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Discussion on Hoof boots for carriage horse
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New Member:
rachy
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Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 12:07 am:
Does anyone have any experience with using hoof boots on carriage horses? I am growing increasingly concerned about shoeing and the concussion from working on hard roads. However, I have not been able to find anyone who has used boots predominantly on roads and will be very annoyed if I spend heaps of money and get small milage out of them.
Our horses (clydesdales 12 and 3) don't work particularly hard - maybe 20kms a day mostly walking (25% trot) - and mostly only in the school holidays (or by arrangement). The rest of the time I ride and train them so they are fit for whatever I ask of them.
The 13 yr old mare I have in work wears so unevenly. She is fantastic in every way, but has the typical clydie cow hocked confirmation and also her off-side hind hoof is splayed outwards. This causes her to put all her weight on the outside wall first and the cambre of the road makes this fault worse - thus wearing out of that shoe in a few weeks. I have tried hard facing on the outer edge of the shoes with some success, but we work mainly in our town with very few hills and traction isn't my problem. I have also used the tungsten nails which would work well if she didn't drag that leg as the tips on the hoof's side were just knocked out.
My main concern is for the shock to their legs with constant road work.
There is heaps of info about cross country use, but no one seems to be able to tell me how they will go on roads and in draught.
Any input would help.
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 4:27 am:
Hi Rachael, my neighbor drives her horse and used Old Macs. Her horse is not a draft horse tho. She liked them very much but got sick of the on and off task, especially since she did all 4 also.
I have seen some people discuss shock absorber pads, would something like that help with the shoes? If your horses have odd shaped feet you probably won't be able to get a good fit and if they move a little uneven I would be afraid of them tripping up in boots.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 8:52 pm:
I would expect short mileage on paved roads. Steel shoes and thick rubber pads (often made of tire rubber) seems to be the de-rigueur.
DrO
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New Member:
rachy
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Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 10:42 pm:
Thanks for the replies. Dr O, do they put the rubber between the shoe and hoof? I have tought about this a bit, but thought it most likely that the movement would work the nails loose.
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New Member:
rachy
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Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 10:44 pm:
Thanks for the replies. Dr O, Do they put the rubber between the hoof and shoe? Wouldn't the movement work the nails loose?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Mar 17, 2008 - 6:28 am:
Yes the pad goes between the hoof and the shoe and apparently works well as I have seen it in used all over the country. It does require farrier skills to apply such a thick pad and am not familiar with whether this is done as a regular pad and nailed on with the shoe or more like you see with the thick pads applied to TWH's where the first pad is nailed to the foot then the wedge and shoe nailed to this pad.
DrO
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Member:
amara
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008 - 12:41 pm:
When I worked for a carriage company we used hoof boots on one of our horses after we switched to barefoot. He had a bit of difficulty transitioning. (the other horses had no trouble going barefoot). I dont remember what kind we used as this horse unfortunately passed away from colic about a year later and I no longer work for the company. He really only worked 1-2x's a week for 1-3 hrs and the hoofboots were fine.
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Member:
sparky
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 20, 2008 - 3:32 pm:
Rachel - the only boot that I know of that you can buy parts for instead of a whole new boot is the Marquis https://www.strideequus.com/
They are expensive initially so I went with a different type. They do show on their web site a draft wearing one. They sent me a dvd etc when I inquired so you may want to research them. Experiment with two fronts maybe?
Good luck
Janet
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Member:
sparky
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 20, 2008 - 3:36 pm:
check out the Marquis® Performance Glueon
MPGo!! Dont know about them at all - just discovered them on their website!
Interesting
J
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