I was very upset about this quarter crack. Six or seven shoeings don't get any success. Today,I fix a banana shoe.I hope the self adjunting effect of the banana shoe gets a good success.

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The rigth front gets a good realineament inmediately.

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I'll keep posting.I'm very interested in this horse.

I wonder about putting all that pressure right at the crack. It will be interesting to see what happens.

clearthinkingone wrote:
same here.

Might just be the ticket

I would encourage you to consider a "continuous roll" and the trimming and stabilizing part is also needed when working with a banana.


Ronald Aalders

Thanks,Ron.I was hoping your opinion.

Isn't pressure at the crack before.The crack is floated and the weigth runs to the toe.After,the crack had pressure.

One pic more.The poor conformation of the horse.

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From this poimt of view (behind my keyboard :cool:) I just might have positioned the shoe back further a little. Propbably more important is that the floating is only partial. I tried to illustrate what I see by using coloured markings on your pic.

With a banana shoe you'll find it's hard to float (and keep floated, even after the foot "settles") the caudal part of that heel. This is because the shape of the footside in this type of banana's. What helps here is to cut away the pad, rather than trim the foot away from the shoe.

Perhaps I also would have moved the floating further forward, beyond the crack itself. What you are looking for is to free the entire "loose" heel, and have the rest of the foot carry weight. Obviously in doing so you loose stability in the foot ("three legged table" effect) This you need to stabilize by adding hoofpack.


Ronald Aalders

Thanks Ron.

When I trim this horse (or other hoof cracked), I trim the two fronts,I float the heel cracked and I let staying barefot while I shod the hinds or while I shoe another horse. One hour after,the floating is missing.Then,I float again and I fix the shoe. Usually, this last floating stays one day or two, but in this horse with banana,the second floating was missing too in half hour more or less. Any explication? The banana makes easy the descent of the cracked heel?

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This is a solar wiew. Can you see the crack? It must be near my thumb,but there's not crack on the sole.I'd like put an aluminium compensated barstraigth shoe Colleoni,but the owner want not expend money.The shoe is a straigth bar shoe of steel,but she gets impression stuff pink.

And an last ask. If the shoe is more large,about one or two centimeters, What influence in the mechanic of the banana?. I draw in the pic.

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Gabino in my experience with cracks like this one I fine a lot of my problem lies in the sole and bars. It looks from your sole picture that the heel wraps into the frog. First i like to open the heel and see if I can get it back into a more normal position; following the the bar back straight, sometime I have to get into sensitive tissue at the base of the heel and frog, knowing how deep is the tough part one to many strokes with a loop knife and you get into blood. Then I make sure there is a even couture in my bar to the tip of the frog (a lot times there is compacted sole just if front of where the crack lines up) removing any high spots in the sole. The sole will drop just like the wall but if removed it will allow the wall to settle faster. Getting rid of the excess length in the wall is also tough do to the fact that you have three different angles of your tubules in the wall height,what makes it tough is where to remove height. leaving to much length and removing to much height will cause your tubules to bend and cause more distortion in the outer wall, causing length and reducing actual height. You can float as much as you want and put any shoe on if you do not start at the base of the problem it will just keep coming back. Like I said this works in my practice and it take an open mind to realize that the sole can jam just like the wall and cause distortion.

Gabino wrote:
Good question, I thought about that a lot, and now I'm sure the mechanics don't change all that much. Not even when we're talking performance horses. Be sure, when you use a regular shoe to make a banana out of, to take that shoe at least one size too big. The curve makes up for the extra size. If you have a big roll (+3/8" from the face of your anvil) you may need two sizes extra on some feet.

The extra shoe may have some effect in deep footing like a reining arena. The extra shoe also makes the wedge thicker at the heel (if you start out with aligning the toe of the wedge pad with the toe of the shoe) and both the longer shoe and the raise in wedge height may affect landing and loading in deep sand when compared to a shorter shoe. But I would certainly not loose any sleep over that one.


Ronald Aalders

Ron or anyone have you used the banna shoe on any jumpers that are in work ...the question on that I have is ....with the heels rockerd up and toe up..on landing is they a chance the heels are allowed to drop farther down thus hyper extending in fetlock area ..ddft..and such....at what point can it drop before it all comes apart

Travis Reed wrote:
I never used them on jumpers Travis. I can see your point and I'd be careful to at least never use a banana without a wedge. Also you need to remember that a "light" banana (toe and heel aprox. 1/4" off the face) has a good effect too. It doesn't need to be a big rolled shoe at all. Even with a light banana you have a lot more mechanics compared to a regular shoe.

On the other hand I see where hyperflexion of the fetlock is possible when the heels are raised. A higher PA makes the fetlock drop. So the wellknown extension of the fetlock on landing just after the jump might even be alleviated. But clearly that's just theory, I'd hate to try it.


Ronald Aalders

Thank u for ur input Ron... I have a case that a horse was ship in on a lease the owner or leasor I should say has got this horse for the 2011 2012 show season....horse came in bar shoes and one of the best patch job over 1/4 cracks I have ever seen...we asked why the bar shoes and they said sore feet due to heavy showing...after a few weeks the glue started comming out and we then seen the real reason for bar shoes and pour ins.... this is why I was asking as the horse is still in work and no planes to stop as they are winning and going sound...the 1/4 cracks are in both front feet..I'm just maintaning them at this time with bar shoes and pads ....was looking for ideas on what else could be done..have u or anyone ran a z or g bar on a working horse that is jumping around only 3ft...on both front or is this not enough support

Ron, are you saying if you raise the angle of p3 the fetlock drops more?

Yesterday I was seeing this horse working. It's a horse for jumping classes. It work well, I'd say his movements are better. The quarter crack have not blood and generally,the horse likes his new shoeing.

That's Better than any thread answer !!!