Why horses lose shoes by James Mundell DipWCF

Why horses lose shoes by James Mundell DipWCF James the farrier looks at the reasons behind a common and frustrating problem. The other day I called at a yard  that I  visit approximately every eight weeks. The last time however,  the owners only wanted me to replace the front shoes on one horse and the hinds on another in the hope the shoes that I had not replaced would last another 2 months (four months in total) Surfice to say it was no surprise to find one of  the old shoes had come off (if only a week before), but what was surprising was the owners dissatisfied attitude. A good farrier will always offer advice relevant to each different case and do their best to accommodate the owners wishes but  ultimately it is unrealistic to expect any farrier to fix a shoe that will stay on an ever growing hoof indefinitely.  There are a number  of  reasons why horses lose shoes and a couple of them can be down to the farrier however this is very rare  bearing in mind that your farrier does not want your horse to lose a shoe anymore than you do. Being called out to a thrown shoe is neither time or cost effective. Here are the reasons why a horse may lose a shoe

• Normal wear and tear: Shoes won't stay on forever. Even if you cannot see any wear in the shoe itself the hoof wall begins to wear around the nails, this normally starts at the heels as they contract and expand during normal movement. Also as the hoof walls grow the surface area becomes increasingly larger than the original shoe surface which starts to put strain on the nails making the nail holes larger and subsequently looser.
• Wear of the shoe: This can vary for each horse but ultimately one of two things happen. The toe of the shoe wears past its breaking point becoming weak and vulnerable to coming off as all the strength of a shoe is in the toe. The other is the nail heads wear away and then there really is nothing left holding the shoe on.
• Buckling: Any shoe that is subject to stress through hard landings on uneven ground or from kicking hard objects will possibly buckle and come off.
• Spreading: This can happen with any ground contact although it is more common in thinner sections and softer metals like aluminium plates. This does not mean your farrier should be using a heavier shoe because if the horn is weak and the shoe is too heavy it will rip straight through. Spreading of the shoe loosens the nails and creates protruding edges that if stepped on means the shoe normally comes straight off.
• Shearing: Shearing happens during excess stress on the shoe both backwards and sideways. Although the clips do prevent some of this pulling back (or sideways if the shoe is quarter or double clipped) clips are not fail safe!
• Mud: Mud is a stand alone reason for shoe loss but if combined with any of the other possible causes we often see more shoes coming off in winter than in the summer months. It does not take much mud to suck off an already loose shoe but thick enough mud creates enough suction to pull off even a new, tightly nailed shoe.
• Treading: I box off all my shoes - this is where we rasp (either by hand or with a belt sander) away the steel edges, mainly done to the heels creating a rounded edge which is harder to catch with a stray foot. But this does not always prevent treading although it does help. If your horse or any other horse steps on an exposed bit of the shoes it is often ripped straight off especially if the foot that is stepped on is being picked up or is already in motion.

The result of trying to keep shoes on too long  Photograph by James Mundell

Over reaching: Almost everybody has a horse or knows a horse or has seen a horse reach forward with its hind foot catch its front and off pops its shoe. This can happen a lot and not just to short backed horses with long legs. Any horse is capable of over reaching. For example if they are tired, lazy or on slippery or uneven ground. It's actually more likely to happen while jumping so a pair of over reach boots is a good idea. Accidental: Horses that have been known to pull their own shoes off. They stick a leg through wire, (sheep wire especially) catch the shoe and whip it right off. They can even do it against solid objects like wooden gates or concrete mounting blocks.

• Pads: If your horse has to have pads under the shoes you should be aware that the shoe is often more at risk of coming off. The weight bearing compresses the pads which creates some movement in the shoe that would not have been present at the time of shoeing. The shoe begins to rock and this loosens the clenches.
• Shoes not bearing on solid horn: Even if the hoof wall looks solid and healthy a few layers in it may not be the same story. Any thinness, brittleness, softness of the wall or any cracks or cracking can cause the horn to disintegrate/collapse or crack under weight causing the shoe to become loose or fall off.

 Shoe loss reasons that the farrier has some influence and control over

• Surface fit: any unevenness in the surface fit will cause the shoe to rock which loosens the clenches. You will not normally see the rocking but it is there.
• Loose nails: these are not nails that have come loose but nails that were not driven in or bedded tightly enough. If your horses feet already have loose nails in then pulling the shoe will be easy.
• Badly fitting nails: Using nails that are too small or too large. Nail holes that are not well formed or run through soft hoof means the nails will only be holding the shoe on at their tips where the clenches are formed. So when the nail heads begin to wear there is not much holding the shoe on anymore but if the nails had been solidly and correctly driven they would be holding the shoe on from the point of entrance into the hoof all the way up the shank to the clenches.
• Poor nail placement: There should be a sufficient number of nails driven deeply into solid horn. This is difficult when the horse has cracked, weak, soft or brittle feet with poor horn quality. However four well placed nails are better than seven or eight badly placed ones. When the hooves are in this sort of condition it makes both nail pitch and placement crucial and much harder to attain. Using nails that are too large will make this situation worse and for horses such as thoroughbreds which typically have poor quality feet a slim nail is best. A slim nail is a nail in the same size category as a normal nail but has a thinner shank.

Shoeing a horse is not a natural process but with a lot of horses the work being done versus the growth of the feet dictates the need for protection. However, shoes are not fail safe and they will come off eventually. Some horses have good, strong feet  and hold their shoes well -  others don't. The foot is designed to expand and contract but the shoe does not, and while there is still some movement of the foot this can eventually weaken the clenches and loosen the shoes. If you  choose to keep shoes on for longer then your farrier recommends,  the risk of losing a shoe greatly increases and ultimately can prove to be a false economy.

James Mundell DipWCF graduated Hereford Farrier College in 2005 after completing his apprenticeship with Rob Lowe. He currently lives with his wife and two young Labradors in Wellington near Hereford. James travels over very wide area including parts of Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, Powys, Oxfordshire.  James's patience and skills means he is in demand working with  a variety of clients ranging from the happy hacks, competition horses, hunters, heavy horses, donkeys and  mules. James works with remedial problems such as  Navicular  and Lamanitic cases and  utilizes new and traditional methods. Passionate about his work  James believes the foundation of  good shoeing and remedial work  is a great trim. Start with a balanced base and work your way up.

James is also one  of Voices for Horses panel of experts so you can send in questions for him. Alternatively if you would like to contact James about your horse we will pass your email on to him.  Please send your email to admin@voicesforhorses.co.uk  with the subject heading James Mundell.

Added on: 13/06/09.

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