crumbly feet...ideas?

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catwithclaws

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so my farrier came out today to sort out big horsey's feet (they were in a bit of a sorry state since she came back from being on loan last week)

he has taken the back shoes off and put new on in front, fronts have clips on each side to try and hold her brittle, crumbly hooves together :rolleyes:

he says he would like to see her on biotin asap, and also a hoof moisturiser.

any suggestions on a good hoof moisturiser that won't break the bank?? also is there anything else that is good for hooves apart from biotin, i had her on it once before and she went totally doolally on it!!:cool:
 
Hoof heal is brilliant stuff, applies like hoof oil. Healed my mares hooves up in a week after she jumped off the wagon and split them to bits! It's about £10 a bottle in robinsons.
 
Feeding the hooves will help your horse grown good quality horn. Think standard 'health food' diet! So low sugar/starch base with a vit and min additive - pro hoof and meta balance are well thought off.
To moisturise - hoseing will help lots, and naff hoof moist is good too. Def avoid anything with an oil or grease base as you will just be sealing the hoof wall rather than adding moisture to it.
 
Effol huffsable- worth its weight in gold! honestly it's worked wonders on my girls feet, it makes them strong but "elasticy" so they don't crack break. really good stuff and lasts for ages!
 
ThePony said:
Feeding the hooves will help your horse grown good quality horn. Think standard 'health food' diet! So low sugar/starch base with a vit and min additive - pro hoof and meta balance are well thought off.
To moisturise - hoseing will help lots, and naff hoof moist is good too. Def avoid anything with an oil or grease base as you will just be sealing the hoof wall rather than adding moisture to it.
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^ This!
Having your forage analysed and mineral balancing accordingly would help too.
 
Kevin Bacon - fab stuff recommended by farriers, if her feet are really crumbly hose them off for 10 mins before putting KB on them...
 
The diet needs to be changed, make it a fibre based diet with minerals, plus micronised linseed meal, regular exercise , some walking on roads to encourage blood flow, not too much exercise straight away, obviously.
I would tend to stable up to 12 hours per day, to keep off sweet spring grass, feed pro feet or other supplement, a kg of Fast Fibre and good hay or haylage.
You should see a ring of growth as the hoof responds to good nutrition and exercise, but it will take several months for good horn to reach the ground.
Massage some hoof stuff in to the coronet band twice a day.
 
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Everything Miss Toe says, but with one small addition: I have seen a complete turnaround in my pony's feet since feeding Better4hooves supplement. A tub costs £49.95 online, but for my 14.1 pony that tub lasts 3 months. My farrier recommended it in the first instance.

Within a few weeks I could tell there was a noticeable difference, whereas before literally all that was needed to trim her hooves was to blow on them, now he really has to get to grips to take off the growth.

Since I bought the pony over 18 years ago - complete with poor hoof quality - I have tried every supplement known to man; giving everything at least a YEAR to see if it worked. Nothing has. I've had masses of help from companies with internal and external applications. I must have spent a King's ransom on her feet.

She keeps her shoes on, her feet make a lovely ringing sound on tarmac instead of a dull squelch and I rarely have to apply any hoof dressing.
 
She is currently out 24/7 on reasonable grass, and has a (stubbs) scoop of original mollichaff, a stubbs scoop of speedibeet, and a heaped small square scoop of fast fibre - twice a day. she could do with gaining some weight as well, she's quite ribby and tucked up (but i've only had her back from being out on loan for a week so i'm doing my best). is this an ok feed to help her feet?
 
I swear by the kevin bacon hoof range especially the dietary supplement. What is going in the top end to improve and speed growth is just as important if not more important than what you use on the hoof. Mega-tek that is for coat and tail regrowth is also fantastic for dry cracked hooves and gives fairly speedy results.
 
I'm assuming Mollichaff is molassed? Not helpful to hoof health.....

Fast Fibre and Speedibeet are fine - and easily fermented fibre, which is a good source of calories.

Linseed is a good source of omegas 3 and 6 and it is a polar lipid (it keeps the moisture balance in the hoof wall) as well as being great for joints and coat. Raw, freshly ground or micronised are the best ways to feed it.

If you don't get good results from that, then I would invest in one of the two mineral supplements already mentioned.

As for dressings - I've never used them as they can cause more harm than good and hoof health has to come from within.
If she is out 24/7 - there will be a couple of hours in the early morning when she is stood in the dew on the grass. This will soak her feet plenty.
 
My TB's feet were a disaster when he arrived - crumbling, bleeding heels, unable to keep a shoe on... He was a mess full stop so from May it was an effort to get him onto better shape... Then deal with his feet... After some advice on here I tweaked a few things early this year and I'm seeing a massive improvement...

Grass, ad lib haylage when in stable, fast fibre with Pro Hoof supplement, micronised linseed and a new farrier...

Just had new front shoes on and the farrier has left his backs off to give them chance to grow down and harden through non shod use as he's not in really heavy work... I nearly keeled over in a heap at the idea worrying they'd disintegrate and have been watching him like a hawk since Monday - back hooves are looking great... :)
 
Ladydragon said:
My TB's feet were a disaster when he arrived - crumbling, bleeding heels, unable to keep a shoe on... He was a mess full stop so from May it was an effort to get him onto better shape... Then deal with his feet... After some advice on here I tweaked a few things early this year and I'm seeing a massive improvement...

Grass, ad lib haylage when in stable, fast fibre with Pro Hoof supplement, micronised linseed and a new farrier...

Just had new front shoes on and the farrier has left his backs off to give them chance to grow down and harden through non shod use as he's not in really heavy work... I nearly keeled over in a heap at the idea worrying they'd disintegrate and have been watching him like a hawk since Monday - back hooves are looking great... :)
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