I have experienced various minor hoof and foot problems with my horses over the years but the main problem was usually horse shoes being lost just before a competition and trying to get the Farrier to come out to fit a new horse shoe at short notice.

Unfortunately my current horse has had a long list of different problems with his hooves and hosre shoes:

• A serious foot injury after a horse trailer accident and he now has a ‘loose quarter’ on a front foot. He did this about ten years ago and has a healed split down the side of his hoof. It looks like a bad crack from the top of the coronet band with the crack opening up from the bottom of the hoof to varying degrees throughout the year. It’s generally OK and we’ve had fewer problems than expected given it look a year for the split to heal fully and be strong enough for him to be regularly ridden. The main problem is if he looses the horse shoe, dirt quickly gets into and opens up the crack more than normal. He has done this a couple of times but this has not led to any infection in the foot.
• Thin walled and boxy feet which grow slowly. If he pulls off a horse shoe and damages the wall, it can take months to get his feet back into good shape, so we use a supplement to try to encourage good foot growth and minimise such problems occurring. We have found Farriers Formula to be the best, although it is quite expensive. I also regularly use Cornucrescine and a good hoof oil.
• Thrush, a fungal and bacterial infection which causes the soft tissue to become diseased and slough off. The frog on a horse is a major structure of the foot and is intended to maintain the integrity of the foot and have a cushioning affect on the pressure applied to the foot, so thrush can cause more problems than expected. Usually it’s just a nuisance as the feet have to be regularly washed and treated. Iodine or purple spray are often used to successfully treat thrush.
• Some tendon problems so the farrier has fitted shoes which are broader than normal at the heel to spread the weight.

The value of a good farrier cannot be underestimated and I have seen the benefits of remedial horse shoeing first-hand with problems such as a badly cracked foot and tendon problems. I would certainly look for a Master Farrier if there is one locally but you may find there is a big queue. At a minimum you need to find someone who is reliable and will try to fit you in for any urgent problems.

I think most non-horse owners would be shocked by the cost of shoeing. This is currently around £50 ($100) per horse and most will require shoeing every 6-8 weeks.

Most horses in regular exercise need to be shod in order to do road work. Even when horses are not in exercise, horse shoes tend to be kept on as the horses feet have become accustomed to them. I recently had to leave my horse’s back feet unshod as there was not enough foot to attach shoes to after a series of problems. I was surprised at the change in his feet over the months with a significant broadening of the frog as it had more weight than usual to carry. I’ll certainly be less wary of doing this in the future.

Many farriers are very busy with large yards so it can be difficult to schedule a shoeing for just one horse, particularly if they are not local. I suggest that you book appointments in advance rather than wait until they are needed. Several farriers have their own premises so you can travel to them if you live locally or have transport.