shoe's falling off,

Does anyone have a miracle cure for loosing shoes, i have 3 cobs and each summer i have a nigthmare with their feet crumbling, my farrier has become my new best friend he is here every week, just had them all done last week and gone out this morning to another loose one, i have a welsh pony that has never lost one yet in 2 years, Is it a cob thing? or is it the weather change we keep getting very hot spells then loads of rain and so on? i use grease for dry hooves but not sure if it helps, any ideas?
Thanks,

To be honest my first concerns would be if the farrier is Ok [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] my cob x has very good feet and is going to be shod at 10 weeks this time and I fully expect the shoes will be still stuck on fast ( she's not in regular work just hacking out now and then )
Not sure if greasing them just doesn't stop the moisture getting in [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] although I occasionally use a black gungy stuff ( name escapes me at the mo ) nordege ??

By grease i meant green stuff to apply, i read in a book that there is not much really you can do with regs to hoof treatement as it is dead like nails,
One thing the farrier does is when they come off he puts lots of nails in to keep the new one on, but i feel that this makes them weaker between the nails, four a side of the shoe, is this what is making them come off quicker, My new cob only lasts 4 ish weeks before having to call him again, he is the only farrier i have used i have only owned horses for the past 2 and a half years,

oh dear , as you say theres no chance for the foot to grow , could you consider boots while the feet have a chance to improve ? I found some secondhand on ebay as new but much cheaper although sizing is important

i did think about boots, im getting very fustrated as i want to ride them out, but then have to wait a week for the farrier to come back, he is very good and i dont think he does it to cause a problem,barefoot is not an option as it is too rocky, i will look into it, do they do a cob size or do i need to take measurements?

I think everyone is having a problem this year, because it is so dry the feet are more brittle, grease applied to feet can work wonders keeping moisture..in, but its going to have the opposite affect when the hoof is dry as it will keep moisture out, therefore making the situation worse. unfortunately your'e in a catch 22 situation at the moment in as much as every time your farrier comes and drives a nail into the foot he's infact weakening the wall, it's like when it says "tear here" along the dotted line on a piece of paper......same thing! I would say the same as cally, try boots this year and then have a plan of action for next summer ie; feeding a suppliment like farriers formula. there's a fair bit of info on [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] on different boots, but you can get them a lot cheaper on e-bay.
Pen [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hi JKay, I had a big problem with my trotter when I first got her last April. She came to me with three shoes on, one of which was an egg bar. Her other front foot that had no shoe was very short, too short to even put a shoe on. I borrowed a boot to help stop it getting shorter still as her feet were growing slower than she was wearing them . Every time the farrier shod her within a week or two that same foot had lost the shoe and of course was breaking up too. So I put the boot back on that foot and rode her with it too as like you I was desperate to ride her. I didn't dare call the farrier straight away as I know he would have tried to put the shoe back on causing more to break and I just wanted her to get some growth there first. The boot helped immensely along with daily cornucresine on her coronary band and biotin in her feed and I oil her feet once a week and touch wood the last two times that the farrier has been she has managed to keep all shoes on. So it's taken time but without the use of the boot I would still be struggling probably. It is important to get the correct size of boot 'cos you don't want them falling off.

Ok thanks for all the help. Can you tell me the name of the boots and what they are under on ebay, as i put in equiboot and it came back with nothing,
Also if one shoe comes off can you ride with one boot on until it is fixed?

im glad it is not just me, x

Yes you can ride with boots when the shoe is lost , I haven't done it but I've heard many who have one in stock just for that reason

Names that come to mind are easyboots , Boa , Old macs [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] think those are the names anyway [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

This sort of boot are worn for riding in when you don't have the horse shod, several makes are listed on the site I suggested before. Old mac's are the ones favoured by a couple of my friends, one rides in 2 and one in 4, both use the neoprene inserts that they recommend you wear with them. They have both bought theirs off e-bay for between £40 to £60 a pair, they last about a year with riding out 3/4 times a week.
Pen [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hi,I used to the same problem with one of my foresters and I found Hoof Moist worked well as it is water biast(opps can't spell) so it still lets the moisture in .
hope this helps vicky. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hi vicky [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] thankyou for that, I've not heard of it before [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I guess it's not available here.....or is it [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I'm going to uk, end of july so could take orders. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Pen [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] x

I don't use anything, I used to use
special stuff in the summer, then black tar in the
winter, since I've been using nothing their feet
are better.
If one gets a bit crumbly looking, usually the rescues
when they first come, I give them a bit of biotin
and they are on alfalfa all winter which is supposed to be
good for feet too

I've found Hoof Moist on line, it's made by Naf and retails at about £6.50 for 500g. However, it would seem that Aqueous cream is near enough the same thing and retails at 99p for the same 500g. I've got a tub here so I'll start to use it and report back [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
I'll still get some HM for anybody that would like some, when I'm in UK. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Pen [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] (I can't remember putting anything on the ponies toes when I was a girl)

Ok, thanks everyone for the helpful info, i will do some homework and think i will invest in some boots to use as back up for when they pop off!

Hi, sorry to hear about your problem. It is a real catch 22 situation though regarding the frequent shoeing. I have a New Forest pony who is really struggling this year, his feet have never been this bad, he's never had great feet but I have managed to keep them reasonably good until now. In the dry weather I 'tub' (stand each hoof in a bucket of water for a couple of minutes. I use a tyre bucket for this as the sides are lower and they don't make a noise if they tread on them, and they bend!!) them every day and then smear them with lard that has been melted with a few drops of tea tree oil in it, allowed to set in an old pot. I only put this on last thing in the day so that the hooves don't 'cook' in the heat. Have used aqueous cream too with good results when they're not so bad. My boy is now having to be shod every 6 weeks instead of 8 weeks, my other 3 go 10 weeks with the shoes still bedded in well.
Good luck with yours, must be costing you a fortune [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] .

Thanks for that, i think it is the heat too, we have gone from having lots of rain to now boiling hot for 4 weeks with no rain! My farrier is good as he only charges me when i change the shoes not when they fall off! I have a welsh pony whos feet are fab, its the cobs this year!