my horse's feet!

[baeloclaudia]

My 4 year old was always footy and footsore as a youngster. I had to put front shoes on him at 3 and hinds on at 4. His shoeing intervals have become shorter and shorter - now after only a couple of weeks his feet look like they need shoeing again - feet spread out over shoe and clenches up. It is preventing me from working him, as I am worried about his feet. My farrier says there is nothing more he can do, its just how he is. My vet thinks I should ask for a 2nd opinion off a different farrier, but hasn't actuallly been to see my horse as he is not lame. I thought i might be able to post some photos on here but that does not seem to be an option...so you can't see what I'm talking about. Basically his feet look very flared and quite big/deep for him. He wears NB shoes at my request as he is prone to trip, but farrier says these do not help his feet as they have no toe clips so there is extra movement of the foot/shoe interface. I know my faarier will be offended if I ask for a 2nd opinion, What should I do?

[calshoer]

Given the fact your farrier thinks that toe clips are necessay to help prevent the problems, and your horse's feet are continually flaring and spreading, the farrier is likely misunderstanding some important part of the Natural Balance protocol.
Flaring, flattening, long toes, and poor wall is an indication that some reevaluation of overall hoof management, (including and especially the farrier work ) is in order, no matter WHAT type of shoes the horse is wearing. Toe clips do NOT prevent or help poor hoof quality. There are a lot of ther factors inviolved.
In my experience, horses *correctly* shod with NB or any other shoe (remember N.B. is a lot more than just the shoes) do not flare, go longer between shoeings and develop better hoofwall. From some of the things you say I get the idea your farrier is missing something in his work .
Please Email privately or post here some clear, VERY close up pictures of your horses feet so folks can better help you.
Since your horse in in NB shoes, It may be that your farrier needs some help understanding the NB protocol and how it works. Patty

[baeloclaudia]

Thanks for the reply. My farrier has since added quarter clips to the shoes, but as you say, this is not addressing the problem of the hoof shape I think. These pictures were taken 2 weeks after being shod. I need to take some more recent ones, as I think the flaring is more apparent now. But I'll try and put these on first....

[baeloclaudia]

Looking back at these pictures I think his feet look a lot worse now...must do some more pictures

[BryanHPope]

From what I can see from the picture, I would say that the horse needs a new farrier and larger shoes. If the shoes aren't fitted correctly it can and will cause the horn to be pulled away from the hoof and flare making the horn grow on the outside of the shoe. I have two horses that were like that from a farrier that was shoeing them before, and are getting better but it will take a little longer for them to be back to normal

Good luck

[John Barney]

I am not familiar with the NB, so I don't know if the shoe was set back or not. However the clinches are sticking out and look like they are straightening which shouldn't happen in two weeks. I have had customers who neglected to call me and the shoes were on for four months without growing over, the should come down as the hoof grows. Flares are usually controled by balancing the foot. If he is having trouble with foot/shoe movement he may be having a problem leveling the foot to match the shoe, if cold shoeing or not leveling the shoe before nailing it on.

JB

[danverschild]

...I can't tell enough from this one view to be making major pronouncements about how good or bad the shoeing job is or whether the shoes are too big or too small.

However, with the flaring in the bottom one-third of the hoof, with the condition of the hoof wall at the flare, and with the way those clinches are popping, I would be looking at wet/dry shifts... environmental concerns and moisture imbalances.