Wednesday, November 23, 2005

HOOF-it Pads for Soundness

We had our farrier out yesterday to put new steel shoes on Greg's horse. The horse has over 1000 miles for the season and had 405 miles on this particular set of steel shoes. Greg and Qamaar had done 250 rocky miles - five days in a row, 50 miles each day- at Grand Canyon, and then three weeks later another 155 rocky miles at the Smokey Killen three-day ride in Nevada. The shoes were paper thin on the rear with the nail heads completely gone from the road side of the shoes. After trimming the hoof and paring out the sole, the farrier commented that the hooves looked like the horse was ridden in the arena! We used hoof-it pads all 405 miles, and the hoof-it was what kept the shoes on when they were paper thin. Many riders were very interested in what Greg was using to keep his horse sound over so many rocky miles, and how he could ride 405 miles in the same shoes. Cyndee Pryor

Monday, October 17, 2005

My foundered mare is walking great...

Thank you. The pour in pad worked just like you said it would. My foundered mare is walking great, thanks to a good farrier and your product. Pattie

Friday, July 01, 2005

Low Heel Problems

I purchased a set of Marathon shoes for my Peruvian mare (age 19) that has had a problem growing heels and does not do well with steel shoes. I put the shoes on in April and pulled them off in February. That set of shoes went through four resets before they wore out. The mare was taken on several mountain type trail rides as well as being ridden on the paved urban trail quite frequently during the summer and fall. The paved trail does give a way to dirt after the first 1/4 miles, so she wasn't on the pavement all the time. When the rain set in, she was worked in a covered dirt arena. My farrier was amazed with the heel the mare grew and I was amazed at how long the shoes lasted. I have used other composite shoes in the past but have never had these outstanding results. As a result of my trying the shoes and using them on two other Peruvians, my farrier is now recommending them to his clients. The majority of whom own trotting horses. This year we are shoeing several more horses with the HOOF-it composite shoes and I will be happy to let you know the results. They work well on our gaited horses because they do not inhibit the gait, nor do they enhance the gait. They do help keep the horses with flat feet or low heels from bruising which is a problem in our area because of the wet winters effect on the hooves. Thanks for a great product. Karen Kent, Washington

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Contracted Heels

Which one of your shoes would you recommend for contracted heals? Leigh

Leigh,
The standard Hippoplast shoe works well for contracted heels. This is link for the Hippoplast:
HOOF-it Hippoplast Shoes

Carriage Horses

I have a horse drawn carriage business in Nashville, Indiana and have been looking for something to help absorb some of the shock to my horses legs. I was serfing the web one day and came across your site. I was wondering if these type of shoes would uphold to this type of work. I have two percheron geldings who work at least 30 hrs. a week on the streets. My boyfriend is a farrier and has never herd of these shoes. I was curious if we could have a trial pair. My one percheron wears a size 8, and I didn't know if you even carry anything that big.
Thanks, Hilary

Dear Hillary,
I shoe the carriage horses at Cinderella Carriage Co. in downtown San Diego with these shoes. During the summer months we get 5 weeks from the shoes and during the winter months the shoes will last from 7 to 8 weeks.
The Bigfoot draft shoe is modeled after a Werkman size nine shoe and should fit your Percheron. The dimensions of the shoe are 7 7/8w x 8 1/4l. Measure your horses hoof to determine if it will fit.
This is the link to the shoe :
Hoof-It Big Foot Composite Shoe