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 I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
   
Location: MD | Horse in question has underslung heels and long toes. We're working on fixing those. I'm thinking about buying a pair but I want to know what others experiences have been.
Thank you! :)
http://www.farriersdepot.com/naturalbalance.aspx |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1037
| Working great on my navicular gelding. He has had them on since July and hasnt taken a lame step in them. |
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I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
Location: MD | kboltwkreations - 2015-12-17 10:50 AM Working great on my navicular gelding. He has had them on since July and hasnt taken a lame step in them. Thank you! I think she naturally has bad feet farrier is a good one and is working to get her back on track but she's body sore from her toes being long. He said he's cutting her toes back as short as he can get them. Is there such thing as a horse having a naturally long nail bed? Will the 2 degree wedge interfere with her underslung heels? Will it crush them or pick her up so shes not so long and flat?
Edited by CE's wrapn3 2015-12-17 10:54 AM
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 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | I would just use the flat version of the shoes instead of the wedges, the wedges tend to crush heels like your horse has. These shoes are a little hard to shape but they are great shoes and can usually be reset at least once. Hubby is using them on an older Jet of Honor gelding with feet like you describe and coffin joint spurs, he is doing great in them, even glued them on a couple of times at first. Also using them on a mare that has an old foundered foot with a very remodeled coffin bone, vets can't believe how sound she is when they see her x-rays.
They also have the PLR race shoes and the new Avanti steel version, those are both good shoes too but the original PLR shoes are the best. Grand Circut has some good shoes with the breakover set way back but they are twice the money as the PLRs. |
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Expert
Posts: 2121
Location: The Great Northwest | It is probably the natural conformation of the hoof for your horse. It is different from man made long low heels and long toes. I have a gelding that has underslung heels. I fought to get a normal heel since he was a two year old by going bare until we could no more at age five. I have had x-rays done to confirm the angle of the coffin bone which I would do if you haven't. The vet and shoer recommended 3 degree wedge pads front and back. I have had him shod like that almost 10 years with no problems. He is a good barrel horse. |
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 Blond Bombshell..
Posts: 6628
Location: Hill Country of TEXAS!! | CE's wrapn3 - 2015-12-17 9:53 AM kboltwkreations - 2015-12-17 10:50 AM Working great on my navicular gelding. He has had them on since July and hasnt taken a lame step in them. Thank you! I think she naturally has bad feet farrier is a good one and is working to get her back on track but she's body sore from her toes being long. He said he's cutting her toes back as short as he can get them. Is there such thing as a horse having a naturally long nail bed? Will the 2 degree wedge interfere with her underslung heels? Will it crush them or pick her up so shes not so long and flat?
It will interfere with her tendons. If you dont have an internal issue with the foot do not use natural balance or wedges.. its a medical shoeing. Just shoe her balanced as she stands, trim her toes, leave her heels alone and they will adjust and start growing after a couple shoeings. |
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Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | Here are some pics of a pony horse we shod with the PLRs, still not great but it was an improvement for just one shoeing. Horse barely walked over to the barn to be shod and was back to working the next week.
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 IMG_1052.JPG (79KB - 156 downloads)
IMG_1053.JPG (95KB - 168 downloads)
IMG_1054.JPG (86KB - 182 downloads)
IMG_1055.JPG (79KB - 160 downloads)
IMG_1056.JPG (84KB - 157 downloads)
IMG_1057.JPG (96KB - 160 downloads)
IMG_1059.JPG (84KB - 177 downloads)
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I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
Location: MD | Dash4KJ - 2015-12-17 11:10 AM CE's wrapn3 - 2015-12-17 9:53 AM kboltwkreations - 2015-12-17 10:50 AM Working great on my navicular gelding. He has had them on since July and hasnt taken a lame step in them. Thank you! I think she naturally has bad feet farrier is a good one and is working to get her back on track but she's body sore from her toes being long. He said he's cutting her toes back as short as he can get them. Is there such thing as a horse having a naturally long nail bed? Will the 2 degree wedge interfere with her underslung heels? Will it crush them or pick her up so shes not so long and flat?
I am trying to do this. She's been shod like this for the last 9 months that I've owned her with the same farrier she did have. I really do believe he's trying to get her toes off as much as he possible can. He's just using a plain steel shoe. I thought this may help with her comfort level. |
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Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | CE's wrapn3 - 2015-12-17 11:19 AM Dash4KJ - 2015-12-17 11:10 AM CE's wrapn3 - 2015-12-17 9:53 AM kboltwkreations - 2015-12-17 10:50 AM Working great on my navicular gelding. He has had them on since July and hasnt taken a lame step in them. Thank you! I think she naturally has bad feet farrier is a good one and is working to get her back on track but she's body sore from her toes being long. He said he's cutting her toes back as short as he can get them. Is there such thing as a horse having a naturally long nail bed? Will the 2 degree wedge interfere with her underslung heels? Will it crush them or pick her up so shes not so long and flat?
I bet it will help her a lot, you just can't get the breakover back far enough with a regular steel shoe. I tried for a year to get the JOH gelding right doing the barefoot thing, just wasn't going to work, PLRs really helped him. |
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Blond Bombshell..
