cracked hooves

mybaileysglide

mybaileysglide

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every year as the weather changes from cold and wet to hot and dry, my horses hooves start to crack and crumble. he pulls so many shoes off in the summer and his feet look awful :(
what products do people use on their horses feet, which ones the best? my friend told me to use NAF rock hard, has anyone used this?
thank you :)
 
It's best to feed for horn quality. Look into the 'barefoot diet' which is really just a sensible diet for hoof health whether shod or not. Basically you need to feed high fibre and low sugar/starch (so no molasses/moglo) and a really good vit&min supplement like the forage plus, equivita or pro earth ones. The new diet only affects new growth though, so you do need the whole hoof capsule to grow out. This is far better than any topical treatment though IME. :)
 
This was my problem for years and I fed him every supplement under the sun. Eventually I gave up on trying to shoe him and ride him either bare or in Easyboots and his hooves are great now.
 
He is already on a mollases free high fiber diet and has a vitamin supplement, he has been for about a year now, my farrier advised me not to start feeding a hoof supplement unless i have to as he said they start to rely on it and you'll never be able to take them off it. i would love to be able to go bare foot, but i event him so i need shoes really, also he is a wimp without shoes on, he hobbles everywhere haha. im going to try rubbing cornucresine on his coronet band and see if that helps.
 
Diet is important but sometimes all they need is a bit of water on them as this is what is lacking when the ground dries up, just give them a wash with a bucket and brush a few times a week to put the moisture back in.
 
mybaileysglide said:
He is already on a mollases free high fiber diet and has a vitamin supplement, he has been for about a year now, my farrier advised me not to start feeding a hoof supplement unless i have to as he said they start to rely on it and you'll never be able to take them off it. i would love to be able to go bare foot, but i event him so i need shoes really, also he is a wimp without shoes on, he hobbles everywhere haha. im going to try rubbing cornucresine on his coronet band and see if that helps.
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Wow! Really? Lol! Although I can understand... anyone can get addicted to decent vitamins and minerals that keep em sound eh?
 
mybaileysglide said:
i wash him off after i ride him, and we go in the river about twice a week so he gets plenty of moisture. has anyone used farriers formula or NAF rock hard, or have any other suggestions?
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What breed is he? If he's a Connemara it could be genetic. Google HWSS in Connemaras for more information.
 
My horse cut his coronary band last July which result in an awful crack that's growing right down his hoof horizontally. It's now about 3/4 down his hoof, so about the nail line now. I've religiously been using cornicrescent and NAF Rock hard on depending on the weather. Also he's in Top Spec supplement and Biotin. So far it's been fine and not cracked worse as I've been paranoid that he's going to lose a huge chunk off his hoof.
 
my blacksmith reccomended kevin Bacon hoof treatment. I have been putting it on every morning for the last two months,his hooves do seem to have improved and a £17 tub has lasted 2 months so its not breaking the bank.
 
Nothing you put on the outside of a hoof is going to make a difference to the inside of it.

It sounds as if your horse has deep structural and dietary issues which need sorting out but won't be an overnight miracle.

Follow faracats advice on a low sugar high fibre diet and ensure you are feeding in a good quality hoof supplement. Health comes from within. Just like your nails will show brittleness or ridging if you have a dificiency... no amount of creams will get rd of it despite what it says on the tin.
 
Tom Browns hoof oil.. Hempseed based. apply 2cms up into coronet and rest of hoof capsule. apply once a week. farriers use it.
 
If your horses feet are still crap (and there is no underlying health issues) Id be reassessing my horses diet no matter what the marketing company says not all vits / mins are complete or suit every horse and if you haven't sat down and carried out an as fed analysis you are more than likely wasting money feeding something that is doing very little for your horse. The change in season will affect the nutrients in the grass which is why its highlighting you feeding defects / excess (both are bad, balance is the key).

Hooves and Hair are the lowest priority for a horse so issues with diet show up here first - its the owners responsibility to identify this.
 
Instead of painting hempseed on, feed it.

If you can get it in the UK, hemp seed cake is the best thing out for hooves. It's a complete protein and contains high levels of Omega 3.

I have fed it for years - love it.
 
Micronised linseed [25 to 200gms], plus a good mineral mix [25+gms], and 25gms of salt, feed every day, all year round, if he needs to be fed minerals all year round, then so be it.
 
Agree with Faracat had tried everything, have had horses on the same field for twenty years always had problems with feet cracking in the summer. changed to hi fibre diet no sugar at all, and feed magnesium oxide and limestone flour plus a full spectrum vitamin and mineral and two tablespoons of salt daily. my farrier said last year that my horses were the only ones he shod that didn't have any cracks. I also use kevin bacon on the nail holes, he said not to use it on the upper part of the hoof as it softened it too much. lasts for ages like that too. two of the horses only have about a pound of hi fibre nuts and speedi beet the other has 5lbs a day as he doesn't eat enough hay. No chaff as it was causing behavioural problems.
 
my cob is the same. i have tried pretty much everything in the 9 years i have had her. at the moment i use cornucrescine and 'kevin bacon hoof ointment' and touch wood her feet are getting better at the moment.
 
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