He has bell boots on
Well, when a 1000 lb animal steps on or clips their own shoe at a gallop, nothing is going to keep it on. The key is to get the balance/breakover correct so that they don’t step or hit their own feet. Sometimes takes a while. For a while my farrier was setting the shoe back farther than he does now, in an effort to encourage more heel and less toe. Now there is no need for that kind of manipulation, and I’m sure that is a big reason she doesn’t lose shoes often in comparison to that period of time.
If you trust the farrier, I would just keep going forward. Did the farrier reset the shoe?
Your horse sounds like my Problem Child. The 2 things that have helped the most are
A) when he destroys his hooves he gets a glue on for a shoeing or 2
B) I’ve backed him down to getting his feet done every 5 weeks. That honestly has made the biggest difference. I’d bet he’s flaring out by the time 8 weeks rolls around right? Thin hoof walls get soft or brittle depending on conditions, so getting him trimmed more often will help. It’s less growth to deal with, less wear and tear on the hoof where the nails are and less growth extension to crack and break.
Even horses with perfect feet and trim can schuck shoes while out in summer. Between fly stomping and wet ground they can lose a few. Horses with compromised feet will lose more then a few.
Right now you are in the process of getting back on the right track with his feet. It will take some time. Once they loose a shoe, depending on how much damage has been done to the hoof wall, there might not be much to nail to or there might be tiny cracks from the previous clinches that ran too far up to be nipped away or smoothed out which weakens the security of the new shoe.
We ended up restricting outside time several times over the years to keep the feet dry and horse less active when we couldn’t keep a shoe on. Might not be a first choice but it can allow faster growth and allow the damaged area to grow out heathy so there’s something to nail to.
Ive been through the glue on routine but those absolutely don’t survive turnout in wet conditions for any length of time.
Do the bell boots fit appropriately? Often people neglect to fit them for length. They won’t work if the heel of the shoe is exposed under the edge of the boot.
I’m guessing he’s growing a lot of foot and it’s all running forward
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What @findeight said. @Callie1993 bell boots will help but they don’t always keep the shoes on. Make sure they fit right and use the ones that are double thick at the bottom. They should just touch the ground at the back of the foot without bunching up. He’s in the process of bringing that toe back so you’re going to have a period where he may pull a shoe here and there until the breakover is where it needs to be. What’s happening is the front foot isn’t leaving the ground fast enough to get out of the way of the hind feet. Right now it’s being delayed by a toe that’s too long.
Be patient… These feet did not get to where they are overnight and they won’t be fixed overnight. You could also double bell boot, the top boot helps keep the bottom one down around the foot.
Just my opinion. I came back to horses 5 years ago thanks to my daughter. I learned what I call a rough approach to horses and was determined with my daughter to do things differently. We started in endurance and trails, I learned to trim- I highly suggest if possible learn- it was a bit intimidating initially. Trimming a horse barefoot is easy- but I also took it on and read a lot and listened to various trimmers. We have 2 Arabs who I have tried many booting options- my Arab difficult to keep boots on. Gave up 2 years ago and haven’t looked back- we run barefoot(no boots) up to 30 miles- endurance fast pace and multi day rides. Fast forward 7 weeks ago- daughter wants to event so OTTB rescue- always had shoes on- 8 y/o. 3 weeks of lessons with shoes- I am new to eventing world and didn’t want to rock the boat for my daughter. I am thinking why? Do all these horses have shoes on- they are in stalls and ride in sand arenas. Eventers are not so open to change. I pulled shoes- 2 days a little sore- I leave a little more then some- but I maintain my trims. I mentioned my plans to trainer- got response I though I would- thoroughbreds have bad feet. 4 weeks later- lessons great, feet awesome, daughter doing training hills- 3 miles up- rocky- we live western states trail area. Jumping in our arena, 15 mile trail ride- endurance pace- total barefoot. Horse happy- feet look better without shoes. I also feed an 80/20 hay morning, cal trace with stable mix evening. My neighbors horses-4 of them all converted with my help and encouragement- to barefoot and doing great- 6 months later. I use an angle grinder- rasp for touch ups, takes about 3 minutes each foot. Watch a horse walk barefoot on pavement and you can see the flex and movement at the quarters- amazingly beautiful thing. Sorry a bit long. I have read other people’s stories for my own encouragement. Hoof armor an option for newly barefoot horses, and for longer 50 mile plus rides- hard coating that stays on for weeks. This horse also came with bell boots, he had pulled off shoes because “thoroughbreds have this problem”. Feet balanced, no contact at any gate, bell boots not needed. Big topic- so much can be said. As with anything, learn and explore,
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