If flies are out and about here in Iowa do I need to start deworming again? We have had some cold days ever so often, so I wasn't sure when to start that exactly.


Also, my horse has been needing his shoes taken off for a while now. I haven't done it because I haven't found someone that I'm quite sure about yet. But, today I found a shoe in the pasture. It was bent up on one side, and the other was straight, but , the nails were bent really bad. On the part that was straight would the nails have bent when he threw his shoe or would the nails have to of been bent when the shoe was put on? I mean the nails are bent clear down towards the outside of the shoe. He's not favouring that leg or nothing. But i did think it was a bit odd that it was the front right shoe that he threw before either of the back two.

Any comments or advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
~ Hillary

As far as worming, I usually deworm 4 times a year...but then I have 6 horses here...but back when I only had 2 or 3 horses, I typically dewormed 2 to times a year... always in the spring and then again in the fall...if we had a particularly warm winter, I dewormed then also. But now that I have 6 horses here, I deworm every 4 months.



I don't know alot about shoes since my horses go barefoot, (I'm not against shoes though if needed for harsh terrain or hard steady work) What I do know, is you should never let them stay on your horse for more then 8 weeks as the shoes can constrict their heels when left on to long and cause lameness or other issues. I'm sure someone more knowledgeble will elaborate more for you soon...but if I were you, and he's loosing shoes, I'd get them pulled asap. good luck.

The very next time your farrier is out, have him show you how to remove a shoe. A horse can hurt himself on a shoe that's loose or hanging.

Hillary
I am a few miles south of Des Moines.

I de-worm every two months. I buy the whole year special from the Valley Vet site. I have four horses so it is less expensive that way.

When a shoe is bent up real bad, it is a sign that the shoe got stuck in the mud and the suction bent it as it was being pulled off. Anybody every walk through mud with overshoes on that weren't buckled or laced uip tight? If you have experienced this, you then will know what happens to horse shoes in the mud.

When this happens, the nails will get bent out of shape too as they are getting pulled through the hoofwall. The nails are clinched or bent over. The clinch is what actually holds the shoe on. The clinch is strong enough to hold a shoe on but it is also weak enough to bend and pull through the hoof wall if the shoe gets stuck in mud or if the heels get caught on something.

Shoes that are left on for more than 10 weeks can really start doing damage to tendons. Hooves grow faster at the toes than at the heels. When the toes grow longer, there is greater strain on the tendons of the lower legs. There is also more leverage created during the breakover process. Please pull your shoes at 8 weeks, I don't care how cheap a person is. Replacing a horse because of a tendon injury isn't a money saving deal. If you aren't riding your horse with shoes, pull them off. The horse doesn't need them if they aren't being ridden. Granted there are times when shoes are put on non-rididng horses for theraputic or rehabilitatize purposes but a riding horse not being used doesn't need them.