Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> Have not had shoes on my 9 year old Morab mare but looking into the =
> options for her first endurance ride.  Here we have trails with pea =
> gravel, slate, mud, pavement crossings, you name it.  Are they easy to =
> clean out the hooves?  Holes look kind of small in the ads.  My open =
> minded farrier is willing to try them.  Lani

I have picked up a couple of medium sized rocks that stuck in the center of 
the shoes, those popped out fairly easily.  I have also gotten quite a few 
very small pebbles that get into the shoe and work their way up around the 
edges of the shoe, between it and the hoof.  I have found the easiest way 
to get those out, is to bend the shoe from the back when I have the foot 
picked up, and shake.  They shake right out.  If I try to dig them out with 
a tool, they just get wedged in deeper.  I have not yet figured out a way 
to keep that from happening.  I was hoping to maybe talk with Elfta about 
it at Cuyama and see if she has come up with anything.  We were thinking 
maybe trying silicone or something.  It would need to be flexible, and be 
in there in such a way that if a rock did get in there, it wouldn't then be 
'stuck'.  On the other hand, this hasn't seemed to have been a problem for 
any of the horses.  My worry is that a tiny pebble will get in there and 
manage to work it's way up into the hoof wall somehow.

I've probably mentioned before about recommending that people give their 
horses time to adjust to these shoes.  Whether it is new shoes for the 
first time, or a change from metal shoe -- please give your horse time to 
adjust to them.  This is not just for the horse, but also because your 
farrier may need a time or two to really dial in on how to put these shoes 
on your horse the best way (best size to use, etc.).  The amount of time 
will vary by horse -- it may be you can put them on Friday and do a ride on 
Saturday, or maybe the horse needs 1 or more shoeings in them first.

The nail holes are small so that the nails won't get pulled thru the shoe 
easily.  So far, I have not had that happen.  I haven't had any shoes come 
loose, or come off.  Three horses, lots of mud.   As far as cleaning goes 
-- I mostly use a flathead screwdriver.  It doesn't seem to cause a problem 
bending the shoe back to get in there, as it flattens back out when the 
horse stands on it again :-).  I try to spray the bottom of the foot with 
iodine once a week.  Things are drying out now, finally.  Have not had any 
thrush or rot this winter.

Karen
in NV

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They're athletes! This is a partnership between horse and rider - we don't
have any jockeys out there, just pals and partners. We'd allow a rider with
a broken foot, a sore back and a nasty cold to compete - but we would never
let a horse in a similiar condition hit the trail.
~ Dr. Barney Flemming DVM

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