Feet breaking up

[Jellymoon]

Just taken horse’s shoes off (about 3 wks ago) and his feet have broken up very badly which I know is normal as have experienced this before with horses transition, but it seems worse! Maybe due to very dry weather we have been having.
I putting Keratex hood hardener on and using hoof boots, and he seems quite happy, but wondering if Kevin Bacon would be better? Or something else?

 

[ycbm]

Can we see some pictures?

The main reason newly unshod feet break up is because they are too long, and it's just excess hoof wall breaking away.

To the uninitiated, barefoot feet can look very short!
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[Highmileagereindeer]

Best thing for dry hooves is to stand in water! The hoof is like your fingernail, and will absorb water, the same as we do in the bath or shower.

 

[paddy555]

I think kerratex will cause even more brittleness in this situation. Soak/hose them daily to get some moisture into them

 

[lynz88]

Soak in water. Mine has had his feet breaking up lately (not too bad but more than usual) from how dry it's been. My farrier also said basic tesco brand moisturizer helps as well.

 

[Highmileagereindeer]

My old boy has developed thrush again. Out 24/7 on pasture that hasn't seen rain for over a month.

 

[ycbm]

My old boy has developed thrush again. Out 24/7 on pasture that hasn't seen rain for over a month.

I can't remenber if he's been tested for Cushings?
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[Highmileagereindeer]

He hasn't been tested for three years, but was consistently mid range for the previous four. No other symptoms, moulting like crazy, eating like a horse (!).
All information says that thrush is caused by dirt and muck. He is actively seeking out muck to stand in. Apologies for veering off piste.

 

[ycbm]

He hasn't been tested for three years, but was consistently mid range for the previous four. No other symptoms, moulting like crazy, eating like a horse (!).
All information says that thrush is caused by dirt and muck. He is actively seeking out muck to stand in. Apologies for veering off piste.

Thrush bugs are everywhere and unavoidable, like bread mould. Getting thrush when conditions suggest he shouldn't be getting it says compromised immune system to me, and that would suggest a Cushings test.
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[Hackback]

I was advised aqueous cream for dry hooves. I wasn't convinced it made any difference though.

 

[smolmaus]

I have been hosing with water or using field paste and then popping boots on for a while till it soaks in a bit. Feet are still like concrete but have to try something We had some thrush again last month as the frog was too dried out to shed properly and there were some sneaky biomes developing under half-shed flappy bits, so I also got myself a hoof knife to cut my own fingers off hopefully avoid the same during this dry spell.

 

[BurntontheoutsideTurkey]

Can we see some pictures?

The main reason newly unshod feet break up is because they are too long, and it's just excess hoof wall breaking away.

To the uninitiated, barefoot feet can look very short!
.

Agree with this - feet rarely break up if the walls are the appropriate length - and if the walls are long it's better to reduce them in a controlled way (with tools) rather than allow excessive leverage to do the job. Soaking them will probably slow the breaking-up process by making them more flexible, which is not really what's required at this stage. It all depends though so pictures (from below) would be good.