You have a client who has a large WB with one club foot (but x-rays of the club foot show nothing that makes you go ooooh). The beast wears a size 5 shoe. Your client prefers aluminum to keep the weight down and hopefully keep the shoe on better.

You do an incredible job. Foot is balanced, all is great, but the horse on a regular basis literally pulls the shoe off .... bends it .... folds it over and your arm aches as you prepare it for reapplication.

Barefoot isn't an option, because the footing just isn't conducive and this horse is starting to work.

Client has suggested a "toe shoe," but you haven't used one in a hundred years. What to do?

If the horse is big enough to wear a size 5, I would not worry about the weight. If you have to use a grass tip shoe, at least be happy it is on a club foot instead of a shallow one. Just be sure that you reset the horse at least every 6 weeks, because a grass tip can stay on for months.

Thank you. You don't see any problems with a grass tip?

He had the problem of pulling shoes with the heavier (regular) shoes and I "thought" that the lighter aluminum would make it easier to stay on. Now I wonder if the lighter isn't getting pulled off easier (or at least tweaked much easier).

I am embarrassed to have to call the farrier every few days about this; but, he is way understanding. He said that as Czane gets older and stronger and has less energy to be silly the issue will ultimately resolve itself. I hope so.

I personally don't use or like grass tips, but they are an option when all else has failed. For me, I would probably be making a handmade shoe that is fit exactly to his foot, and then clips burned into the foot in the right spots. There is usually a way to keep a shoe on, but you do have to get creative on occasion.

As for the aluminum being better about staying on, I doubt that it would be as good as steel. Shoes do not fall off feet from gravity. There has to be a force that works on them such as wire, another foot or shoe, etc. The weight of the shoe should not be a really big factor.

Why does it always make so much more sense when somebody else says it. Thank you.