cracks in hooves..??

Everything seems to be going wrong with my horse at the moment so im wondering what do people do about cracked hooves...? Ive been using Kevin Bacon hoof dressing on my horses feet but it doesnt seem to be doing anything but causing more cracks!!
Ekk - my horse had good feet but seems to have so many cracks occuring at the bottom of the hoof and even running from the middle down!!
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When are the feet next due to be trimmed/reshod? Does the method your farrier uses tend towards leaving the feet fairly wide?

My old farrier was an advocate of very wide-webbed shoes and although these were alright in winter, in the summer dry weather my horse's feet tended to crack and split from the bottom upwards as they were too wide and caused stress further up the hoof. Without a good bit of mud to moisturise the hoof the problem became apparent. New farrier trims them back hard and I've never had the same problem since.
 
ahh - that could be it then...my farrier was an apprentice this time round and although very good did seem to leave them quite long, so it might be that...my old pony has brill feet normally but this time round she seems to have cracked and are quite long in the toes so it might just be that...
Im told cause of the weather changes moisture can cause alot of problems to the hoof...!!
 
Something to think about - The hoof wall that has now grown down to the ground will have been produced some 8-10 months ago. Was there a change in the quality or type of feed that could have caused the growing hoof to be less strong?

I now supplement my horses during the summer as I realised that the grass wasn't providing everything that they needed. (Even though they were both on the tubby side!)
 
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Im told cause of the weather changes moisture can cause alot of problems to the hoof...!!

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That's just it, in wet conditions the hoof is a lot more forgiving and you tend to notice problems like this after a spell of dry weather. Topical moisturisers help to a certain extent, as well as feed supplements to promote good quality hoof material, but the quickest solution meanwhile is to discuss with your farrier the possibility of trimming them back a little harder in summer.
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my farrier reccomends effol had splitting/cracking with molly by time he arrived had lost one shoe took other shoe of rasped up and got no back shoes till he comes in 10 days time, just no road work.
 
I bought my horse with quite bad hooves. For the last 3 weeks I have been putting a hoof suppliment in his feed and directly on the hoof I have been using EFFOL every day.

In just 3 weeks I can really see a difference in the quality of the hoof. It seems far less brittle than it did and stronger too.
 
I would recommend feeding Formula4Feet, I've tried all the hoof supplements and this is the one that worked for me (but it'll take a while to see the difference).

Do you think you've got an infection/white line disease in the hoof? If so, I'd scrub the feet in diluted Milton (anti-bacterial & anti-fungal) once a week and put Kevin Bacon's on clean hooves and soles once a day.
 
I have a beautiful TB with horrid feet. She has limestone and biotin everyday and I also treat her feet with EFFOL every day. Her feet will never be amazing but they have certainly improved a lot. Good luck!
 
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