# Backward shoes?



## travlingypsy (Apr 5, 2008)

Was the farrier drunk?


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## tarebear (May 28, 2010)

haha that was my first thought! but no...looks like it was on purpose  poor guy had the goofiest looking square toes...


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## travlingypsy (Apr 5, 2008)

lol, I wouldnt have it done on my horse.


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

Used to treat exteme cases of founder with coffin bone rotation, also sometimes used in advanced navicular cases. 

Extremely difficult to manage horses shod this way, as they step on/pull off the shoes really easily.


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## tarebear (May 28, 2010)

Thanks maura!


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## shesinthebarn (Aug 1, 2009)

Whas the horse a Standardbred? It's a common shoeing arrangemnet in trotters, but not in pacers. Often used in trotters who are to high-going in front to ease the point of breakover to give more reach in the stride. Some trotters(albeit bad gaited ones!) are so high going in the front that they will touch their elbows and slam the foot down causing all kinds of issues so this arrangement can sometimes help. My prefered method of shoeing a horse with this isue is a rolled toe aluminum shoe with some toe grab, but if that fails, turn it around. 
So if the horse was suffering from navicular or a trotter, no the farrier was not loaded!


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## tarebear (May 28, 2010)

He was a fat appy  If he's had founder or navicular, it can't be extremely bad...he's not lame and goes in and out with the other horses daily. Would shoeing this way be used as a preventative too?


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## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

old way of helping a horse with navicular... way outdated but it worked... takes the pressure off of the heels helping to keep the horse sound


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

As everyone said, it was a way of using shoes on navicular horses until the advent of a heartbar shoe. I guess some farriers still use the old method as either a cost saving measure or by one who doesn't know/have the tools to make the proper shoe.


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## tarebear (May 28, 2010)

Gotcha...thanks everyone!


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

I knew an Arab who'd get his shoes put on backwards. I don't know anything about shoeing, and I knew less than nothing back then, but it had to do with the break-over. He didn't have navicular, wasn't anywhere near founder, nothing like that.


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