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  Discussion on Backwards shoes
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Member:
Dwinans

Posted on Friday, Aug 11, 2006 - 4:39 pm:

Hi all,

I was wondering if any of you have had experience with putting front shoes on backwards?

My horse grows an impossibly long toe and shoeing at 5 week intervals does not control it. There is just no way to keep the toe short.

He went barefoot by accident for about a week last year during pasture layup. His toe was worn down nice and short and I was optimistic that we could keep it short as long as the shoeing intervals were short. No such luck.

My farrier is thinking about putting plain shoes on backwards and letting him wear the toe down himself. We do arena riding on soft ground.

He is a TB hunter/jumper. He has very thin soles and xrays taken 4 years ago showed pedel osteitis. He has remained sound since the po was caught although his feet are very thin-walled, flat and low-heeled.

Do you think he would be ok jumping and showing?

It seems so weird but logical at the same time.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Dawn
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Friday, Aug 11, 2006 - 7:05 pm:

i've seen it done before. but not necessarily for your outcome. It might be outdated now. It was for a foundered horse. just like those shoes that are round all around. Why not just place the shoe a tad further back on the hoof if that is the outcome wanted. Then you might not have the jokes that might come with people seeing a shoe on backwards. grin. And then there are shoes that are more square at the front that might help...


I would look it up first and do more research on it before doing this. Only because i'm not sure that anything more than trimming more frequently is going to help. Is this problem all year round? or just now in the summer? Any type of growth increase that is not normal (or lopsided) seems like a red flag of sorts. Don't just medicate the symptom. find what the problem is and solve it. Something just might be off. And it could be the farrier not taking enough toe. He thinks he is.. or a contracted heel might push the toe longer. Is truly just toe? or does it look like a bit of flaring?
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Friday, Aug 11, 2006 - 7:26 pm:

Dawn, it sounds as if you have considered barefoot, but that your horse's feet don't allow for it? If that is the case, you could have the shoe set back to the white line at the toe, and have the extra toe rasped away from the top of the foot . . . and if you have a rasp, you can do touch-ups every week . . . As the hoof grows, though, the shoe will move forward with the horn, so be aware of the overall length of the hoof and beware of underrun heels. I don't see why you can't do the same thing with the shoe on backwards, but it may not be necessary. How 'bout using boots for riding and leaving the horse barefoot when he's not ridden?
Member:
Christos

Posted on Saturday, Aug 12, 2006 - 1:37 am:

Dawn, I have never seen this, but I'd be worried that the wall will crack vertically left and right of the toe, where the shoe ends.

Also, an almost certain effect of the toe being unsupported with the rest of the hoof shod will be the horizontal "rings" of the hoof sinking at the toe, again creating unbalanced stress within the hoof wall.

It may, eventually, result in the toe growing even faster than the rest of the wall.

I'd go with the suggestions above, but again, I have never seen a shoe set backwards, your farrier may know a way to balance it.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Aug 12, 2006 - 11:27 am:

Dawn, could you post a before and after trimming / shoeing pictures? Good shots from the side and front with good back lighting or a flash. You should position yourself close to the ground when you take these shots.
DrO
Member:
Stevens

Posted on Saturday, Aug 12, 2006 - 4:24 pm:

I've seen it used on a horse with ringbone, didn't do much and I don't see how it would be different from an egg bar shoe anyway.

I agree with setting the shoe further back and letting the horse wear off the toe. You don't want to make radical changes. We did this with one of my horses and it took almost 6 month to get his toes right.
Member:
Dwinans

Posted on Saturday, Aug 12, 2006 - 9:10 pm:

Thanks for your input. The shoe set back sounds like a better idea than the backward shoe.

My farrier has done his best to trim the toe back as much as possible but he says that the quick is growing out with the wall and there is nothing to cut off.

Jojo, I believe it is toe but I know that he also has flares sometimes also. This happens all year round.

From what I understand from my farrier and vet he is not a candidate for barefoot when he is in work. I couldn't imagine jumping in boots.

Remy is up north for a few weeks to get out of the heat for a short while and when I am up there next weekend I will get some pictures of his feet. The local farrier put flat shoes on him so they do not look like what my farrier does.

I will speak with my farrier about your ideas. He is very receptive to my research and doesn't get offended when I submit ideas to him.

Now that I'm thinking about it I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to pull his shoes for a couple of weeks. He is sitting on pasture until Sept 1. I'm hesitating because we are planning on showing mid-October and I'm scared he will be sore. I will ask my farrier for his opinion.

Thank you all for your input. I knew when I posted that I could count on you.

Regards,
Dawn
Member:
Tuckern

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 16, 2006 - 1:05 pm:

Hi Dawn,

I would like to add that I have seen many people use boots on their horse's feet when jumping, with no ill effects.

It can be done, you would have to make sure the boot fits very well.

Nicole in New Mexico
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