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Discussion on TWA Bends/Pulls off his front shoe
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Member:
Rose1
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 8, 2003 - 4:09 pm:
TWA has bent his front shoe by catching it with his back foot three times in the three years I have had him. This year he has pulled the shoe twice.
It was muddy here this year. He had to stay in a few days at a time and when we came out he was very happy and off came his shoe...... twice.
It is know off for the second time and this is my question.....I would like to leave the shoe off until his next ferrier visit to give the ferrier a good foot to nail too. Should I have the ferrier back to pull the other front shoe? It will be six weeks until he will need doing again. I would like to leave it and use an easy boot for the trail on the bare foot.
Thank you.
Regards,
Rose
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2003 - 12:15 am:
Hi, Rose,
Six weeks seems like a long time for a horse to go with one shoe on and one shoe off . . . Even if you use a boot for trail riding . . . Do you have farrier tools available? If you bang the nails from the bottom to get the clinches to pop up a bit on the surface of the hoof, you can loosen the clinches by using a screwdriver under the curled part and tapping on the screwdriver with a hammer .. . until the ends of the nails uncurl and point straight up . . . and then you should be able to pull the shoe off with a pair of nippers or pliers or even a fence tool . . . That's what I'd do if I didn't want to have the farrier out for a month and a half.
Holly
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Member:
Shanson
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 9, 2003 - 11:43 am:
I would have your farrier pull the other shoe.
FYI...If your TWH has shoes on front and back, you might consider shoeing only the front feet. I had a TWH that was even more prone than yours to clipping himself from behind and pulling a front shoe. When I discontinued shoeing him on rear feet, the problem went away. And, he did great with just front shoes.
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Member:
Alden
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Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2003 - 12:15 am:
Rose,
If your farrier uses a forge he can shape and possibly trim the ends of the shoes so there isn't anything sticking out to catch.
Even better is playing with the hoof angles. I have a Foxtrotter that could pull front shoes as fast as they are nailed on. We raised the back hoof angle about two degrees (58 for him) and we haven't lost a shoe since. You would think it would be the other way, lowering the angle, but not with him. Your horse maybe completely different, we tried different angles over the course of a year to find the magic set.
Of course I had to switch to a farrier that uses a angle gauge (they all should anyhow)  , rather than eye-balling it.
Alden
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Member:
Rose1
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Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2003 - 12:37 pm:
Thank you everyone for your advice.
The ferrier will be out next week to pull the other front shoe. "T" has good feet so I will be taking Sharon's suggestion and just shoeing the front when is shod again.
Yesterday I purchased a pair of Barrier Boots for "T" to ware on his bare feet when we go on the trail. He wore one last night a little and seemed comfortable to me. When they ware out I will replace them with Old Mac's Boots. Does anyone have experience with either of these products?
Regards,
Rose
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Member:
Goodie
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Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2003 - 1:50 pm:
While I don't have a TWH, I do have a jack hammer for a horse who was constantly yanking his front shoes off. My farrier at the time recommended "flattening" his back feet at the toe so that when he came forward, there wasn't anything to catch the front shoe. I know there is a technical term for it but right now it alludes me.
I also have a set of Davis Boots and a set of older boots with metal buckles across the toe to use in case a shoe is pulled on the trail. I have found that the Davis boot is harder to get on and to stay on with just the points inside the boot. The buckle on the other boot lets' me lock the boot on tightly without causing any damage to the sensitive back bulb.
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2003 - 1:58 pm:
I think it's called squaring the toe...mine has this done to his back feet and it's helped immensely.
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Member:
Goodie
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Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2003 - 2:03 pm:
That's it!!! Thank you. I get brain freeze every time I need it. The squared toe has made a huge difference in both his pulling of shoes and his jack-hammer gait. It changes the breaking point by just a few degrees, enough to help protect the shoes in front.
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Member:
Shanson
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Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2003 - 2:31 pm:
I've been using the Old Macs and like them. Getting a good fit seems to be a black art though. I measured according to their instructions and ended up with boots that were too small. Dr. O mentioned this in one of these email threads. I bought several before I got it right. Can't return them either after you've used them. For that reason, the following website is handy: www.naturalhorsetrim.com/boot_swap.htm. You can sell or swap on this site.
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Member:
Rose1
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Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2003 - 3:23 pm:
I purchased the Davis Barrier Boot in size 1 on advice from my ferrier and found it snug but not tight or too difficult to get on. He said if it was loose I should try a 0 but I'm going to stay with the one. I'll most likely order the MAC in a one as well even though he'll measure for a 0.
Thanks for the tip.
Regards,
Rose
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2003 - 7:03 pm:
Run a search we have discussed them often.
DrO
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Member:
Shanson
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2003 - 6:42 pm:
DrO,
Are you still using Old Macs and has your experience continued to be good? In my earlier posting in this email thread, I should have mentioned one problem I've had with the Old Macs. It's a problem you also mentioned in an email thread last year. I have correct size now and only use on front feet. I have found that they tend to rub the back of her feet in the pastern area above the heel. Does this problem get better as the boot breaks in? The rubbed place was pretty bad after my first ride in these boots. It appears to be the back of the boot that is rubbing, rather than the nylon ankle strap, but I could be mistaken.
sharon
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jul 18, 2003 - 6:30 pm:
Hello Sharon,
Yes we are still using them. As I have gone over in other discussions of Old Macs we did have this problem, but I think the pastern toughening up is now minimizes this for us. A light wrapping of Vet Wrap around the hoof and pastern is a good way to treat this so you can continue when this starts.
DrO
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Member:
Shanson
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 20, 2003 - 4:15 pm:
Good suggestion! I tried it today and it worked like a charm on a 2-hour trailride.
Thanks very much...sharon
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