Experiment/challenge for barefoot experts.

blitznbobs

blitznbobs

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I have a welsh A who has never had shoes on. He is now 7 years old and is for the first time in his life working (he's been a lawn ornament up until now) I have to say he's thriving on the work but his feet are not. He has white cheese like horn and my farrier (Who is all for barefoot -- my cob he refused to put shoes on!) is saying that his feet are struggling that he'll need shoes and to get enough horn to put shoes onto he'll have to have stickons first...

I'd rather he stayed barefoot but if he needs shoes he needs shoes..

So my challenge to you guys is to come up with some (NON FATTENING, NON HEATING) feed stuff that I could give to pony to avoid the shoe thing... Let's see if thisi works.. I'm prepared to throw some cash at this as anything has to be cheaper than shoes!!

BnBX
 
What is he currently fed, how much, how often?

What turn out does he have? whats the grass like? How long and when?

What work is he doing? How much? What ground?

Is he sound?

Is he the right weight?


The basic barefoot diet is high fibre, low sugar and starch.

soaked adlib hay, (within reason!)
1 mug speedibeet/ kwikbeet soaked (split between 2 feeds for a little welshie)
cal-mag supplement
Pink Powder

Additional options:
Yea-sacc, charcoal (gassy or grass belly), micronised linseed if in full work

If he is podgy but sound, get him walking over as many different surfaces as he is comfortable with, and doing road work too.

The Cheesey chalky stuff sounds like he is not doing enough on gravelly/stoney tracks and is also a bit thrushy. More work will likely sort both out.

In the meantime Scrub his feet out daily with a domestic scrubbing brush, and hand hot salt water. Then purple spray them...you will notice the difference quickly.

Why not get advice from a barefoot trimmer? Google "Barefoot South" Lucy Priory has the answer.
 
I feed my horses thunderbrook basemix, its only fed with a handful of dried grass and provides the horse with nearly 100 percent of minerals,trace elements etc that the horse needs daily. My horses look fantastic just on this, their feet(original reason for feeding this was one horse with stretched white line and one newly barefoot) look great. You can also buy a tester pack to try as a supplement before taking the plunge.
 
Marley&Me said:
What is he currently fed, how much, how often?
he has a handful of hifi lite nd a scoop of equivite.

What turn out does he have? whats the grass like? How long and when?

he's out all day and in at night... we've ot tonnes of grass but he's in a tiny paddock (to keep his weight down)What work is he doing? How much? What ground?

he's just been rebacked is riddn 'properly 2 times a week for 0 minutes and i lunge or long rein him 3 times a week. this is all on a rubber surface
Is he sound?

as a pound (always has been and i'd like to keep it that way!)
Is he the right weight?

if anything he's fat... but not as bad as he was when we bought him... he could do ith even more work but i'm borrowing a jockey atm...


The basic barefoot diet is high fibre, low sugar and starch.
soaked adlib hay, (within reason!)
1 mug speedibeet/ kwikbeet soaked (split between 2 feeds for a little welshie)
cal-mag supplement
Pink Powder

Additional options:
Yea-sacc, charcoal (gassy or grass belly), micronised linseed if in full work

If he is podgy but sound, get him walking over as many different surfaces as he is comfortable with, and doing road work too.

The Cheesey chalky stuff sounds like he is not doing enough on gravelly/stoney tracks and is also a bit thrushy. More work will likely sort both out.

In the meantime Scrub his feet out daily with a domestic scrubbing brush, and hand hot salt water. Then purple spray them...you will notice the difference quickly.

Why not get advice from a barefoot trimmer? Google "Barefoot South" Lucy Priory has the answer.
The one thing I wouldn't change is my farrier... he's absolutely brilliant at foot balancing etc... I wouldn't upset him for the world.. he's been trimming my other 2 for years and their feet are great... little one's are just so soft that he has nothing to do... there is no horn to trim...
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Hi There

The quality of his horn is linked to diet and exercise...it always is. Take him off everything but the soaked hay and pink powder/kwik beet. The hi-fi lite will do nothing for him apart from cost you money and give him a sugar rush (yes even though it is lite still has sugar and starch in it)

You could also restrict grazing further (google paddock paradise) a track system or strip grazing will get him moving more and eating less. Grazing muzzle is another option.

