Managing shivers and shoeing?

My main concern is whether the shivering is nerves or a balance issue.

Is this a new development? How many years has he done it? Is he in good condition and riding regularly? There are a few conditions that affect balance and coordination such as EPM that are possibilities.

If it does seem to be more a nervous issue you can try bare behind. As long as he has no outstanding hoof issues there should be no problem removing them. Age isn't a factor and many jumper go without. If he rides different or shows a problem it's no deal to have them put back on.

If you have any suspicion that there could be a medical cause have some blood tests run. Better safe than sorry. I know one rider whose horse fell into a ditch on her because he was bumped by another horse. They found out he had EPM, it was unnoticeable until something caused him to lose balance. He had no ability to catch himself.

Best of luck with him.

You say he has always had shoes - how has it been handled previously ?

My ID xTB has shivers and has never been shod on the back feet - only on the front. A previous farrier used to resort to propping his butt against a wall so he could trim his back feet but regular work and high fat diet has improved him to the point where my current farrier can do him without the wall, it just requires some patience. He never has trouble with his back feet splitting despite the fact that we do a lot of roadwork, (we don't jump much as he can't handle the turns )

My horse is 13 years old.

I do know that a previous owner did once try to get shoes on his back feet with sedation but it was given up as a bad idea as he nearly fell on the farrier.

he could have hypersensitivity on his rear legs/hooves. i would suggest that you continue to try and get him shod as you said because sounds like he'd need it with the kind of riding he'll get. Does he react the same way when you brush his legs or clean his hooves? If not, then the shakes might just exists from fear from a bad experience. In that case, if cannot hurt to sedate him a little and take the edge off his nerves. Good luck!

If you could, go to Horse Illustrated's website. In May's issue it had an article on how to manage shivers since apparently it is not something that you can get rid of. I do believe it said to not feed them grain at all. It's a good article though, so I would look there. I'm sure your vet would be able to give some good advice as well.

Talk to the farrier. Farriers have experience with all different types of personalities when shoeing. Maybe the first time he comes out, just have it to assess the horse and see if he can handle him without sedatives.

When I jumped my mare, she didn't have back shoes and she was 13-15 at that time. Talk to him, he might be ok without the back shoes and just getting trimmed.

I honestly think you should listen to what your trainer says and then talk to the vet and ferrier-- they know your horse best =) P.s: not all horses that do hunter jumping need shoes-- shoes are mainly to protect the frog from hard ground when doing things like trail riding and cross country!

see if you could leave him barefoot in the rear.. and only shoe his front end? horses mainly need shoes for the impact of landing from going over the fences. i had a jumper who only needed her fronts.

I would ask my farrier or vet what they would do i would probably keep the shoes unless it scares him too much

try starting him on bute a few days before your farrier appt. and see if this helps