Cammie, the mare that pulled shoes all of the time? One reason she pulled
them (aside from shitty-shelly feet) was because she'd step on the back of
the front shoe with a rear hoof. When Gary started shoeing, I suggested
squaring the rear toe. It had worked before, but she ended up working more off
her front end with them squared.
Gary asked if I'd mind if he tried squaring the toe of the "shoe" on the
fore feet and set them back (they were 1/2 rounds) on the hoof to act like a
rocker-toe, to increase Cams ability to get the front feet out of the way
before the back feet snagged the shoes. Seemed to work. Front shoes stayed
on. The next shoeing, I pulled the rear shoes as I mentioned in my earlier
post.
His philosophy is that a well balanced horse should use the rear foot for
grabbing the ground, particularly a sprinter-built type like Ms Cam, and
that the toe is kind of a ... lever for impulsion... my words, not his. He
speculated that, perhaps, some horses need that whole hoof behind to stay
comfortably balanced on their rear end.
They are all individuals... what works for one doesn't necessarily work for
the rest. But, it's funny how small, seemingly insignificant changes can
produce a drastic change in movement or carriage!
Linda