Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Sorry, hit return by mistake and it sent my message.

 

I just tried the Hippoplast shoes and had them removed after two weeks of riding.  I was hoping for a shoe that would wear longer then my steel shoes, and they did not wear as long.  I only had about 70-80 miles in them and there was very little left on the rear toes.  In addition I too was starting to get some nail head wiggling and her hoof wall was cracking between nail holes.   Lastly, I my mare did not like them.  Her stride shortened in them, and her usual powerful down hill walk was very choppy.  They did tend to slip on steep down hills and it made her very nervous.  I also did one trail with overgrown grass and weeds and we were roller skating.  Not a fun feeling. 

 

I live in Utah and it is dry, rocky, and hard ground.  I thought about trying Ground Control, but I have some big rides coming up and don't want to experiment any more right now.

 

Jennifer Layman

Laura Hayes <mark@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

 I have used the GCs extensively on my mare Equal Terms, and she wore the same pair on her back feet for most of her 450 miles at XP this year.  I love them in certain conditions- rocks, gravel, roads..

 

The one major flaw with the GCs that I can not get around, is that the nailing track is too far inside the shoe causing many farriers to 'quick' the horse.  If your horse does not have a round foot, and a thick enough wall, you will be nailing inside the white line.  Placement of the nails should reflect this.  I have put them on and NOT placed the nails in a traditional pattern because the nailing groove did not allow for it.

 

I am certain that some of the problems people are having with "white line disease" and separation of the wall with the extended use of GCs is due to nailing too close or even inside the white line.  While not technically 'quicking' the horse, they are causing the nail (which admittedly does move more than with a steel shoe) to cause a hole for bacteria and fugus to enter and grow in the white line.  I HAVE NOT had this problem with my own horses, and those that I have shod exclusively, but I am VERY careful in my nail placement.

 

The Hippo plast, on the other hand, have a nailing channel that extends outward to the outside of the shoe, allowing you to place the nail where it will be most effective and least destructive.

 

The Hippo plast do not wear quite as will as the GCs, though.  My solution is to use the hippos on horses who cannot wear the GCs.  I have one client who uses GCs in front and Hippoplasts in back because her mare has a narrow pointing back foot and you just can't get the round GCs to fit.

 

I just read one user say you have to use metal washers to keep the nail from pulling through the shoe- I do not, nor have I had any reason to use washers.  I got as much as 300 miles out of a set of GCs on the XP where the ground was sandy, rocky and pretty rough in spots.  I do not reset them, but then I would not reset a steel shoe in a horse who was actively racing.

 

Laura Hayes AERC#2741

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