Plastic Shoes

[shelberttk2]

Anybody have any experience using plastic shoes on their horses? I am debating whether or not I want to try them on Poppy. I had tried boot therapy, which did not work for her...I had her examined by my vet and he said to do Heart Bar shoes....My farrier only does natural trims, but said we could put plastic shoes on her. Before you all flame me for putting shoes on, I want to Clarify....Poppy is a complete Witch about having her feet messed with. She tries to stomp my feet, plants them with everything she has and it is very painful for her to stand on one hoof. With my back problems, I can not deal with this...and at her age (27) I am just trying to make her comfortable (She is Navicular). Oh, she kicks at me too....not fun...also, she likes to whirl around and run me over....I have worked with her from the get go, trying to work this out of her...It's not going to happen...The funny thing is, after we had tracked down her last owners the gal said "Oh! Is that the mare who is a real B*#ch about her feet"?!!! So please save the flaming, I have tried just about everything.....And yes, I have her on bute and give it to her before trying to mess with her feet to help with pain....ack!!!!
Chelma

I know this will be moved eventually, but I needed input now....I have an appointment on the 5th of October to have this done...I am going to sedate her for this....Twitching is not effective with this old gal....

[michelle]

IMO, beer can sometimes take the edge off of attitude and pain.

Just make sure you share it with the horse.

I don't know about the plastic shoes though.

[littlebouv]

I have seen plastic or rubber shoes used on horses with tender feet or founder. They are lighter than regular shoes and made the horses much more comfortable. Especially those who foundered in the front. Sometimes the little bit of raised heel helps with muscle and joint pain as well. IMHO barefoot is the way to go, but if it's not working go with what does!

Good luck with your girl.

[ptowne]

I'm a bit confused about the recommendation of a heart bar for navicular, however, that doesn't mean anything. I've mostly heard about heart bars for founder to support the coffin bone. Is there a plastic heart bar? If the vet thinks she needs the heart bar for support, if the plastic shoe is not a heart bar it might be an exercise in futility. Have you tried a boot with pads inserted to support the sole better? I think Pete Raimey discusses them on his website.
Pam

[watermarkfarm]

I considered these for a lame horse, and both of my shoers said they had only one or two horses in them, but felt that they really helped those particular horses and had their place.

If your girl has navicular changes, have you tried wedge pads? Or natural balance shoes? The easy breakover in the nb shoes can help, or at least have your shoer roll the toe really well. The NB shoes have wedge attachments, but they wear out fast. But you can change them even with the shoe in place, which is great for experimenting with wedge degrees.

Hey Chel, have you tried hoof boots, the kind you leave on? The CBER mare I have, Sunny, who has the Swiss cheese coffin bone and the fused coffin joint wears a boot on her bad foot quite often. It has really helped, and is easy to put on, AND you can put things like wedges in it if you need them for navicular, etc. I think it's made by Easy Boot. It kind of velcroes around the pastern. It is for turnout, not riding.

Katie

[shelberttk2]

I tried the easy boots, but was having to change the pads daily....this does not work for me since my back is so bad and she is such a witch...I have tried beer too!!! All of my horses are bare foot, and do great...I am just trying to figure out how to make her comfortable. We thought we would roll the toe and put the plastics on her, it should support her heel a bit more than being bare foot....I don't know what to do.....I can NOT find a farrier to come out, this is no joke....we have a list of farriers at the clinic and NOBODY is accepting new clients, or it will be several months before they have an opening...there is a big time shortage of of farriers here in the valley...this is a problem for many people.....This mare can not go barefoot, she needs the support of shoes or a boots and pads...what kind of pad can I put in her boot that will last more than one day? The pads my farrier had me use was cut out of a sleeping mat thingy that I bought at Walmart.......suggestions???

Modified to add: The plastics can be trimmed with nippers, my farrier does not have a forge etc. any more.....

[watermarkfarm]

Hey Chel, get some regular pads, the kind farriers use with shoes, and trim them to go into the boot. This is what I ended up doing with Sunny because I was having the same issue of pads wearing out and moving around.

I tried both flat pads and also a 2 degree wedge pad that I trimmed down so that it was more like a 1-2 degree wedge (trim heel part off, use more of the toe of pad).

I live near a shoeing supply shop, so if you can't get pads, let me know and I will buy some & mail to you.

Katie

[frr2]

We have the plastic shoes on our old, old stallion. He paces so much that he had worn his hind hooves nearly completely off. The first couple of applications they were attached with epoxy, which allowed him to finally get some growth on his feet. They didn't stay on too long tho. So the last time there was enough to nail them on, and so far so good.

Our trimmer prefers them (well, she prefers NO shoes, but there are uses...) They give a bit of flexibility to the hoof which is good. But, I think if there is too much flexibility the nails can come out . All in all, we've been very happy with the use we've had for them.

[shelberttk2]

OOOOH Katie!!! That sounds great!!! Could you possibly call them and let me know how much cash to send???

