Poor front feet

W

WDF

New Member
Jun 26, 2008
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West Midlands
My mare's one front foot is tearing across where the nails are AGAIN :mad: . Ive been battling with her poor foot condition now for over two years, her wall WAS becoming stronger until all this wet weather PLUS my farrier has been on holiday so ive had to leave her for far longer than i would normally; i say long BUT for you it may be a short while, this will be the 7th week and generally HAVE to get her reshod every 5/6 weeks as
1 - we wear the nails/shoes down so they drop off
2 - her feet grow too fast

Anyway, farrier is back off his jollies and coming Thursday but sadly i think its too late and her one foot will be un-shoeable as by then im SURE the walls of her feet will have been ripped off :eek:

Tacking shoes off
Ive thought about this alot but never had the courage to do it as when mt mare's lost a shoe (always front) she becomes VERY sore and really struggles to walk across the cobbly tracks at the yard let alone go out hacking. She has predominantly white hoof which i believe isn't as strong as black so im not sure IF she could go unshod at all :confused:
Ive looked at many Hoof Boots but as with everything ALL have pros / cons & people have personal preferences; i like the look/sound of the "Marquis" boot as you can pump it full of air rather than tighten it to fit funny shaped feet but i don't know anyone thats had them.

This foot problem is REALLY getting me down now as i think its gone on for long enough and all my farrier says is "She just has a thin wall which makes shoeing difficult".

Im at a loss as to what to do next, continue having shoes on and nails repeatidly knocked in, taken out, knocked in, taken out 4 dosen times every time the farrier come - SURELY adding more holes to a poor wall will make things worse NOT better (my farrier tells me otherwise) OR get an DAEP to come out & take a look OR get a seconf opionion off another farrier . . . . . .
 
The hoof wall on my mares back feet crumbled a few weeks ago. She has always had poor feet but after a falling out with my farrier she was left too long and her back feet are well and truely trashed. By the time I got a new farrier he told me what I already knew....that there was no way there was enough hoof wall to get nails into to get a shoes on, so she has had to go barefoot on the back.

She is ISH, so half TB and a total wus when it came to going barefoot. Having no choice in the matter i had to buy some hoof boots. After alot of reserch on the net I found the boots that would best suit the shape of my horses foot. I bought them off http://www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk/ where you can hire the boots first to make sure they are going to work for your horse.

Now my mare is coming back into work after only 2 weeks of being barefoot. While I wouldnt have chosen to go barefoot with her, I was forced like you but the boots have been brilliant, well worth the money as it means i can still ride my horse and the boots should protect her feet until they grow back enough to get shoes back on.
 
It does sound like a spell barefoot might be a good idea. Do check out the websites, they are very helpful. I too was looking atthe Marquis boots but nowthey make the Renegades a bit bigger I've gone for them. It does take time and boots can help to keep her comfortable. I don't actually think white hoof are actually any weaker than black (personal experience is the reverse :eek:). Could she have LGL contributing to the foot soreness? I'm sure someone on here will be able to give you some good advice. :)
 
Even if you only do a month or two to treat any infection in the wall, grow out the worst damage and get some decent inner wall it'd help a lot even if it turns out not to be a practical long term thing. 6 months and grow in a whole 'new' foot would be even better but then you might find you don't want shoes anymore :) Boots and pads are great for keeping them comfortable and encouraging the feet to grow.
 
Thanks for replying :)
Like everyone i don't ride that much over the winter AND im planning on breaking my youngster Christmas ish SO even tho i don't really want to i thought it may be an idea for my mare to take a short holiday during that time, shoes could come off and hopefully by April/May be ridable again with OR without shoes :confused:
 
WDF said:
Thanks for replying :)
Like everyone i don't ride that much over the winter AND im planning on breaking my youngster Christmas ish SO even tho i don't really want to i thought it may be an idea for my mare to take a short holiday during that time, shoes could come off and hopefully by April/May be ridable again with OR without shoes :confused:
Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan...and you might be pleasantly surprised next Spring, fingers crossed you get her feet sorted one way or another. :)
 
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