Barefooters - tips please - bruised soles.

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CBFan

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Ok, background info. I have a 3.5 y/o Cleveland bay Gelding, with pretty good feet. He has been barefoot his whole life. I say pretty good as they are in the words of my farrier 'very hard' but IMO the hinds are not perfect shape as they still have flaring of the hoof wall on the outside edge which has improved since I got him but still needs a bit of attention. His fronts are pretty damn perfect in shape. But thats not my biggest problem.

He has recently shown a shortness of stride in front which I put down to a knee injury, however 6 weeks in and I was washing the sole of one of his fronts (due to slight thrush in one of his clefts) and I noticed some bruising on the soletowards the toe - only two spots about the size of a 20p piece... he has similar on the other front but slightly wider spread, although not as deep in colour. I am convinced this is the cause of his shortness of stride as I had a mare before who got bruised soles - even when shod and who's stride went the same. I should have known earlier.

So. what to do?

I really want to get working him so should I invest in some boots? If so which ones?

Do I persevere in the hope that his feet will toughen up?

Do I buy some Keratex hoof hardner? (I used this last year and it did help toughen his feet up)

Do I shoe? I'm really not keen on this one and neither is my farrier as he does have REALLY nice front feet.

FYI He is fed a broad spec supp (equivite) for general vits and mins with high fi lite and high fibre cubes and an almost full measure of seaweed for his feet.
 
I think bruising is likely to be quite common at the moment. We've had a cold, wet winter. The horses have been in wet conditions for the last few months, and then suddenly we've had this heatwave. Hooves have dried out very quickly, but haven't had time to fully recover from the damage done from the wet winter.

Poulticing can help draw out the bruising (but won't get rid of it completely), but only poultice for 24 - 48 hours, because poulticing keeps the hoof moist as well, which sounds great, but for the barefoot horse actually isn't such a good thing, because, as this winter will have shown many people, constant wet conditions can be detrimental to the hardness and quality of the hoof wall.

If your horse is stabled/partly stabled, make sure he has a nice deep soft bed, so that he can rest the foot on it and so has a respite from constantly standing on hard surfaces.

I can't advise on boots, because I've never used them.

One of my boys currently has a small bruise on his right fore - it's the first time he's ever bruised (age 11) and it was picked up at an Endurance Ride a couple of weeks ago where the going was incredibly hard and flinty. I believe it happened because his feet simply hadn't had time to adapt from the wet winter conditions, to the recent dry ones, combined with the spring grass coming through, which definitely has an effect on "footiness". He's only very slightly short in the stride as well, but not lame.

He's an endurance horse, working towards advanced this year and I really do need to work on upping his fitness. But the best thing I can actually do for him is give him some rest (field rest - I don't have the option of a soft bedded stable) until nature takes it course - so that's exactly what I'm doing. His wellbeing is far more important than my competition schedule!
 
We are suffering from exactly the same thing over the last week - I am restricting grazing now but still the stones are torture for my poor girl. I am going to try some hoof hardener too

We use boots out riding (Easiboot epics ) but the yard is very stoney and the fields really hard.
 
I've had good results with Keratex...

and I bought my youngest Easyboot Gloves. They are excellent and he wasn't bothered by them at all. He's at boarding school at the moment, so I'll find out how he feet look when I see him tomorrow.
 
CBFan said:
I really want to get working him so should I invest in some boots? If so which ones?

Do I persevere in the hope that his feet will toughen up?

Do I buy some Keratex hoof hardner? (I used this last year and it did help toughen his feet up)
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I think all three of the above like you say, sounds like a good way forward.

Can your farrier measure him up for from front hoof boots?

Be interesting to see how he is if you get some, it's something I've always pondered over with the TB, but she also has quite flat hind feet as well so she'd still feel the ground and we have quite a few fine stony areas where we ride so unless I bought all four she wouldn't really benefit.
 
Thanks for the helpful replies!

I think I'll invest in another bottle of kerratex and look into some boots for work.

Sorry to hear that others are suffering but I'm glad I'm not the only one.

He's not lame either. just 'short'.

Will poulticing help in the longrun? or am I just as well to let him get over it himself?
 
CBFan said:
Thanks for the helpful replies!

I think I'll invest in another bottle of kerratex and look into some boots for work.

Sorry to hear that others are suffering but I'm glad I'm not the only one.

He's not lame either. just 'short'.

Will poulticing help in the longrun? or am I just as well to let him get over it himself?
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I'd only poultice once for inflamation/pain relief or unless your treating an abcess, otherwise you will soften the hoof more which is the opposite of what you want.
 
Thanks! I will get out and buy more poulticing materials! lol!

Given how stony our ground is, I am actually quite optimistic that we can make it barefoot... It's just a matter of time I guess.
 
My barefoot pony recently bruised his soles which surprised me as he'd been so good over all surfaces. I poulticed in case it was an abscess but nothing came of it although he was much more comfy in the poultice (nappy, animal lintex and duct tape). My farrier suggested keratex which I've used in the past but hadn't thought it made that much difference (when my tb first went barefoot), however, this time and using it just on his sole it seemed to really help and the last of the short stepping stopped very quickly. He's now back to his old rock crunching self.
 
Please don't use Keratex without looking up its disadvantages as well as advantages. Its got some pretty strong chemicals in it and a number of barefooters are against it.

Regarding boots, there is a company who specialise in supplying all/most brands of boots, and can help you. Basically, measure your horse's feet and go with the best fit to your measurements, not which style or brand you prefer the look of, to get the best chance of it fitting and not falling off regularly!
 
Ditto what Naturally says. I am not a fan of Keratex, does more harm than good in my opinion.

