how much road work??

[pineapple]

i have an Andalusian gelding who is shod infront but not behind.

i have done about 6 hours road work in the past 2 weeks. and his feet seem perfectly fine. i was looking at doing about 4 hours per week from now on. and after april time maybe up to 6 hours per week on the road.

at what stage do you think i should have him shod. he has NEVER had back shoes on before and has extremely good feet with out any cracks, weakness etc. he doesnt feel his feet at all now but i dont want to push him over the limit and be lame.

also, if i got him shod now and then took of his back shoes again in the autumn time, do you think he would cope???

sorry for all the questions!

[capalldubh]

I've been doing 9 hours approx a week on tarmac with no signs of excessive wear and trimmer says hooves are almost self maintaining (you get a lovely mustang roll walking out on the road ;)) I will probably gradually increase the duration as the weather improves and keep an eye on the hooves. I've been advised the more the better as long as the horse is comfortable - more stimulation makes the hooves grow more and makes the sole thicker and better able to withstand impact.

[Joyscarer]

My ex field mate has an andalusian that she got off the mountains when she lived out in spain.

Her hooves are hard as nails from dealing with the rock hard ground out there.

I personally think that trying to precdict is a bit of a waste of time.

All you can do is see how the horse goes and take it as it comes. You might not have to have your horse shod if it is anything like my mates mare :)

[MelanieD]

Try it and see how much he can cope with. He won't go from fine to cripple in one ride :) With good feet you get plenty of warning before it gets that bad, slowing down, wanting to walk on soft bits, ouching on stones, and you can check the feet for wear as well.

6 hours a week is nothing for good feet. I've had one doing 10+ hours a week and up to 4 hours in a day without problems with no shoes at all and she doesn't have the best feet ever, pretty good but nothing like the hoovesofconcrete attached to my younger one :)

[pineapple]

oh good! i got funny looks today after my 2 hour ride!

i checked his feet carefully today and when you look at them from the ground hes got like little chips on the very edges but when you lift up his feet you cant see them.

you can see the white line when u you pick up his feet and he has plenty of growth before it wears down that much. but it seems like a part of his sole takes most of the pressure and has gone really hard and thicker than the rest, is this what is suppose to happen or do you think the front of hiss toe has worn down too much and so the pressure is focused on the wrong place??

if anyone can understand that, i read it back and its not very clear:rolleyes: sorry!

[MelanieD]

Which bit of the sole is taking the pressure and going hard? Any pics?

[pineapple]

no no pics sorry ill try to get some on here tomorrow.

if you think of the very tip of the toe, well its a bit back from there and just before the frog starts...

[wonkeywoody]

......"they" recommend hoof boots if doing more than 20 miles/day over hard terrain......think you'll be fine. Just keep an eye on the amount of wear.