Sprung shoes-how to prevent?

So I get to the barn and once again, my horse sprung a front shoe. This is the second time she's done it to a front shoe within a week of being trimmed/shod (and I've only had her 4 months). I'm trying to figure out what's causing this and what some possible solutions are.
a) should I keep bell boots on her?
b) could it be due to footing outdoors in turnout? it is a bit uneven in spots. So far, she has never sprung a shoe while I was riding her. I would suspect she's doing this in turnout versus the stall but don't know for certain
c) do I need to look into having the farrier trim/shoe her differently?
d) do I need a new farrier?

I don't tend to notice her interfering while lunging or riding unless she's getting long and close to being due for her next trim.

Her hooves flake and wear quickly when barefoot so I've been putting shoes all around on her since I got her in June. She was a bit off when barefoot as well which I think may have been due to tender soles especially since the ground was quite hard due to the dry weather which I'm sure didn't help either.

I've been giving her SmartHoof for the past several months hoping that will help. If I can get her to where she can be comfortable barefoot, I will be thrilled but not sure we'll ever get to that point. In the four months I've had her, she's sprung a front shoe twice (within a week of being shod) and a hind shoe once (when she was close to being ready for her next farrier appt).

Try A before doing C or D!
A lot of my young horses when getting shod all around will take a bit to get used to having "weight" on their feet and will spring a shoe here or there. Could be your horse is feeling pretty good in turnout and doing some whoohoos, now that the feet don't hurt! Two times in 4 mos. is not excessive in my mind. (I'm not counting the hind shoe)

Try option A. And give the hoof supplement some time, although with springing shoes, it's more likely to be her stepping on herself than a basic hoof quality issue. That being said, I did use Grand Hoof on my gelding who tended to lose his shoes during the summer with good results.

My klutz would step all over himself in the stall. I now use bell boots on him when he is shod (mainly during trail season.) Additionally, he has bad hooves so I keep him on Farrier's Formula Double Strength. He can now go a whole farrier's cycle without springing a shoe!

Keep in mind that if you decide to use a hoof supplement you need to be prepared to commit to using it for a year inorder to see any results; otherwise, you are just wasting your money.

I'd talk to your farrier.

Take a look at her front shoes...is your farrier "scotching" (beveling) the heels?

That way if she grabs it with a hind, it is more likely to roll off rather than grab the shoe.

The other thing to consider is perhaps slightly rolling the toes to help her break over faster.

I had a terrible time with this on multiple horses years ago. Once the farrier started scotching the heels, that solved the problem.

Good luck.

Always the same shoe/side? Since she is Dx'd with ringbone, how is the farrier addressing it?

Start with bell boots. It makes a world of difference for my mare and the length of time she keeps her shoes where they are supposed to be.

She also has a ringbone, and as a result, doesn't step as far forward with her front end, then her back foot grabs her shoes.

So get bell boots on the front and make sure your farrier is shoeing her to help with the breakover so she can move her feet fast enough to get out of the way.

Also, be diligent. If you see the nails starting to pop, have the farrier out to re-set before she springs. If you're not sure what I mean by that, ask your farrier to show you. There is often evidence a day or 2 before that a spring is becoming more likely, and you can head it off.

I used to have a gelding with a then shelly hoof walls and a bit of a club foot, and he wore bell boots pretty well all the time to help him keep his shoes on. It just didn't take much at all for him to lose one. So I think that's a very viable option.

It's certainly worth talking to your farrier about it, but there are some horses that are just hard to keep shoes on so I wouldn't jump into looking for a new farrier right away.

Thanks for the suggestions. She doesn't have ringbone (not sure how that got thrown into the mix) so that's not a contributing factor. My farrier is coming out tomorrow morning to fix the shoe and we'll talk about modifying the heels of her front shoes and rolling her toes. I'm also going to get a pair of bells and see if that helps too.

I enjoy learning from the other members at COTH--thanks for your time responding.

Most paint on topicals do little to nothing, but I've had great luck keeping shoes on with both Keratex Hoof Hardener and Gel. The Hardener is only used on the lower part of the wall, including the nail holes. The Gel can be used on the entire hoof, and you might like it better since she's shod all around. I highly recommend. :yes:

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Originally Posted by Endevor

Thanks for the suggestions. She doesn't have ringbone (not sure how that got thrown into the mix) so that's not a contributing factor.

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My apologies. In my addlepated state, I confused your post with another......

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My farrier is coming out tomorrow morning to fix the shoe and we'll talk about modifying the heels of her front shoes and rolling her toes.

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What is her hoof conformation? How full are the shoes fit along their lateral and medial branches? Where do the heels of the shoe end? Unless the bell boots come all the way to the ground, they will be of little help in preventing shoe pulling. Your horse may need the heels of the shoes spooned.

How is she shod behind? The trim itself should be evaluated to see whether it needs to be tweaked or substantially changed.

ditto, Rick. :yes: If the end of the heels are too far back, bell boots won't solve the problem.

Could be the "long toe" syndrome with the heels of the shoe hanging out...and not scotched. Very common problem for farriers that don't "get it".

Your farrrier should call Rick..;)

Seriously.

I have to agree with Rick (really!), don't forget to check that she is well balanced in the hind feet. If my mare goes too long past 5 weeks she gets too much toe behind and the angles are off. Then she is much more likely to spring a shoe, or pull it completely.

Miss Mare's hooves were growing so fast this season I had to move up her resets to every 4 weeks. That did the trick. Of course she wears bell boots and has her hind toes rolled slightly too:cool: