Barefoot gurus please

Roasted Chestnuts

Roasted Chestnuts

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Opinions please. Got my oldie back from loan and looking to keep shoeless :)

Last time i took his shoes off he was fine (back in Nov) but hes really feeling them on hard surfaces but on schooling/grass hes 100%.

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Hinds

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Hes been bare now as far as i can gather from being told by his loaner about three weeks now. He hasnt been ridden at home from last week until today just turned out in the field.

Looking to keep him bare as not competing anymore and just happy hacking. Hes getting equimins biotin in a small handfull of readigrass at the minute but in winter will be on hay Veteran Vitality, readigrass and equimins linseed meal :)
 
To be honest the looks like he could do with more growth, the frogs look newly trimmed and the hoof walls loook very chipped and sore, there is a growth ring about two/three months ago indicating ill health or a change in nutrition of some sort. If he is out on grass I don't think I would feed redigrass, as it is more of the same, and what he needs is more fibre and minerals..
I would put him on a balanced mineral feed, eg
500 gms Fast Fibre
50 gms micronised linseed
some Dengi non molassed chaff for palatabliity
and pro hoof http://www.progressivehorse.co.uk/
or forage plus summer balancer
http://shop.forageplus.com/epages/es137718.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es137718/Products/FPS
Biotin is only one component for hoof quality, ideally you would get your forage analysed and a mineral mix made up for your locaton.
Start off by leading in hand over a smooth tarmac or similar before he is doing much ridden work.
 
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3 weeks isn't very long at all for his feet to start to develop the strength.

Those frogs looks just a little too neat around the edges - if anyone has been near them with a knife make sure they don't do it again lol!

I would swop the biotin for equimins meta balance with a handful of fast fibre (though if he is a fuss pot then you could always stick with the readigrass as you are feeding so little).

Gently increasing work over a range of surfaces inline with that he is comfy with, and a suitable diet should help him to be much more comfy. Think of his feet as box rest muscles - they are totally unprepared for 'real' work, so gently increasing will help them to strengthen.

If he is a bit gimpy over some surfaces when ridden then stick to ones he is comfortable on, if you want to expose him to more surfaces then you could lead in hand over tarmac etc too.

hth x
 
3 weeks is no time at all. They're nice feet, just wait and listen to him as he adjusts. Keep him off surfaces he finds uncomfortable for now, or get hoof boots.
 
Walls are chipping away what they don't want. It's all localised to the excess wall - not into any of the internal structures, which is fine.
The heels are growing steeper - which is fine.

Looks like medio-lateral balance could be improved with time.

The frog has been pared - that must stop.
The heels are contracted but coming along nicely.
There looks to be a slit up the sulcus and into the heel - any thrush in there? It looks slightly like he is wearing at the toe and this could be from avoiding walking on a sore and thrushy heel (as well as the pared frog).

The hinds look slightly bullnosed to me. Possibly a negative p3 angle, so they need a low sugar diet and to be kept short at the toe (which is what he is doing already).

Cracking even line - do we know what caused it?

I have used Readigrass for my old boy in the past - but I would never dream of feeding it in spring or summer. That's asking for trouble :o

They look like hooves that need more time and some work to become fab. For only three weeks in, they're pretty good.
I would review diet in view of the hinds and the stretched white line.
 
Probably change from winter to summer grazing for the event line, he was on loan so that's the only thing I can think of.

He is a fussy sod and the readigrass is literally a handful not even as much as he would pull out of the grounf himself just enough to give texture to the little he is getting to encourage him to chew it and not bolt it.

Not had an abcess that I know of only ever had one in ten years and that's when I first got him xx
 
I dont know what farrier was used either but my farrier doesnt touch the frogs when they are unshod, he just rasps and checks for any changes.

When I took his shoes off last Nov he was pretty much fine right away, I has told the shoes had only come off two weeks before I went and collected him, but I agree the nail holes and crumbling looks longer but cant really say for sure :o

Will have a look into the meta balance hes also getting a joint supplement but I assume that wont affect hoof growth all that much.
 
Try taking him off the joint supplement. It was the only thing left to remove from my boys diet that could have caused him to be footy. Even the day after it was taken away he was 10x better.
 
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