Trouble keeping horses shod

[Melinda Smith]

Is anyone else having trouble keeping shoes on their horses?  Ours are making it maybe 5 weeks, if we are lucky, and usually lose at least 1 shoe earlier than that, especially my horse, who is missing 3 right now and just had 1 replaced last week.  Is it the weather?  We don't usually seem to have this much trouble keeping ours horses shod.....  just wondering....

[ReubenT]

boots? I hear the new horse boot designs are working quite well for most users.

[Sheryl Danke]

I am having extremely good luck with mine, in fact the guy that puts mine on, can't beleive how long they last.
on average, I only have to do it about every 4 months.

[Melinda Smith]

Farrier was just here and he said their hooves are very chalky. Guess we will try the Farriers Formula for a while to see how that works.

[Leslie Perry]

I tried Farriers Formula. It did work. But no better than Rainmaker. And I don't feed my horses grain every day in the summer (they're too fat!). So it was easier to apply Rainmaker twice a week than to feed the Formula every day. ANd it's way cheaper!

[dusty414]

if the flies are bothering them that will cause them to not hold their shoes as long. Keep them clean also will help, because flies won't bother them as bad if they are clean. If they stand and stomp all day that is just as hard on them as if they had gone on a trail ride. I like to use Rainmaker on the feet a couple times a week when the ground gets dried out and hard, but also I've heard Tuff Stuff works really good.

[Grimwood's Horseshoeing]

Melinda, When your horse's hoof is balanced and you have healthy hoof to nail to, then you should have no trouble going 6 to 8 weeks. The minute the horse starts growing his hoof out he is beginning to become out of balance again. The center of articulation (Alignment of the Bony Column) should be 50% to the back of COA and 50% ahead of COA. The hoof grows down and forward just like your finger nail. If someone allows their horse to hold a shoe longer than 8 weeks just because they are still attached is harming their horse. It may not show up immediately but it will as the horse ages. If the hoof is not trimmed to balance the dead part can become chalky because of going from wet to dry dry to wet humidity etc... This change can take place so rapidly in this area. It can rain for two days and then the next day the ground is cracking from the dryness. The best chance to maintain proper Moisture balance is to apply a hoof conditioner. Apply a sealant such as Tough Stuff over the nail holes to keep moisture from damaging your clinches. A simple measurement can give you an idea if your horses hoof is balanced. After the trim, trace the bars to the frog. Mark the frog with a marker. Then draw a line across the hoof horizontally (Medial to Lateral). This should mark the widest part of the hoof. This mark on the frog should be about 1/2 to 3/4 inch from the apex of the frog (The point). Now measure vertically from that dot you made on the frog and it should be the same distance from that point to the buttress at the heel. My guess is the toe is quite a bit longer. If the apex of the frog is longer than the 1/2 inch from the dot (Duckett's Dot as it is referred to) then you can safely ascertain that the toe is longer than it should be and the frog has stretched and grown with the sole. When this happens the sulcus no longer appears on the sides of the frog and the sole becomes Sole Bound. There is no strength in this type of toe. Especially when compromised from improper diet or weather etc... and the shoe will come off. If the horse was forging or cross firing that would need a different solution, but it sounds like to me that it is in the trim. Good Luck and I hope this has helped.

[dusty414]

wow that was deep.....lol

[Leslie Perry]

For real!

[Leslie Perry]

One word.....FLIES!!!! People seem to overlook this. Look out in your pasture. Your horses are stomping ALL DAY LONG. This works the clinches loose. So even if you don't ride much in the really hot weather, they are putting more pressure on those shoes and nails! The last time I put shoes on my horse, his feet had hardly grown 1/2 inch...but the clinches were loose. The best you can do is fly spray them a couple times a week. It really does help if you use an oil-based spray. They cost more, but last longer. I tried the mesh "leggings", but they sag in about 3 days. So don't waste your money. I see that someone mentioned Rainmaker. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!!!! It really does help with chalky hooves, but no help against flies. Even a healthy hoof will succumb to all the force they expend to shaking these nuisances. Spray, spray, spray! You can also keep them in a stall during the day with a fan (flies can't manuever in winds), but my horses are very unhappy being in the "pony penitentiary"! I hope this helps!!

[Melinda Smith]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. It always helps to hear other peoples ideas. That is just one reason I love this site!