Crumbly feet and thrush?

[Jingleballs]

I'm looking for some help!

My cob's feet are pretty crappy at the moment. I'm not sure if it's been the really dry weather but when I pick them out, it seems as though the sole is crumbling. He's also got thrush which bactakill doesn't seem to have shifted.

He was shod all round but I took the backs off about a month ago because he's not in work at the moment due to me being 6 1/2 months pregnant.

Diet wise, he's on restricted grazing, occasional hay and a very small token feed of chaff + sugarbeet to mix in his equine answers 365 supplement - I meant it really is a tiny, tiny feed. He doesn't get carrots/apples etc - only fibre nuggets as treats.

Other than his feet he looks fab. I'd tried him on Forage Plus balancer earlier this year when he was barefoot but saw no difference and had to put shoes back on him as his feed were wearing down too quickly making him lame.

He's moving yard in 3 weeks - diet won't change much although it can if needs be. I just wonder what else I can feed supplement wise to improve his feet - I don't mind if I have to put shoes back on but even in front where he is shod the soles are still crap.

Also wonder what else I can use for thrush that might be more effective - I'm confused as to why he has it so bad when it's so dry and he's living out and has been since April/May!

 

[tallyho!]

Too much sugar.

If there is too much sugar/starch in the diet, no amount of special supplements is going to make the blindest bit of difference.

Once you reduce the sugar ad keep up the minerals, things should improve, the crumbliness will go and so will the thrush.

 

[ester]

how long did you feed the forage plus for?

 

[Jingleballs]

Tallyho - what sugar? He barely has any in his diet - he barely gets a feed - you could fit his full feed in the palm of my hand!

Ester - I think from memory the bag I got lasted about 3 months.

 

[tallyho!]

Tallyho - what sugar? He barely has any in his diet - he barely gets a feed - you could fit his full feed in the palm of my hand!

Ester - I think from memory the bag I got lasted about 3 months.

What about grass? What do you feed him? If you are sure his total sugars (including starch) is below 5% then you maybe need to consider a metabolic issue. Most hoof problems for barefoot horses are down to excess sugars either in the diet or systemic. After ruling both of those out then you can start to look at mineral balancing and/or deficiencies.

 

[amandap]

What sort of crumbling do you mean? Crumby sole that can be scraped off with a hoof pick could be sole exfoliating. I agree with TH, grass can be a big source of sugars along with some hays. Forages are by far the biggest element in the diet.
There is a good deal of anecdotal evidence that lack of minerals (often copper and zinc) can predispose to thrush and poor skin and coat. I would consider starting a good balancer again.

 

[ester]

I don't think 3 months is really long enough to see a huge difference, I don't know how the 365 compares.

 

[amandap]

You could also scrub well with salt water daily and apply something such as the equine relief thrush or sole cleanse sprays. http://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/Hoof-Treatments

 

[Casey76]

What kind of surface do you work on? Do you have access to a sand school?

Crumbly soles sounds like exfoliation, which will happen if he doesn't have access to an abrasive surface - like sand

had to put shoes back on him as his feed were wearing down too quickly making him lame.

Just a small point... when you take shoes off, it is very rare that you can keep up the same amount of work as he had been doing immediately. You can work back up to it, sometimes sooner rather than later, but there is almost always a "transition" period while the feet adjust, and the sole develops a callous. So if you take shoes off again, you might need to factor in a time period where he willl be doing less work for a time, so you can build up his feet adequately.

Unshod feet nearly always look shorter than shod feet - this in itself isn't an issue.