Posts: 6628
Location: Hill Country of TEXAS!! | CE's wrapn3 - 2015-12-17 10:19 AM Dash4KJ - 2015-12-17 11:10 AM CE's wrapn3 - 2015-12-17 9:53 AM kboltwkreations - 2015-12-17 10:50 AM Working great on my navicular gelding. He has had them on since July and hasnt taken a lame step in them. Thank you! I think she naturally has bad feet farrier is a good one and is working to get her back on track but she's body sore from her toes being long. He said he's cutting her toes back as short as he can get them. Is there such thing as a horse having a naturally long nail bed? Will the 2 degree wedge interfere with her underslung heels? Will it crush them or pick her up so shes not so long and flat?
The new shoer is trying to pull her toe back and not getting there or the old shoer was? Youll cause more issues with natural balance, rocker shoes, or wedges if its not an internal issue. If he cant get the toe pulled back with a couple shoeings then find a new shoer. :) |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Dash4KJ - 2015-12-17 11:38 AM
CE's wrapn3 - 2015-12-17 10:19 AM Dash4KJ - 2015-12-17 11:10 AM CE's wrapn3 - 2015-12-17 9:53 AM kboltwkreations - 2015-12-17 10:50 AM Working great on my navicular gelding. He has had them on since July and hasnt taken a lame step in them. Thank you! I think she naturally has bad feet farrier is a good one and is working to get her back on track but she's body sore from her toes being long. He said he's cutting her toes back as short as he can get them. Is there such thing as a horse having a naturally long nail bed? Will the 2 degree wedge interfere with her underslung heels? Will it crush them or pick her up so shes not so long and flat?
Exactly.
Get X-rays of front feet and a farrier that knows how to read them. A regular shoer has no business with Nat Bal shoes without training.
A good certified and trained Nat Bal farrier that is constantly attending competitions and seminars is your best bet. |
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I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
Location: MD | Thank you I appreciate it :) |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1165
Location: California | My mare has internal issues with her front left for this very reason. Her foot naturally pushes forward, under slung heels and long toe. I've moved a lot and too many farriers trimmed her wrong and my lack of knowledge didn't help. She came up lame and after getting the kissing spine under control we still had front left lameness. Vet said shoe her and go from there. Put a regular shoe on her and she was WAY better but still a bit off. Redid her fronts the next week and put natural balance shoes on her and she feels GREAT! Back to running barrels!
I highly recommend x-rays and a farrier who will work with your vet to figure out the best plan for your horse. |
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 I"m Jealous!
Posts: 1737
Location: Benton City, WA | I think that the PLRs can be great but would use caution if you're considering running in them, depending on the horse and what kind of ground you run on. At one point a few years back my (now former) horseshoer put these on my quick footed, all wheel drive type mare and she fell flat down trying to get in the ground at the first barrel, for the first time ever, and continued to slip in them at the first barrel, until I took them off, probably a week or so later. This is a horse who was seasoned and had run on everything. It caused confidence issues for the both of us for a few runs. Just FYI
ETA: just to clarify, this was a hard running 1D horse, and admittedly on rodeo ground. But still. I have seen a lot of 3 and 4D jackpot horses using them though, with no safety issues
Edited by barrel_racing_angel 2015-12-17 5:20 PM
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| my 1d mare now retired, i bought her and the left front was a slight bit upright and the right had a 8 inch toe iwhen natural balance came out was the best thing as my farrier wou afld place the right shoe a slight bit back and rasp the toe and i kept it filed down and the upright foot a little forward and we got her feet with 1of degree of each other when he came to reset. she did great until she tore her stifle up during a run. at 21 still sound on front |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1037
| barrel_racing_angel - 2015-12-17 5:18 PM
I think that the PLRs can be great but would use caution if you're considering running in them, depending on the horse and what kind of ground you run on. At one point a few years back my (now former) horseshoer put these on my quick footed, all wheel drive type mare and she fell flat down trying to get in the ground at the first barrel, for the first time ever, and continued to slip in them at the first barrel, until I took them off, probably a week or so later. This is a horse who was seasoned and had run on everything. It caused confidence issues for the both of us for a few runs. Just FYI
ETA: just to clarify, this was a hard running 1D horse, and admittedly on rodeo ground. But still. I have seen a lot of 3 and 4D jackpot horses using them though, with no safety issues
Good point! I can see where they wouldnt have alot of grab, especially with the clubby way they make the foot look when you add the PLR pads. My horse is 3D-4D so maybe thats why they are working for him. |
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Tell It Like It Is
Posts: 22025
Location: Wyoming | Make dang dog sure your farrier knows what he is doing if you decide to go with a PLR. |
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 Saint Stacey
| Unless your farrier has actually studied with Gene on how to use the shoes, I wouldn't. They are a GREAT shoe, but few farriers know how to use them.
We have my daughter's mare in PLR's right now due to a sore DDFT. But the guy shoeing her now was a farrier forever and he studied under Gene for the application of the NB shoes. The farrier using them needs to know how to map the foot for the application of the shoe. If they aren't mapping the foot, they aren't getting it set right.
I can't tell you how many times I have seen people post about how great their farrier is and post pictures that make me cringe. Very few seem to know how to balance a foot and support the boney column. Especially when dealing with run out toes and under slung heels. |
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