Cheap hoof improver?

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MagicMelon

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I have a 'rescue' horse coming (saved from being put to sleep by owners who just didnt want him anymore). He seems to have hoof problems in that he needs to be shod every 5 weeks religeously and at the moment is very slightly lame due to bruising on a fore. I'd like to try to improve his hoof quality and know there are millions of supplements for this on the market like Farriers Formula etc. but they are also pricey. As the horse is going to cost me enough in farriery bills, are there any good cheap not-made-for-it alternatives? For example oil is good for feeding for shine and condition etc. so is there something along these lines for feet?
 
My 2 crappy footed TB's have gone from a 'just hanging on' 5 week shoeing to a very easy 6-7 weeks. This change happened after introducing micronised linseed.
My farrier was amazed at the difference!
 
I used FF and never found it made any difference, also same with biotin.

What did really help was feeding good quality (lo cal high fibre, not ryegrass) haylage and pink powder - mane, tail and hooves all became really good - not just seasonal expected improvements but even in off season for glossiness and strength.

Micronised linseed would be the other obvious option as mentioned above, altho both linseed and haylage would only be appropriate if the horses weight/condition score was skinny enough to cope with possible conditioning effects.
 
You really need the barefoot diet, low sugar and starch, with balanced minerals, Farriers Formula is good and does make a difference to the growth, although it tends to make them grow faster so actually need shoeing more frequently, the horn quality is improved though.
If you can just get him on good quality fibre based diet, add linseed for condition it helps with horn as well as skin, brewers yeast and magnesium this should make a difference but obviously it takes time for them to grow a whole new foot.

Consider taking the shoes off if you can it will give them a chance to grow out all the nail holes, one of my liveries took her horses shoes off for just 4 weeks, she cannot get her head round no shoes while working, the feet improved even in that short time, he is on FF and has been on it for about 3 months with great improvement already visible, she did not want to get in different bits and pieces and is happy to pay for FF.
 
Thanks everyone. I'm already feeding my other horse micronised linseed so I can easily give him this - not that its cheap (£27 a bag! Although should last a while). He is quite skinny so will benefit from it in that sense anyway. I unfortunately dont feed haylage, have a shed full of hay. I will feed an all round general vit & min supplement as well (will look into Pro Balance).

be positive - I may consider barefoot in future but at the moment he's only just coming sound so I dont feel I should mess around with his hooves much for the time being. Id prefer it if he was barefoot as I have 2 barefoot and 1 unshod (trimmed by farrier) so Im not used to shoes at the moment!
 
Magic melon I'm sorry for going off-track a bit here, and I don't want to open up the usual debates.... I'm just curious that you have said you have two barefoot and one unshod at the moment. How are you differentiating between "barefoot" and "unshod" aren't they both the same thing? :)
 
TwoStroke said:
In addition to low sugar/starch, as bepositive says, I'd pick Pro Balance+ as a mineral supplement on a budget.
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I have had my barefoot boy on Equimins Laminator over summer, with his micronised linseed and some magnesium calmer, now winter is here, he will be on Fast Fibre, Micronised linseed and a supplement.
Laminator seemed ideal [concavity and beautiful hooves] but very very expensive even used at one half dosage.
As always when one finds a good product it is difficult to change, not sure of difference between pro hoof and pro balance, I need the magnesium, as almost impossible to get rock crunching here, land is waterlogged, gravel track very hard on him, and he is anxious without it.
I don't want to feed magnox and brewers yeast, his magnesium calmer has that in it, and the amount of supplements is getting out of hand!
 
I would second Pro Balance +. I'm using it for my old boy. The 3.6 kg bag is still going strong since I opened it in June. My friend is using it and it's helped her horse's hooves no end.
 
I'd say the cheapest hoof improver is more about what you don't feed than what you do :D

So start with grass... if the horse has poor feet and bruising, are they better if grass is restricted/turnout at night, yarded/stabled during day when grass sugars are lower... Do they respnd well to haylage or is it too acidic? Some horses do better on hay, some even need soaked hay to lower the sugar content. If underweight and needing feeding up, the micronised linseed is a better and cheaper way than feeding mixes and conditioning feeds that will contain a lot of stuff that may have a negative effect on hooves.

If horse needs a feed to get supplements in, a low sugar/starch one like FastFibre is good and cheap. As someone commented, Brewer's Yeast is a good source of B vitamins and cheap to buy in bulk. The chops I use from Halleys Feeds are also cheap, last ages and don't contain any molasses or additives.

A budget feeding programme is often better for feet than an expensive one, and tbh, you could just try without the supplements and see if you get an improvement, only adding them if nothing improves on a lower sugar diet :)
 
Thats a goos point Brightbay, theres always the tendency to do the 'Because Im worth it' thing with horses but it can be counterproductive or not necessary at times.

I know that the diet that my lami pony is on now is cheaper for me and healthier for her (well apart from the fencing costs for her lami paddock that is....:-))
 
Rosehips. Don't cost a thing and they are natural...horses would eat them if they were free to roam and they are high in Vit C. Pick them off the hedgerows and feed fresh and dry them in the airing cupboard to last through winter....or you can buy them online. We have all three horses barefoot and we feed them rosehips whenever we can and it seems to improve hoof growth. Have a look on the web too and see what people say about rosehips helping hoof condition.
 
AntxGeorgiax said:
Biotin and seaweed. Forget farriers formula, all that etc. 1kg biotin, and 1kg seaweed. 2 scoops a day :)
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Seaweed is not recommended for feet, as it is high in iron, and it is not all that cheap in 1Kg bags.
Biotin is only one vitamin, the pony needs a balanced mineral and vitamin regime, imho. Fast Fibre and micronised linseed meal are as cheap as you can get.
You can remove the shoes and save a £1 per day, see Rockley Farm, they remove shoes immediately from nearly all their horses, these horses are sent for re-habilitation and all have mega feet problems.
You will probably hav to give him tlc and careful management, post piccies and you will get CC on here.
Sole, frontal and side on.
 
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