PLR's (Natural Balance Shoes)-Advice Please!

[Faithsmom]

Does anybody have any information on PLR (Natural Balance) shoes? My horse has been in them for about 8 months since moving to a barn that strongly recommends using them and the farrier that provides them (by "strongly recommed" I mean that you can use another farrier, but everyone else will point at your horses feet and make comments about how the horse will be ruined without these shoes and if your horse should have anything at all happen to him/her it will automatically be because your horse is not in these shoes).

I am pretty novice at horse ownership. My horse is my first horse and I have had her for 16 months. I might be new to this, but I am trying to do things the correct way. I still have a lot to learn about the hoof and shoes so I would like advice from somebody who does know more to help me to determine if I should go back to "normal" shoes and probably end up moving my horse (I like the barn other than the farrier issue and my horse likes it there--there aren't many alternatives around either).

When I got my horse, she was in clips, which I didn't like, but I first tried her barefoot which did not work at all. The farrier I had back then just put her in regular shoes..non clip. At the end of last year, my horse had fractured a splint bone which the fragment was surgically removed and I removed her shoes for her recovery.

A few months later, I moved her to this barn, it was immediately determined that my horse wasn't standing squarely and she needed to be shod differently by the farrier that normally comes to this barn. (she still was not in shoes due to the recovery from surgery but I did keep her trimmed by the first farrier) The barn owner and the farrier said that she had flat feet and they needed to make them more like the shape of a cup.

They put her in PLR shoes and they told me that her fractured splint bone was not caused by her kicking her stall (which is what I thought happened) but she fractured her splintbone due to faulty farrier work from the previous farrier.

My horse does not have navicular and when I look up information on PLR's I see that they are being used in horses that have navicular. But my horse has been sore/lame a good part of the time that she has been in these shoes. A couple of times we thought it might have been absesses..(one did blow out of the coronary band) but the other was never proven.

She now has a soreness issue that is still in the process of being diagnosed by the vet. The vet has asked me why I had these this type of shoe on her I answered that she wasn't standing squarely (she is standing squarely now).
I don't think that the vet is going to tell me to change farriers because I don't think that they want conflicts to occur.

I'm just confused because before I changed her shoes, we never had these lameness/soreness issues and now they seem to be constant.
Has anybody had any experience with this type of shoe and what was your experience with them?

I have noticed that a lot of the horses in the barn are also sore off and on --but there is always another reason other than the shoes...so I was just curious...any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

[taelesean]

There is no perfect shoe, or perfect trim that will work for all horses in all situations.

Sounds like this farrier has convinced everyone at this barn that his shoes are all that and then some. If you horse is lame in them, they can be the best and they still won't work for your horse. Don't wait for your vet to voluteer the information - ask point blank if he/she feels another shoeing option would work better for your horse.

[singing tree]

Just looked at the PLR shoes, and they do look like they would help with breakover issues. Was your horse sound when she was barefoot? Is there a reason she has to wear shoes at all?
Mine do not. I use boots if I am going to ride somewhere rocky. Otherwise, they are barefoot and do fine. One of my mares grows a longer toe because she foundered slightly a few years ago, so they trim the front of her front feet more like the shape of the shoes you are talking about. She is quite sound.
Another horse I had needed a longer hoof wall to keep him sound, so he was never trimmed as short as the mare. So horses do very as to what works for them...

[bntnail]

Sounds to me like you and everyone else are being buffaloed,BSed,hoodwinked,............

Though I haven't used the PLR's, I've put on many packages w/ the same mechanics/characteristics of them. There not a "be all, end all" to good farriery. Every horse is different, thus the shoeing on every horse is (if only slightly) different. Everything has it's place...NBS,barefoot,heart bars,straight bars,rims,pads.........and so on. A good farrier knows when and where to use each,though trial and error, and sometimes even luck is sometimes involved.

You have concerns that should be expressed to your farrier. If he gets upset and can't justify exactly why the horse needs them, then you need a different one. If everyone at your barn gives you grief for not using PLR's on your horse and it's sound, then they have their heads in the sand.

Sounds like said farrier has a good marketing program though,PLR's are expensive.

As for the splint fracture, most likely not due to farrier.

bntnail,farrier

[Faithsmom]

I tried her without shoes when I first got her (the previous owner said she "had" to be in shoes but I wanted to find out for myself). She did not do well without shoes. I ride her on trails and take dressage lessons. She is in all four shoes --

Thanks for the advice, I will let you know how things go!

[David]

Three facts stuck out to me...

Every horse has the same shoeing prescription.

A lot of the horses have had lameness issues.

You didn't have these lameness issues before this shoeing prescription was applied.

Remember you are the owner and responsible party for that horse's comfort and well being. No matter what other people may think or say about you and your horse you need to do what is right for that horse. After all, it didn't ask to be shod, ridden, stalled or any of the other unnatural things that humans do to horses.

David

[Faithsmom]

You're so right. Thank you.

[EquineAlberta]

i know horses pop splints due to conformation flaws and possibly bad farrier work, but to actually fracture it seems like a stretch to me. I also agree that I am very leary of "one fix for all" farriers (or vets, or trainers...). If any horse professional is uncomfortable with questions or bullies you to make you comply, then that would be a huge red flag to me!

On the other hand;

The recent abscesses COULD be because the natural balance shoe helps promote circulation in the hoof, so previously damaged areas, or areas that had poor circulation when barefoot may have been "stirred up" by the new healthy blood flow. I have seen this before; where a horse had foot issues (say foundered a year before) but it isn't until the horse is trimmed properly and/or worked and good circulation is returned to the foot that issues such as abscesses start to arise.

If I had a horse with apparent foot issues like yours, I would get the feet xrayed. This is the only way I know to be able to tell if the farrier work is correct. X-rays will show you if the coffin bone is at the correct angle, if the horse has enough sole, and it will show you the thickness of the walls and amount of extra toe/walls. The more I learn about hooves, the more I think farriers could benefit from being able to see inside the hooves of the horses they work with. This of course requires a farrier that is willing to TALK to the vet and LOOK at the x-rays though!

Karen

[Range]

And your farrier should be perfectly willing to work with the vet on viewing the x-rays.

And the farrier should be able to give you reasons why your horse may be lame right now.

You and your farrier are a team in finding the solution for your horse. If he is refusing to work as a team member and treating your horse like a cookie cutter image of any other horse...you need a different team member.

Who cares what the other people in the barn think and say? A sound and happy horse makes for an enjoyable companion for you and if they can't handle that.....