[shelberttk2]

Soooooo, what kind of boots do you all prefer??? I have used Easy boots and Macs....I am having such a hard time doing the daily pad removal, but a few times a week wouldn't be too bad....I may have to share my beer with her......Oh wait, I will have to start drinking first in order to do that!!!! RATS!

[watermarkfarm]

Chel, pm me your mailing address. And your full name. I need to send you this $40 check, so why don't I buy the pads and deduct the cost of them from that??

Approximately what size shoe do you think your horse would wear? Just a ballpark to determine pad size.

Shoe supply store is closed Monday, so I could mail them Tuesday. I have to run by anyway to pick up a new rasp....

Katie

[ptowne]

Pete Ramey uses the Easycare Comfort Pads. He worked with Easycare on the design. They are supposed to be inexpensive, durable and effective. I believe that valley vet carries them for $5.50 for a pair.
Here's the link: www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?PGGUID=b2db5e41-96ff-4633-b5ee-6fa2b1d863aa
Pam

[shelberttk2]

Pam, thank you for the link!!! I will be ordering some of those too!!! Sooooo, what kind of boot do you guys prefer??? I had used macs and easy boots (Borrowed them)...I also need to purchase her a set....anyone have a size 2 for sale?!?!?!

[ptowne]

Pete Ramey seems to like the Easyboots. I know, I know, but I am a big fan of his. Anyway in his 2005 article he says he likes the Easyboot Epics. He makes some modifications, like mashing down the teeth and cutting some off the tongue. Here's a link to the article. www.hoofrehab.com/bootarticle.htm It is very easy to read and very informative on how to help navicular horses.
Pam

[stormlady]

I, too, keep coming back to the Easy Boots, and the Epic is a big improvement as far as staying on. They now come with a plastic cover on the teeth, so they still grip but don't chew up the wall. I haven't tried the EasyBoot Bare.

I have heard that on Vashon Island (in Washington), rubber shoes are required. Don't we have a Vashon-ite on the board here who might know more about these?

Here are some other resources:

www.sabresneaker.com/html/answers.html
www.equithotics.com/

[cutiepiepmu]

Ok - I get to be the odd ball of the group LOL! I am one of those that doesn't believe in any one specific thing is right for all horses. Some horses do really well barefoot, some horses do great in NB, some do well in standard shoes, some in plastic, some in boots - ect. I am a believer in ALL things - as long as they are applied to the right horse LOL.

As far as navicular is conserned, depending on the level of damage - a regular steel shoe with the toe short and rolled with a heavy wedge pad is the most common thing that gets the horse to feel comfortable. From my own experience if the vet is recommending a heart bar with a wedge pad, he may be trying to relieve as much pressure from the rear of the foot as possible.

I have used several brands of plastic shoes - some epoxy on, some nail on. I found that the length of wear is very short and the cost about 3x as high as regular shoes per foot. I went through the whole relm trying to figure out a way to make my old QH more comfortable. IMO - using a light weight steel shoe gives not only longer wear, but supported my horses foot for MUCH longer.

The issue with many natural barefoot trims is that the idea is to get the heal low and keep the foot angle low. In a navicular horse, this puts HUGE pressure on an area that is already very sore. By getting the heal back under the horse, shortening the toe and getting the angle of the pasture and foot more up - you can take pressure off of the area making the horse much more comfortable did that make sence? I know that the BF trims are designed to replicate the awesome foot of the mustang - problem is, when was the last time your mustang in the wild got navicular?

Ok kids - Flog away! LOL

Sara in WA

[ptowne]

No flogging here. I do use barefoot trim methods on my horses. That said, the mustangs self select for good feet by survival of the best feet. Our horses haven't been under the same genetic pressure and, consequently, probably present us with issues mustangs wouldn't. So we need to keep open minds about how to care for their feet.
Pam

[cutiepiepmu]

Thanks for not floggint PT! lol. I have seen many horses do very well with the bf trims - my horses are barfoot for the most part, although not trimmed like a BF trimmer would. I got very lucky overall in that my horses have very solid, very strong feet with great soles - believe me - I feel terribly lucky for that!!


Sara in WA

[ptowne]

I've got a TB mare with HORRIBLE feet. She definitely wouldn't make it far on the range.
Pam

[watermarkfarm]

cutiepiepmu said:

I am one of those that doesn't believe in any one specific thing is right for all horses. Some horses do really well barefoot, some horses do great in NB, some do well in standard shoes, some in plastic, some in boots - ect.

I am with you 100%!!!

At my very small barn (10 horses), I use two different farriers, plus a hard-core barefoot trimmer. I *never* schedule them for the same day because that would be inviting real fireworks! The barefoot trimmer thinks shoes are evil. The farriers think the trimmer is a quack. Neither, IMHO, is correct. All have something to offer!

I try to look at each individual's needs, and go from there. I certainly prefer barefoot ---- paying a $50 trimming bill is preferable to the $190 shoeing bill for my TB.