Dry brittle cracking hooves help!!

[Oscar]

It seems every summer as soon as the weather turns hot & dry my horses feet start to crumble. Our summer filed is on chalk & I think this is half the problem that it is sucking the moisture out.

I feed a supposedly fully balanced complete feed with a big dollop of wet speedi beet, and he is drinking plenty.

I've tried hoof oils, gels, vegetable oil on the hooves. I've even tried soaking his feet in buckets (he won't stand for it (literally!)).

Is there any recommended miracle hoof supplement I can use for next year, I realise it's too late for this year!

 

[dixie]

I find cornucrescine very good, horrible to apply though. My farrier really rates it too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/William-Hun...&qid=1406713542&sr=8-3&keywords=cornucrescine

 

[Honey08]

What feed brands are you using? I swooped brands of balancer this year and noticed a difference in my gelding's feet. When I swooped back they have been better.

 

[NOISYGIRL]

Put on Kevin Bacon hoof dressing

Feed Formula for Feet

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Topical treatments are a waste of time IME and most over the counter supplements and feeds aren't properly balanced for UK grass. There are others, but Pro Hoof, Pro Balance or the Forage Plus supplements are good. They will improve the quality of the new growth and you'll just have to wait for new better quality horn to grow down.

 

[JillA]

If you put anything oil based on them it will seal moisture OUT, what you need is a way to replace the moisture until it rains. If he won't stand tubbing (have you tried using a rubber skip?) NAF do a hoof moisturiser. Can't see it making a huge difference but it might help - and have you fed biotin (good quality, a lot of the ones sold these days are high percentage of filler) or methionine, the protein most used in horn production?

 

[MadisonBelle]

Are you sure it isn't the wet winter/spring that has caused it? Don't forget it takes around 6 months for a hoof to grow out. My mares feet do the same in summer but it is because of the wet months earlier in the year so I actually made them worse as like you I assumed there were dry so kept adding moisture.

My farrier told me to put her on shavings and remove the rubber I had down and this alone helped A LOT! He also recommended SILVERFEET which I got from amazon so now I "waterproof" them in the winter and touch wood the last 2 summers her feet haven't broken up.

 

[ISHdaft]

kevin bacon hoof oiln my farrier cant suggest it enough and ive also seen it work wonders myself x

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Kevin Bacon is mostly lard (and very expensive lard at that). I did have some but it really didn't do anything apart from making the hooves slightly glossy when initially applied, so I left it in the tackroom only to find that a few months later that the mice had eaten it.

Biotin alone is not enough to improve horn quality IME. The study I found about it was done in Spain. Adding copper and magnesium had more effect, hence why i recommend supplements balanced for UK grazing as they have higher copper and magnesium levels.

 

[Tnavas]

I read sometime ago, and I wish I had added the page to favourites that for a hoof to be at its optimum strength it needs a certain amount of water in it. Too much and it's too soft, too little and it's prone to cracking.

The article, written by a master farrier went on to say that oil feet in winter to keep excess moisture out and in summer to keep it in. If the feet are dry, hose them first, allow the surface water to dry off and apply oil.

Kevin Bacons hoof oil is great and Cornucrecine in the coronary band works wonders. Disgusting stuff to use but certainly makes your finger nails grow well.

 

[Polos Mum]

experiment with different feed supplements - people swear by X or Y and it's not consistent - I suspect it's because different ones balance better with different grass land. I had a horse at mine who did great on formula 4 feet for 6 years, he moved only about 6 miles away feed and work load the same - it stopped working. She swapped him to something else and his feet recovered.

I love kevin bacon - it almost certainly Is very expensive lard (my dogs scoff it if I leave it out) but I don't mind as it works for me

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Put on Kevin Bacon hoof dressing

Feed Formula for Feet

^ 5 this my boys feet had really bad chunks come out after shooing in each feet. He is on formula4feet and now kevin bacon

 

[SillySausage]

He also recommended SILVERFEET which I got from amazon so now I "waterproof" them in the winter and touch wood the last 2 summers her feet haven't broken up.

I started using Silverfeet about three weeks ago and am already seeing really good improvements!

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

50gms of micronised linseed and 40-50gms of minerals per day 365 days per year. [ pro hoof from pro earth for problem feet].
Regular exercise, regular farrier checks.
Obviously shoes are not essential for all horses, but good managememt is!

 

[flojo]

^ 5 this my boys feet had really bad chunks come out after shooing in each feet. He is on formula4feet and now kevin bacon

I use Formula4feet and Kevin Bacon dressing with both of my boys.

Of course regular attention from a good farrier is the most important thing.

 

[JillA]

Not always possible and it is a leap of faith but the one horse here who had badly cracking feet responded really well to having his shoes removed (farrier was "are you SURE?") on 24/7 turn out. The fact that they could flex and move and generate more blood supply made them more supple and stronger, and 6 weeks later when he came had to admit they were lots better. Still not brilliant (he has surface cracks caused by problems in the coronary band) but a lot better than he was.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

As a convert to barefoot, I agree natural is best. The foot is designed for use, and by shoeing we are not helping, however we may have to accept that the modern lifestyle of the horse is not natural either. We owe it to the horse to give him a happy and healthy lifestyle in return for his contribution to our lifestyle.

