Somken Up Lee (Smoke) is a 22 year old own son of Mr. Gunsmoke who has had careers in cutting, jumping and now dressage. He's been way above average in all three sports, and though he's proven himself to be "golden", he does have one problem... he does have BAD FEET. They are thin and shelly, and after a full summer and fall of competition, his feet are so broken up my shoer has to be quite clever to even find a place to put nails to hold a shoe on.   Enter the glue shoe and HOOF-it!! My vet, shoer, and I felt he needed to go barefoot for the winter, but being very flat footed and tender without shoes he couldn't be ridden. We decided to try a glue shoe and keep ridding. It was suggested that I have Steve Samet take over as he did most with the glue shoe in my area. To make a long story short... Steve has found a way to help keep glue shoes on. HOOF-it is an incredible product for helping in many situations, this being one. He brushed HOOF-it over the glue shoe, thus helping hold the shoe on, and in doing so he stabilized the whole hoof capsule, gave the foot lots of support, and Smoke traveled and performed well... he was one happy camper, as was I. Now going to summer, we have a healthy, not so toey foot that should hold a shoe until winter when I certainly will use HOOF-it and glue shoes once again. Many thanks to HOOF-it, Steve and Sean for their help!!!

Question: I'm ordering my second set of shoes. I was hoping your shoes would encourage hoof growth and expand my horses feet. Well good news it seems to be working. Why do I sound surprised because I've tried all kinds of supplements,... well nothing really seemed to be all that effective. The only thing that seemed to make a difference was pulling my horses shoes and turning him out with a horse that really kept him moving for the winter. (no shoes & exercise) My only concern as I'm looking at the shoes that were pulled off, it appears my horses weight on the outside of the shoe pushed up the inside of the shoe. I see that the shoe was rasped round on the outside edges so as his foot expanded he was on the very very edge that did not have shoe under touching the ground. On his fore feet off and over the inside edge. I'm sure as my farrier gets more accustom to these shoes he will make adjustments. Also he though his standard clincher was a bit awkward. He wanted me to ask if he should be using a special one made for your shoes?  Thank you very much, Leigh Cahill Answer: Dear Leigh, Have your farrier leave as much expansion room around the heels as he feels comfortable with. I usually leave 1/4 inch or a little less. With the shoe being flexible if a horse steps on the edge 90% of the time the shoe just flexes back into place. The extra expansion room will ensure that you get a reset if the shoe isn't to worn. I use regular clinchers and try to get my nails a little higher than I would with a steel shoe. There are times when I use to punch the nail heads down with my clinch cutter but I seldom do that anymore.

As a trainer and driver of carriage and draft horses I felt very fortunate to find and use the composite horseshoes put out by HOOF-it Technologies. We train approximately twenty driving horses a year here at Winter Hill Driving Center in the mountains of Florida with the biggest demand being for CDE horses and ponies. As you can imagine there is a great deal of twisting and turning and a lot of road miles (up to 15 miles per day) to get in condition for these events. We have one set (four shoes) which is on it's fourth reset and that's on my Purcheron, Lexie, who trains every horse that comes in. We go eight weeks on reset for her and outside of replacing a nail or two we've never lost a shoe. As a hitch driver from 1971 on, I was probably the most skeptical of these products then anyone until a client's horse, another Pucheron, Ben, came in for training. After that it was love! So if you have any questions feel free to stop by our training center in sunny Florida if you want to see some great driving horses and HOOF-it Composite Horseshoes. Bob Giles Winter Hill Driving Center Morriston, Florida http://winterhilldrivingcenter.com/

 

Since my purchase of Cinderella Carriage Company in downtown San Diego I have had my horses shod with the HOOF-it composite horseshoe. In the past three years I have had no lameness problems related to concussion or horses slipping on the asphalt as the composite shoes aid in traction in all weather conditions.  My Farrier shoes all for feet with the composite shoes. During our busy season the heavy horses will get 5 to 6 weeks of wear from the shoes. One of my lighter horses actually gets a reset from a set of Marathon shoes.  I would recommend any carriage operation to look at the use of composite shows for the welfare and safety of your horses and your fares. Joe Jeiter Cinderella Carriage Company, San Diego, CA

 

My client notes that she is able to ride on the golf course next to her house now with the HOOF-it horseshoes since they don't tear up the grass like other shoes! Also, her horses previously contracted feet are no longer contracted after just two shoeings. Thank you! Jonathan, BWFA Journeyman Farrier

About one and a half years ago I was showing in northern California when I realized my yearling mare was off on her front left foot. When I brought her home I called my Vet. He took x-rays and when the results came back, he told me she had foundered and had ten degrees of rotation in both front feet. I was extremely upset, because I was so careful with her feeding and training program. I called my horseshoer and told him what had happened and he came over right away. He immediately put on these HOOF-it plastic shoes with a liquid substance poured onto the sole of the feet called HOOF-it to create a pad. As soon has he finished she was walking a better. After a three month period I called my Vet to have another x-ray taken. He called me and told me that her foot was getting better. He also said to keep using the HOOF-it product because it was healing the foot better and faster than he had ever seen. Well it has been over a year now and she is walking and running normally during her turn out time. I asked my shoer if and when I could start working with her and if he thought I might be able to show her again. He gave me the go ahead about 3 weeks ago. I started working with her slowly. To make a long story short, I went to the 60th Annual Del Mar National Horse Show last week and I ended up Circuit Champion and Reserve Champion In my Division. This truly is a dream come true as I did not know if I was ever going to be able to show my mare again. I know for a fact that it was the HOOF-it Product that enabled my mares hoof to heal and grow so she could walk normal again. Thank You HOOF-it your products saved my Mares Life!!!!!!!! Peggy Sibley, Campo, California

Frankie was suffering from the abuse of neglect when he was rescued by Homeward Bound. Look at him now! He's making his debut as a movie horse on Desperate Housewives, Sunday, April 3, 2005 at 9pm PT. Frankie is one of nine rescued horses living dignified, healthy lives at Homeward Bound Horse Drawn Carriages in Julian, California. He wears HOOF-it alternative horseshoes and has recovered completely from the effects of neglect because he now gets quality care.

My dressage horse has two different front feet. Needless to say, he's tricky to shoe. He has to be shod regularly at 5 weeks to prevent his knee height from becoming uneven. The challenge is to prevent his heels from contracting in the more upright hoof. I decided to have my farrier try HOOF-it Natural Flex  alternative horseshoes on his front feet. He's been in them now for two shoeings. Since the composite material of the alternative horse shoes is not as hard as steel or aluminum and the shoe has a frog plate, his hoof growth is more even on each foot. What a great invention! There are lots of horses out there that don't do well standing and working on steel or aluminum shoes. I hope to compete him again this year at 4th Level and PSG.