He's always throwing shoes...

[spuget]

My horse has the reputation with the farrier (and always has) of having the worst feet in the barn. As long as I've known my horse, he's always thrown shoes left and right.

Is there any treatment or anything I could do to help with this? Is it because his hoofs are too dry (I've started using a moisturizer to see if that helps)?

[Tangle]

Next time you see him, ask your farrier WHY your horse is throwing shoes, as there's a multitude of possible reasons....

The ground's soft and sticky. If all the horse's are out together and yours is the only one to loose shoes, this is very unlikely - unless yours has different shoes (eggbar, orthopedic pads, etc)

The hoof is too soft/crumbly/dry.
Look at getting a good hoof supplement. Farrier's formula and formula 4 feet are both common in the UK. What you need is something with a lot of biotin (plus zinc, methionine and an otherwise good diet) to help him put down healthy horn. It may take a while to see an effect (it takes 3 to 6 months for the hoof to re-generate) but if it's a hoof quality issue then nutrition is the way forward.
Moisturizers may help BUT there are some school's of thought that they can hinder, depending on what they are. Have a read of the Carr Day & Martin Hoof Therapy Factsheet (http://www.toklat.com/CDM/hooftherapy.htm)

The hoof is poorly shaped.
Good farriery should be able to help with this.


If he either can't/won't answer, or suggests the horse just has "flat feet", then I'd strongly recommend you look for a new farrier! The horse can have pretty attrocious flare / low or under-run heels / long toes..... (all of which weaken the hoof so make it easier to loose shoes) but a good farrier should be able to improve the hoof shape and structure over time.

Good luck :)

[CMR]

Perhaps it is a sign that he wants to go barefoot :p

[Jamey]

My horse threw so many shoes winter 2004/2005 I had the farrier out nearly every week. He still managed to lose a few this winter but his feet had improved dramatically after I added TopSpec Hoof Supplement to his feeds. It is expensive as for my horse (strapping 17.1hh brute) I use a tub a month at £19.95 a tub but it costs less than having 8 shoes put on in a six week period. I wouldn't be without it now.

[Bay Mare]

Perhaps it is a sign that he wants to go barefoot :p


That's what I was going to say :p

Seriously, though, even if you don't want to go barefoot full time it would be probably worth taking the shoes off for a few months to help get some structure back. Better now than being *forced* to later on!

It does make me wonder, though, why we accept bad feet more easily when they're shod? Shouldn't we be thinking that shoeing or that particular farrier just isn't working for this horse?

It may be worth looking at the diet too (rather than just supplements) but ideally this would be in conjunction with a good conditioning regime (shoe free!). There's a nutrition and barefoot forum on Enlightened Equitation (http://www.enlightenedequitation.com)which makes for some interesting reading if you're interested.

[Naughtyneigh]

My horse Jake was exactly the same! Bless him! We now just paint vegetable oil (or something similar from the supermarket) Once or twice a day (twice if v.dry). He's been much better now and if a show ever does come off it's a very clean cut!
Thank you to a random thourghbred farrier that told us this top tip! - it works!
Hope this helps (it's much cheaper too compared to other methods)

Gemma
xx