 

[SO1]

I am having the same issues in the summer and I think for my pony it is an issue with winter feeding and not quite getting the nutrients right as the hoof that is crumbling is 9 months old and not the new growth coming through.

I am using the kevin bacon and spoke to my farrier who said he sees a lot of this sort of hoof crumbling at this time of year. He also said the healthiest hoof is a barefoot hoof but not an option for me on the fronts. Backs are barefoot and have less problems as hooves don't have the added pressures of the nails.

I also put my pony on a balancer which he started in March and the new hoof that is growing through looks good but will have to wait till next summer to see what difference it makes. So have decided he is going to be Blue chip lami lite in the summer and then swapping to the Blue chip native in the winter as that has linseed in it and also he does not need to be dieted so much in the winter. I think that the diets are not often adjusted enough in the winter to take into consideration the difference in nutrition from grass we may feed more in terms of bulk for example hay but without considering so much the change in the balance of vitamins and minerals and what we feed in the winter has an impact now on what the hoof quality is like. Also with the winter weather varying the nutrients the horse get may not be the same each winter and the hay will vary too from year to year.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

I am having the same issues in the summer and I think for my pony it is an issue with winter feeding and not quite getting the nutrients right as the hoof that is crumbling is 9 months old and not the new growth coming through.

I am using the kevin bacon and spoke to my farrier who said he sees a lot of this sort of hoof crumbling at this time of year. He also said the healthiest hoof is a barefoot hoof but not an option for me on the fronts. Backs are barefoot and have less problems as hooves don't have the added pressures of the nails.

I also put my pony on a balancer which he started in March and the new hoof that is growing through looks good but will have to wait till next summer to see what difference it makes. So have decided he is going to be Blue chip lami lite in the summer and then swapping to the Blue chip native in the winter as that has linseed in it and also he does not need to be dieted so much in the winter. I think that the diets are not often adjusted enough in the winter to take into consideration the difference in nutrition from grass we may feed more in terms of bulk for example hay but without considering so much the change in the balance of vitamins and minerals and what we feed in the winter has an impact now on what the hoof quality is like. Also with the winter weather varying the nutrients the horse get may not be the same each winter and the hay will vary too from year to year.

It should not take a full year for hoof to grow from coronet to ground, even a sick animal will grow its feet in less than 6 months, and a healthy animal in light work and turned out should be about 3 - 4 months in my experience. I feed minerals all year round and 50gms of linseed even in summer, this helps coat, skin and hooves. Improvements are not only in hoof quality but it combats things like thrush and mud fever.
A good handful of salt every day, and more if sweating / in summer will help as not all of them take a salt lick.

 

[splashgirl45]

I started feeding formula4feet when my mares feet were breaking up a couple of summers ago and her feet really improved...

 

[Jericho]

Kevin bacon hoof dressing applied daily throughout summer has made a difference. My farrier said that the wet, then dry then wet then dry summer makes the horn contract and swell which loosens the nails and causes movement in the holes. The oil keeps a certain amount of elasticity within the horn. He also said the problem is increased if lots of roadwork and if they stamp their feet a lot because of flies...

 

[AngieandBen]

I add about a tablespoon of salt a day...........but a handful? Surely that's rather a lot? My hands are quite big

 

[Warrior_princess]

Linseed, biotin and Equimins hoof moisturiser My girls feet never break up or crack and split x

 

[Edi'sMummy]

I use Huffstable (I think that's what it's called?) on my mare's feed everyday and as soon as they seem to have dried a bit, I put more on. Her feet are very well moisturised but sometimes this may not work? I would give it a try anyway, because at least it won't make them worse. Oil is meant for shows only apparently(?), as like someone said, it will seal the moisture out if used regularly.

Also, make sure you don't push the blacksmith too far out. Our blacksmith recommended every 4 to 5 weeks and still her feet get so long that they start to split and crumble. All the horses on our yard seem to be struggling with dry feet this year so your horse's situation isn't rare. At least you have other ideas to try and if all else fails, why don't you ask for some advice from your blacksmith?

 

[fuzzle]

Agree with Tnavas and the others, also put a good dash of oil in his feed you can use veg oil from the supermarket works wonders for the coat and helps hooves!!! my Tb use to have feet that broke up all the time since putting oil in her feed i have never looked back!!! but same as everything it will take time to work, but cornucrecine will really start to help amazing stuff!! xxxx

 

[JoClark]

I use Kevin Bacon and my ISH who has TB hooves are fab. They will never be as good as the native breeds however im quite pleased. Add biotin to the feed all year to, will help.

 

[Leo Walker]

The ratio of zinc to copper is way out, and its incredibly expensive for the ingredients! Not something I'd use or want to endorse

 

[maccachic]

Feet are low on the priorty list so address your diet first - something will be missing / in excess.

Soaking feet does wonders for mine - if you can make a foot bath its easiest or soaking boots otherwise, they do get used to them.

 

[milly08]

Seaweed in feed, and premium black hoof conditioner, love the combo!!

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Seaweed in feed, and premium black hoof conditioner, love the combo!!

Seaweed is not balanced, there are proprietry mixes available