Need HORSE HELP- <<UPDATED - PICS pg 3>>

[Buff Hooligans]

For what it's worth, Fancy Free's hooves were hard as rocks and never needed shoeing (even when her stablemates did).

I'll post more pics of FF tomorrow...

 

[katrinag]

Even when we rough ride we never shoed. With time and great trims there feet will adapt to any surfaces.
Please call around and find a good farrier. Talk with them.
I know this is an odd request but can you take a couple picture of her feet. The front left one looks a bit odd and am not sure if it is reflection or not.

 

[patandchickens]

Nope, you're almost always (like, unless something horribly terribly pathological has happened to a foot) better off without shoes. Some horses do better with them if worked on very abrasive hard ground or on very rocky ground, although even that depends a lot on who's doin' their feet how. Since none of these things apply to you though, you really don't want her shod. Safer, cheaper, and (this is the main thing) MUCH better for the horse

Now, please understand I'm not meaning to pick on you here, I'm trying to help you avoid Big, Not Uncommon Problems That Can Permanently Mess Up Horses -- the sides on that pen there, that are built like privacy fence. Think about it: a horse is very heavy and very strong. A horse can EASILY break a 2x6 board just by bumping into it hard, or kicking it in irritation. Realio trulio. While at first glance those sides might seem strong b/c they involve a lot of lumber, in fact all that is holding them together/up is two (possibly 3, I can't see well enough) boards. It would be *trivial* for your mare to knock that down or go through it. You may think 'but aren't pasture fences built of just a few 2x6's, why would this be any different'. This is different because the horse is stuck in there in intimate contact with the pen walls. Horses almost never bump into or kick pasture fences; horses FREQUENTLY bump into (like, if spooked, or just gettin' rammy) or kick stall and run-in shed walls. So they need to be built a lot stronger and safer. This is also different from the prefab stall walls that you see, which sometimes have boards running vertically, because those involve strong channel iron which may bend a little if a horse whomps into it hard enough but are not going to break.

So as soon as you get a paddock fenced for her, which I presume is the first thing you're working on right now for her, PLEASE would you pull those pen walls off and build them in a more horse-appropriate way. The boards all need to run horizontally, with a vertical cleat (made up of more 2x6) screwed into the back side of them in one or two places along the middle to connect the boards and share the strain.

Having a problem with the horse breaking the pen (stall, shed) wall is not just a matter of 'oh well, I will have to catch the horse and fetch a hammer'; it is likely to involve vet bills and lasting behavioral challenges.

Just trying to help, because I've seen a LOT of people try what you're tryin' and I know where it not infrequently ends up,

Pat

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

We went through a couple farriers...each telling us our horse didnt need to be shoed ..she had shoes on the front...the previous owner had told us to keep her shoes on.(owned our horse from birth 11 years)..so we did ..we still keep in touch with her....the farrier that we use now did a trim and replaced her shoes for us and said that she needed to have shoes because she was a little on the club footed sided on one of her hooves....to prove this he left the shoes off for two weeks and told us to watch how she wares down the hoof at the front...and it started to ware down....he explained to us and really opened our eyes...so we figure he's the keeper....plus he didnt charge as much as the others and he came very highly recommended....he was actually taught in Oklahoma ....just my 2 cents...plus he's a real good guy... Our other mare(Belgian cross) has no shoes....

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Seems to me that shoeing a horse sometimes causes problematic and split hooves. By the way, is it true that legs ending in white socks have hooves that are more "soft"?

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

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No, nor is it true that all TBs have soft crappy hooves
Rhett has 3 white socks and is barefoot. Has been for going on 4 years now. With proper and regular trimming he has been sound.(after one summer of battling a nasty abscess caused by a poor farrier) And we live in rocky New England.

 

[whatsup chickenbutt]

It does depend a lot on your climate, as to how you house your horse. I agree with a few posters on here, it is completely reasonable to keep a horse in a 12x12 area for a few weeks. There are a lot of things you can do, such as tie the horse out in other areas to graze. It sounds like you are very consciencious about the horse's well being and Im sure you will do whats right for it. You will learn very quickly, and in Tenessee, I dont think it will be at the horse's expense. My horses WILL NOT go in their barn even in the worst snow storm and they have continuous access to it. They go into eat, and come right back out. I think it would be really good to talk to some other horse owners IN YOUR AREA, along with the vet when they come out as to what ammends you should make immediately. And it is important to keep their stall mucked out, but depending on the level of the ground, it wont necessarily become a mud pit, you will have to assess that yourself. Just look at the ground. You do need to clean the poop out every day, to manage that amount of space. I feed my horses about a third of a 50-60lb bail of hay per day, each. I give them grain too, maybe a coffee can full. Thats better in the winter, though, when they cant graze. It depends on how much you use them too. Also, depending on the horse, you can also use a hot wire and mark them off a much larger spot. I have two horses one young and a little hot, who has to have the wire on, and I have an older horse, who would probably stay in an area that i spray painted a line around,

And you can learn a lot from reading books. Thats a great way to get the real hard facts, then you can learn from experience how those can be modified.
good luck and enjoy your new horse!!!
One other thing, you might consider paying a trainer for a couple of lessons just on basic horse care. Just to give you a little more confidence. One thing you need with horses is confidence, or they will walk all over you! even the nicest horse.

 

[whatsup chickenbutt]

one other thing, i would also suggest not using the tarp. To horses, everything is a predator, and a tarp would scare the heck out of mine. Focus on getting the roof done.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

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You also need to understand that not every horse can wait 6 weeks between farrier visits, my horse needs to see the farrier every 4 weeks to keep him in check.

 

[Fudgie]

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Oh I agree! Mine stays outside and has groves of trees to be protected under. I do agree with the size of the stall. Do you have a close neighbor that would let you "borrow" their pasture for a little while so you can finish the area.

Hotwire works great for a temporary pen until the real wire can be strung. Our horses run on 45 acres pure hotwire and have NEVER tried it.