Written by EasyCare Customer, Emily G.
Ombré has been a tough case with feet that no vet, specialist, or farrier has been able to perfectly figure out yet.
He is a poster child for trying every supplement and different type of grain since I have owned him. His feet had just progressively gotten worse and would split and chip immediately when a nail was driven into the hoof. I religiously kept up on his farrier care, although he continued to get more toe length and more underrun heels. He has seen some of the best vets and farriers in the business, and still no one could come up with solution. I was always told “he has crappy feet”.
In March, I decided to try the barefoot route. We pulled his steel shoes off the fronts and hinds. I knew this was going to be a long process after speaking with my trimmer. Ombré was so sore the first week, I had to put him in boots just for comfort to get around the dry lot. He was trimmed on a four week cycle and slightly improved, but he was still tender walking around the dry lot. At that time, getting back to competition was out of the picture.
After doing a lot more research and speaking with my vet, I decided to change his diet to a forage based diet and cut out all commercial feeds and supplements. I also found a barefoot trimmer that has been amazing to work with. She listens to my input and travels over 1.5 hours to help my horse. She has been instrumental in his rehab process and I am so thankful for her.
I spoke with my farrier about trying glue-on shoes since my horse is thin soled (as per previous x-rays). She agreed that would be a good option for him, as did my vet. I found the EasyShoe Speed and decided that those might be best for him because of the frog support.
I measured his hooves after a fresh trim and ordered the shoes and the tools that I needed to put them on. My trimmer does apply glue-ons, but in the name of trying to save some money, I thought that I would be able to do it myself.
Although my application was not beautiful, I put the Speeds on him and they lasted 4 weeks until his next trim cycle!!! My trimmer and vet could not believe it, and honestly, neither could I.
I was finally able to ride Ombré on the trails and start getting him back into shape to compete in Mounted Shooting.
This past weekend was our first attempt at a competition again. He did AMAZING, running some of his best patterns yet!!! He is moving so well in the shoes and riding great since he is comfortable now.
The Speeds are easy for me to clean and maintain while they are on him. I am so thankful that this is such a great option for him!
This is just the beginning of healing, but at least now we are able to be active while he is healing. He is much happier having a job and getting out, so much so that he loaded himself in the trailer this past weekend for the shoot!
I am so thankful for the Easy Shoe Speed. They have allowed us to ride again and are helping Ombré’s feet heal.
Hopefully this story can help someone else make their decision on transitioning their horse to barefoot or glue-on shoes – whichever may be best for their horse. I look forward to sending in more updates of my boy as he heals!
