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[RC] [RC] Ground Control shoes - washers on the nails? - Lucy Chaplin Trumbull

Firstly, thanks to all who responded to my question
regarding the use of washers on GC shoes. It sounds
like this is an option (on the GC website, it suggests
"#8 washers"), although my farrier and I were wondering
how well the nails would seat using a washer (a round
washer in a long recessed groove?) and whether it would
cause the nails to loosen (I'm not saying it would, just
pondering the mechanics of it).


Shari:
So, your horse's feet are sore, so your vet says put shoes on to minimize concussion? What part of
lunacy don't you understand?   And now, you've got the shoes hanging by the toes and driving nails into his feet!  YUP!  That'll fix it.  "Any thoughts?"  PULL THE FLIPPIN' SHOES, get a good Natural Trim and a pair of hoof boots.

<sigh>

The horse in question had been barefoot for over a year.
Then, after two + months of intermittent lameness, we
tracked it down to her feet, hence the shoe recommendation
(the vet actually suggested pads, but I figured plastic
shoes would be a better bet, concussion-wise). She has
now been wearing the GC shoes for about three months and
the lameness seems to be gone.

Horses, being individuals, don't all work the same way.
This particular horse is not a good candidate for being
barefoot for various reasons (going lame being just one
of them ;0)

I'm guessing from your rant that you're unfamiliar with
GC shoes, which are made of shock-absorbing polyurethane
plastic... kind of like wearing a pair of tennis shoes.

Chris Martin has offered to let me try his new Grip Horseshoe
(http://www.griphorseshoes.com/welcome.html) - they seem
to be similar to GC, only they have a metal nailing plate
to stop the nails pulling through, which might be just
what's needed for this particular horse (being fairly
short-coupled, I suspect she's stepping on the backs of
the shoes and pulling the nails through, which is another
aspect I have to look into, although it could just be
from scrambling through the boggy mud in her pasture).

FWIW, the other day I took one of my other horses for a
short ride in EZ boots for the first time to see about
fit, etc. Riding on our local technical wet clay trails
in EZ boots was scary as heck and I was relieved we stayed
upright. Resolved not to try that again until the trails
dry out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lucy Chaplin Trumbull
elsietee AT foothill DOT net
Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, California
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