Hello all! I'm new to this board. I recently purchased an appendix gelding who is way on the thoroughbreddy side. He has low heels and long toes, (I'm working with my farrier to try and help this situation) anyways, he has suggested Natural balance shoes. How many of you out there have had any luck good or bad with them? Also, if you have put them on your horses, did you follow suit all the way around, or did you put just Natural balance shoes on the front, followed by a regular rim shoe on the back? Thanks in advance for any ideas.

My experience with the NB shoes was good.  It helped my mare get up off her heels and erect like she should be.  BUT, he didn't do much different on her procedure wise, and I hear this is the rarity.  She had on the flat front shoes, that are wider than regular shoes.  She had them all the way around.  My only complaint was that they were really tight on her heels, so I am sure that was not good.  But she started growing out better with these on than the regular rims, fluke or not, who knows. Then I moved and my shoer here was not going to do it and he has had more progress with just the regular rims, regular trimming of the feet before resetting shoes, etc.,  nothing special. 

Both of my farriers (The one who did NB and the current) are good farriers.  So..... don't know if this helped you any!

Since I use them in my business I guess I'll answer this one also.  NB shoeing is a technique along with using a special shoe.  If you have a farrier familiar with the application then you are all set.  Otherwise you could run into some problems if he/she isn't.  There is a right way to apply them, they are not the same as traditional shoes. 

Second, there are 2 distinct types of NB shoes.  Aluminum and the Steel NB.  If you look at them, the two are not the same at all.  The aluminum is a much better shoe than the other as the web is much wider all around and at the toe callous area which is where the tip of the coffin bone sits.  I use aluminum on the fronts and either a rim shoe or NB Steel behind.  What I don't like about them is when you do shape them to the hoof, you make a bend in the aluminum ones and you have to knock it back out at the toe pillars.  I try to "fit" the shoe at the toe pillar area and NOT close in the heels as long as the horse has heel support under him with the shoe.  What is wrong with leaving it wide?  It's actually better for the horse to leave as much shoe as you can for a base of support.  If they stick out too much, put bell boots on the horse.  I am just against too much of shaping a shoe to a pathological hoof, it sort of defeats the purpose when trying to reshape a hoof to achieve proper hoof form and function.  

What I find myself using more of than the NB is Cytek Shoes.  I really really like this shoe a lot!  Sometimes though on horse's that are quite contracted, I have to go to a NB so I can shape it some at the heels.

Therapeutically, they are both pretty equal in their approach.  They address breakover, which is what you want.  (Esp. if you have an underrun long toed horse which is what you have by your description)  At least you have a farrier that recognizes the problems your horse has and has a way to help solve it.   He/she is advising the correct approach so you are in good hands it sounds like. 

Debi  

The problem I see with the NB shoes and any other pre-shaped keg shoe that are not supposed to be and usually can't be reshaped, is that they aren't shaped properly for a front foot.  They are shaped for a long narrow hoof (like the hind).  Front feet are supposed to be nearly round, not long and narrow. 

The trim is the single most important part of a good shoe job.  When viewed from the side, the angle of the coffin bone MUST be at the same angle as the pastern bone.  When viewed from the front the hoof should have balance from one side to the other, heels always the same length.  The pairs should match (front to front and hind to hind) each other. 

The NB shoe is made to be shaped if needed.  It's aluminum and therefore harder to shape, but, you can still shape them.  Of course the Steel NB can be shaped just like all other keg shoes.  I don't agree though that they come shaped long and narrow like a hind shoe, they are round like a front hoof should be shaped.  I'm looking at a brand new one right now.  I also have other types of shoes here such as kerkhardt, St. Croix, and Cytek and all the front shoes are round compared to the rear shoes, with the exception of the Cyteks...they are all the same shape front and rear.

Debi 

The ones (aluminum) that I have had my hands on didn't take kindly to reshaping.  They twisted. 

I have held them up to a trimmed foot ready to shoe before and they are usually too narrow for my horses feet and/or stick out the back too far.  So YES they are shaped too long and narrow for my horses. 

Yes I have used the steel NB on the fronts and I like them, just not as much as the aluminum.  The aluminum simply offer more support to the coffin bone and the web is wider for all around support.  They are difficult to shape, but, it can be done with some practice.  I know I "ruined" a few before I learned how to do it.  Maybe that's why your farrier didn't offer them to you...they can be tricky.

In your case, if I were your farrier, I would have done the same thing in theory, so you are on the right road.

Debi

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The ones (aluminum) that I have had my hands on didn't take kindly to reshaping.  They twisted. 

I have held them up to a trimmed foot ready to shoe before and they are usually too narrow for my horses feet and/or stick out the back too far.  So YES they are shaped too long and narrow for my horses. 

I totally agree they are very tricky to shape.  I've ruined a couple of them before I got the hang of it.  If you ever decide you needed them in the future, the easy thing to do is find the size that fits across the toe pillar area and if it's too long at the heels simply grind off the heels shorter.  I do this sometimes and it works well.

But, I have to agree with you as I've run into the same situation as you before.

Debi

My farrier is at www.hooftalk.com He can talk to you too via e-mail if you go to his website. He definitely has a different opinion about NB shoes that I'm sure he will share with you. P.<><