Have you looked at The Saddlery Shop? They do loads of different types of hoof boots and give lots of advice on measuring etc. They also sell comfort pads which you can put in the boots to give more cushioning if your horse is a bit sore.
 
AndySpooner said:
Are you sure the thrush has been sorted as this can make them a bit sore.

The flareing you describe on the hinds, just check that the bars are not causing the flare.
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The thrush is being sorted and yes I have considered that this could be a cause of the soreness... I am just trying to cover all bases.

Please can you explain what you mean about the cause of the flaring? I will try and get some pics over the next few days if that helps?

Thanks
 
I've used boots on mine, as necessary, for years - as long as you get the right size and design for the horse, they are great, and very long-lasting.
Are you feeding magnesium oxide? I found that the flare on all three of mine decreased noticably after they'd been on it for a while. I would also be a little wary of seaweed - it depends what the mineral profile of their forage is, but I've stopped using it since discovering that my land has high iodine and iron levels.
 
Old Macs or Cavellos are the only boots I would use. Be careful using too much Keratex when the ground is hard and it is very dry as you can make their soles crack and cause more of a problem!
 
soloequestrian said:
I would also be a little wary of seaweed - it depends what the mineral profile of their forage is, but I've stopped using it since discovering that my land has high iodine and iron levels.
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Thread Hijack:

My horse is on a clay soil - I feed seaweed and MagOx - do clay soils have higher levels of iodine?

Or is it something that does have to be tested, not that I would know where to start in that regard.
 
I've used Old Macs with great success. I made my own lining pads out of thick mouse mats (bought in bulk off Ebay) and used thick socks to prevent rubbing! I also used Keratex twice weekly. All a bit of a palaver but I managed to keep a very soft-footed horse unshod and comfortable when ridden. Saved a fortune on shoeing and the shape of his feet improved dramatically over 18 months. :)
 
Serephin said:
Thread Hijack:

My horse is on a clay soil - I feed seaweed and MagOx - do clay soils have higher levels of iodine?

Or is it something that does have to be tested, not that I would know where to start in that regard.
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I've no idea if it goes with certain soil types... I assumed we have high iodine because we're near the sea, but that could be pure fantasy! I had both my grass and haylage tested, and did it through my local feed company, which is Norvite. You could see who makes mineral supplements in your area and ask them if they do testing.
 
The bars slightly thickened sole which run either side of the frog, sometimes grow mis shapen which if not trimmed may cause a flare in the hoof wall.
Obviously filing the hoof wall in an attempt to remove the flare, weakens it compounding the flare.
 
I am aware of the risks of feeding Seaweed re the iodine content which is why I feed just under the recomended daily dose and I give him the occasional break from it altogether. I am reluctant to stop it completely as his feet have improved so much since being on it.

I have wondered about magox... any tips on where to get it from?

Re the flaring. It is the outside back (roughly) quarter of the hoof wall and in this area the white line is about 3-4mm wider than the rest of the hoof at it's widest.
 
Try ebay for small amounts to try - there are a couple of sellers on there.
For slightly larger quantities Equimins sell straight minerals - it's not listed on their website though you have to call up.
 
AndySpooner said:
The bars slightly thickened sole which run either side of the frog, sometimes grow mis shapen which if not trimmed may cause a flare in the hoof wall.
Obviously filing the hoof wall in an attempt to remove the flare, weakens it compounding the flare.
Click to expand...

AndySpooner said:
The bars slightly thickened sole which run either side of the frog, sometimes grow mis shapen which if not trimmed may cause a flare in the hoof wall.
Obviously filing the hoof wall in an attempt to remove the flare, weakens it compounding the flare.
Click to expand...

Thanks! That's really helpfull! I think this may be his problem!

Farrier has always been reluctant to file the wall (thank god) through fear of weakening it so has refrained as much as possible. I am definately going to take some photos of his feet this weekend and post on here as there is so much to this barefoot malarky than meets the eye and it would be good to get some feedback (if you don't mind?)... It may also help others.
 
Find your local agricultural merchant, where you can buy calcined magnesite (calmag), which is magnesium oxide in a pink powder form. 25 kg for less than a tenner, which will last you well over a year! Most horses eat it fine. Feed around 25g a day.
 
Seaweed is also a no-no if you have high manganese levels like I do. The manganese prevents the absorption of copper. So does iron, so anything high in iron, like seaweed, will be really bad news. Try feeding jelly cubes, it may have been the agar - sort of gelatine - in the seaweed that did the trick, not the seaweed itself.

If you have high iron and/or high iron you may need to supplement copper in order for your horse to grow strong feet.
 
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Copper is poisonous in excess and stored in the liver, not flushed out like magnesium, for example. But there is no warning on Copper Trition that feeding it could cause any difficulty at all, which I am sure there would be if it was possible to overdose on the amount in Copper Trition. So I feed mine the same amount of copper as is in a daily dose of Copper Trition. Copper sulphate can have nasty stuff in it so I feed copper bioplex available in kilo bags from forageplus.com It's exactly 10% copper so easy to work out the dose and does 1000 days for about £25.

If you have black horses that turn brown/red then you probably have a copper deficiency. It is needed for insulin regulation and I believe that the reason horses on land around me seem to get laminitis easily, in spite of the grass being less rich at the height where we live, is because of that. My horses, and my friend's, are much easier to keep rock crunching now we supplement copper. However, we do know for certain that we are high in manganese and iron because we have spring water supplies that are tested from time to time. Forageplus will also do you an analysis if you want to test your hay or grazing.
 
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Another vote for forage plus for analysis and supplements as well as dietary advice if needed.

I would caution against anyone feeding specific supplements without knowing what the horse is already getting and knowing the relationships which can cause false defecits of different things.
 
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