Bad Hoof advice

brighthair

brighthair

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 August 2008
Messages
4,169
Location
Preston, Lancashire
www.wannabeadressagediva.wordpress.com
the TB has rubbish hooves, soft crumbly, plenty of cracks and bits were breaking off. The farrier couldn't get shoes on so just trimmed him and advised keep him off gravel. He went very very footsore and landed himself on box rest and bute until he can be shod again. He's on Biotin and we also use a paint on Cornucrescine hoof hardener on his sole and hoof. They are hardening but need to make sure they stop cracking. Seen an advert for NAF Pro which looks good. Any recommendations?
 
I personally would give him a foot supplement like formula 4 feet rather than just biotin (but that's only my opinion - there will be plenty of others!) Naf pro feet stinks and our pony wouldn't touch it so might not be ideal if you have a fussy feeder.
 
My TBs are exactly the same. He is front shod only and has formula 4 feet and keratex hoof moisturiser or gel. The hoof hardener made them a bit more brittle.
 
Just had the same problem with my horse.He has just managed to keep shoes on for a month (hallelujah). I have done some rigorous things to achieve this:
Feed him Top Spec feed balancer (anti-lam) but they have others too. Bag is £27 but lasts 6 weeks.
I have also been feeding him Equi Life -Formula 4 Feet. A scoop every day. It is £34 a tub but again last abut 2 months!
I think it is much better than the farriers formula and is vegetarian, the farriers formula has animal derivatives in it apparently.
On advice of farrier i have been using Kevin Bacon hoof salve everyday. This product has won farrier awards-in red pot about £9.50. U clean hooves thoroughly an then massage it in the hoof and on the hoof. Also i have been using Naf's hoof n Sole which is a purple liquid, u need to clean the hooves and then dry off with tissue, then paint or spray this into and on the hoof. Apparently the zinc kills bacteria, which can break down the hoof. u do this every day and then ev other day. I have let it dry and then put the kevin bacon salve on. As i said i have been doing this with my horse and he has kept shoes on so it obviously has been working..Good Luck !
 
How about some hoof boots to tide you over?

You may need them again some day.
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The most important thing you need is a great farrier. Not a good one...a great one.
As long as your farrier is on your side...then your problem will be as near as solved.
When I had my TB pre purchased - vetted by a very respected Newmarket vet he said exactly that to me. I was buying a lovely horse: but I needed a great farrier as he had poor feet. Well I thought my farrier was ok...but after 6 months he couldn't keep shoes on my horse longer that 3-4 weeks. So I changed.
My current farrier comes recommended by many. He has shod horses in the last two Olympics eventing teams. There are no tricks, no miracle potions with him. He shoes my TBs every 6 weeks and they never ( and I mean never) lose a shoe.
The only thing he tells me to use is bleach. Thick bleach. It kills all the bacteria inside the foot, and prevents disease. It works a treat and is inexpensive.
My horses are all on a good balanced diet, and are not left to stand in wet, muddy conditions... another of his recommendations.
Hope this helps... I used to be at my wits end with my old farrier....!
 
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LOL ... best bit of advise I have ever heard about TB's feet !!! If only.............
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CoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooL
 
If his feet are weak and crumbling it's more than likely that he was white line disease - kind of the equivilent of human nail infections, where they go all yellow and horrid. If you don't get rid of that, you'll never keep shoes on him.

Agreed with Bubblegum that a great farrier will be your best friend, but they are sadly hard to come by.
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In the meantime I'd investigate Barefoot. All the conditioning done to transition poor feet to barefoot would be ideal for him. There's no reason he needs to remain barefoot once he feet are better, but the stuff you do (kill nasty infections, correct diet, corrective trimming to improve foot shape and balance, walking in pads to encourge correct action and improve growth) will make the world of difference and mean you CAN shoe him.

Why not give it a try. It's not like you have many other options left if he can't keep shoes on! If he's going to stuck in a box anyways, you may as well do something construct with his feet in that time. Depending on your area, there should be a qualified Barefoot trimmer (stay away from Strasser!) who would come out and do an assesment. It costs less than a shoeing and it may be the best thing you ever did for your horses feet.
 
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Actually, change that - having just looks at some of your other posts, it seems you're actually just a waste of space. In this case, literally.

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who is that aimed at and why???
 
Sorry, wasn't very clear - at barnybaby - she's been going through threads and posting replies with hundred of letter in on word to 'stretch' the page. The things people do to entertain themselves :rolleyes:
 
Aahh I see, I have put them on user ignore as I found it quite difficult to read the OP.

I wonder why someone would post long words just for the sake of annoying people!
 
Also just realised who they are too and will now leave them on UI
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thought that troll might've disappeared....no such luck yet.

Sorry for hijacking your thread brighthair!!
 
I just saw what you mean about Barneybaby - how annoying, why would anyone do that???

Back to original post, I feed Farrier's Formula and use Kevin Bacon's ointment and if they need it use Keratex hoof hardener around the nails. Have also persuaded the farrier he needs to come every six weeks in the summer and that seems to help.
 
Was wondering why the page was so wide. Makes it very difficult to read.
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I've had this exact same problem myself. Have sacked said farrier as he was useless and got myself a new one. This wasn't the only problem I was having by the way as I realise its not always the farriers fault.

anyway new farrier wouldn't put shoes on the back feet as they were so bad. I've bought and borrowed boots (Boa and Easy Boot) for behind and have been ticking him over for three weeks now.

Am also using LifeData Hoof disinfectant (as farrier advised) and cornecresent and feeding Top Spec feed balancer.

I am also about to ask him about putting on glue on shoes behind this time round to see if this will help, but don't have any experience of using these myself - yet.
 
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If his feet are weak and crumbling it's more than likely that he was white line disease - kind of the equivilent of human nail infections, where they go all yellow and horrid. If you don't get rid of that, you'll never keep shoes on him.



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that's a load of crap. My horse has had white line disease for about four months, it is now finally going with the help of my excellent Farrier, but it has not in any way caused crumbling, weak hooves that cannot keep shoes on! My Farrier had to cut a portion out of the front of my horse's left fore and filled it, did this twice and he's well on the way to recovery.

I think you are confusing white line disease with something else - look it up on the internet!
 
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My horse has had white line disease for about four months, it is now finally going with the help of my excellent Farrier, but it has not in any way caused crumbling, weak hooves that cannot keep shoes on! My Farrier had to cut a portion out of the front of my horse's left fore and filled it, did this twice and he's well on the way to recovery.

I think you are confusing white line disease with something else - look it up on the internet!

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Firstly, there is no need to be rude. WLD come in varying severities and most shod horses have it to some degree. When it becomes as severe as your horses sounds, it is better know as Seedy Toe (or Shelly Hoof if you're in the US)

In mild cases it causes the white line to weaken and stretch (and therefore flare, causing chipping and cracking) and gives it a grey/black and crumbly look. A healthy white line should be tight and white and non-crumbly.

WLD disease is often a symptom to something else wrong with the hoof - a healthy hoof shouldn't let WLD in in the first place. It's commonly associated with Low Grade Laminitis (mild inflamation of the white line) which is very common in many horses over spring and summer. Other cause can be long stretched toes (common in badly shod Tb's) or flared overgrown feet.

Mild WLD is not particularly hard to fix as all it requires is strong antibacteria soaking (hence one of the other posters saying bleach worked well for her) but really the underlying cause (poor hoof shape, LGL etc) needs to be sorted otherwise it'll just come back.
 
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