Alternatives for abcess prone horse and opinions on farrier issues wanted!

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Hello! I have a 5yr old 16.3h tb gelding that I use for light jumping work. He jumps 1x a week over small crossrails with a young beginner and once or twice a week with me over 2'6"-2'9" fences. Nothing terribly demanding. I have had him 2 months, when he came to be he had a nasty abcess with associated bruising in the left front which resolved after about 2 weeks of soaking etc. Yesterday morning he was literally on 3 legs. It was so bad we thought he'd killed his stifle, he kept popping his stifle and his leg giving out when he'd hit a certain weight on that leg. The vet pulled the shoe and **** and drainage came pouring out the nail holes. He has a bruise/abcess that covers about 1/2 of the actual sole area of his left hind. He's been shod a the end of september when I originally got him. It was the farriers opinion (and mine) at this point that his feet had been neglected for a bit and they had just tossed shoes on him to sale him. He was shod again 4 weeks later at the end of october. Well here we are 3 weeks in and the hind left is off because of the abcess. The farrier comes to the stable today and my trainer told him that Duncan abcessed. He knew immediately which foot it was and said he was surpised it took this long because he saw the huge bruise when he shod him. He then checked his feet and said he'd put the left hind on next Thursday with a pad to cover the large hole and that he'd need all 4 redone because all the nails are loose. One nail had to be removed about 2 days after he was shod as it had not been pounded in all the way and was sticking a good 1/3-3/4" out from the side of his hoof.
My questions are:
Is there a good alternative for a horse that needs shoes for his work load but is possibly prone to abcessing with nail holes?
Any thoughts ont he so-called "athletic" horse shoes?
I think the farrier should have mentioned the bruising when he was shod. He would not have been ridden or jumped had we known and it could have been cared for sooner, am I wrong in this?
Do you think he should really need his feet done all around again for "loose nails" 3 weeks after being shod?
I'm quite upset by this as yes his feet weren't in the best shape when he came in, but he's not throwing shoes, they're not dry or brittle or spongy. THere's no reason for the loose nails already. In 2 months we've put 3 sets of shoes on this horse. it seems to me that something is wrong with the farriery here. I really don't think I should have to pay for a new set all around after 3 weeks if they're falling off. Am I way off base here? Thanks!
Angela