If you can do his long reining on stoney tracks fantastic, or perhaps lead him in hand from another horse on tracks or roads. This will make a huge difference to the amount his hooves grow. The work constantly on soft surfaces will be causing the build up of chalk and softness of hooves.

The fact that he has very little wall to trim is actually not a bad thing. He may well be virutally self trimming. Farrier should not need to do any more than roll the edges.

Lucy at Barefoot South will not expect to become your trimmer, but will be generous with adice via email and over the phone if you need it.

Get the balance of diet and exercise right and most (if not all) ponies can stay shoeless.
 
We'll give it a go... tbh the hifi lite is purely to keep him happy while the others are fed... but I'll get some pink powder...

and I'll start the tracks stuff (this is harder as I have a 2 year old child and my own horse is a nutter to hack out -- to the point where I actually wear my back protector... (which I have never done before and hate wearing)-- so wouldn't feel confident leading off him... but I'll see what I can do...
 
Hi,
Not an expert by any means, but our two have been barefoot for around a year now, so have had fun with their challenges!

Does he do any work that isn't on a surface? I would try and get him on different surfaces to stimulate his feet. If he isn't comfy enough ridden then I would lead him. If you can do it for a little time each day then so much the better.

The feed thing is tricky as no-one can know what is in your grazing. Generally a base feed plus magox is a good starting point. We used speedibeet which is good stuff, but speedibeet and most uk grazing has too much calcium in it, which throws your calcium/magnesium/phosphorus ratios out = a bit of a prob!! If you have the cash then I would get your grazing analysed and a feed plan from Forage Plus. So helpful and really interesting too! Some horses seem to manage just fine and grow great feet on a diet that is awful on paper, others really struggle on one that is only a little off so it is worth doing as your chap seems to be having problems on a regime that your others are doing fine on.

Def keep your farrier! Regardless of the name of them, someone that does a good job of trimming hooves is to be cherished!

P.S. wouldn't bother with pink powder, it's mainly expensive brewers yeast! Nice stuff to add but no need to pay so much for it!
 
That his feet are struggling a bit and the horn is poor quality...

He's never been lame *touch wood* but he's never worked before either and his feet aren't thriving on it.. and I know technically it's not the be all and end all but they do look a total mess...

BnBx
 
You could try Farriers Formula, it encourages growth it is expensive but does seem to work and replaces other supplements.
A regular scrub with Hydrogen Peroxide is useful as it disinfects and hardens.
Kevin Bacon hoof dressing seems to be a popular choice also.
 
I've found that my TB does much better if I leave his feet alone, they don't look as pretty as the book says they should but he's much more comfortable on them if I leave them be, my point is that sometimes we get hung up on how they look rather than how they function, obviously you want them too look good too but if they're doing their job and he's not lame then maybe you're worrying too much about it?

He will grow better feet in time but at the moment the farrier says they're struggling where the pony (as he's perfectly sound) says they're not and horse usually knows more about his own feet than we do. :)
 
Does the farrier know why the horse is struggling?

If he has poor quality growth, and as long as it's not due to infection, then I would say the horse needs some minerals asap.

We seem to be finding UK high in manganese and calcium but low in zinc and copper.

Copper helps metabolism and zinc promotes healing and growth (if I remember correctly).

A forage analysis would tell you what you need and then you can purchase the specific minerals (saves money as well as more efficient).

http://www.forageplus.com/

Or you could contact Trinity Consultants and speak to Roger Hatch.

I'd also stay away from alfalfa - too high in calcium.
 
If he's got white cheese-like horn, then he either has thrush or white line disease. All the diets in the world won't make that disappear. You need to treat this, first.

Does he live out? Mine both live out and the ridden one does suffer from WLD/thrush from time to time - it's just a downside of the environment. I manage with hoof boots/shoes (just hoof boots this year).
 
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