This is the horse who does piaffe and passage at freedom in the field,
perhaps the most gifted Arab I have ever seen for high level dressage,
but hates that job. He needs to go down the trail with his tail on fire!
The comment from the vet that these shoes don't provide enough concussion
is poppycock. Travis always suffered from windpuffs, especially as he
got older--no more. The tendon sheath around the suspesory injury always
filled with fluid--no more. Travis often interferred in narrow going due
to the way he moves at the racing trot--much reduced now.
Kasey suffered considerable damage to his feet from hard going on a few
rides last year. These shoes are making a difference.
Miss B hasn't had any special problems, but she too has a new bounce in
her step and a tremendous confidence when hitting slick surfaces.
My farrier, Tim Phillips, has become a convert. Because the nails do not
impact the ground surface directly, they don't "work" in the foot and
become loose the way ordinary shoe nails will. This keeps the nail holes
small, intact, and reduces the breakage at the outside edge of the hoof
that is a normal occurence with steel shoes. Tim feels that in the 5
months that Kasey has had these shoes, the feet have become visibly
stronger. Mr T always had a good foot--the difference is in the joints.
Tim has had no trouble putting the shoes on, they don't take any longer
after the initial fitting and the best part is that we can change base
plates to suit footing conditions.
We have lost inserts--Kasey is the only one prone to that. Fortunately
we always find them--they seem to be more visible than steel shoes out
there in the field. We haven't ruined any base plates yet.
So if you have a chance to improve the condition of your horse's foot,
can reduce concussion to the foot and joints, and can secure better
traction without the drawbacks of borium, what would you do? Gee, let me
think....
It never hurts to give them a try.
More than my 2 cents worth--more like a quarter--I'm a believer.
Diane @ Safe Haven