps on their own foot or does something funky/spooks and lands wrong.
Did you find the shoe? Sometimes my farrier could tell what happened by the way the shoe was bent, whether the nails were still there, etc…not that it was always helpful. Once he was pretty sure another horse stepped on my horse’s foot, which is entirely possible.
Also, when my horse was in “therapeutic” trimming and shoeing - meaning my farrier was working toward a goal but wasn’t there yet - she did lose a few shoes. Her feet had been unbalanced, long and underrun for a while so it took a while to get them back to normal.
It might be too early to despair if you are on the road to better feet - I had to keep my mare in bell boots for a while but (knock on wood) she has not lost a shoe in a long time.
