Feet supplements and boots.

[SpotsandBays]

My horse pulled a shoe again yesterday, so that meant more money! I’m thinking for next year of changing to boots instead of shoeing? He’s shod on the front from about April - Oct as his feet are pretty poor on the hard ground, so wondering if boots might be a good idea (bonus being that I can put them back on myself if he gets them off!). From the small search online that I’ve done it looks like there’s a second hand market for boots that I could buy/sell with which is a nice fallback if it doesn’t work out. I quite like the idea of having pads in them for support as we don’t have an arena to work in so he’s ridden in the field.
For those that use boots, do you just use them for exercise or do you turn out in them also? My boy is out 24/7 so I’m thinking he probably can’t have them on all the time. With that in mind, can anybody recommend any good supplements for feet? It would be great if I could have him barefoot and just boot up for exercise but I do worry. Ideally supplement form rather than full feed form as he’s fat prone ? so only gets a handful of top chop zero and a balancer! Any other thoughts would be appreciated. (Also any recommendations of type of boot and where to buy would be great! From looking it seems that boots are all different shapes so I’ll need to find a pair that suit him?)
thanks all

 

[paddi22]

if you do a search for barefoot there are tons of threads about good supplements. I had to go barefoot with one of mine and I never looked back, all mine are barefoot now. I started off with cavalier boots and then switched to scoot. I just boot up for stony tracks. there are loads fo really good threads so if you do a quick search you will find tons of good info

 

[SpotsandBays]

if you do a search for barefoot there are tons of threads about good supplements. I had to go barefoot with one of mine and I never looked back, all mine are barefoot now. I started off with cavalier boots and then switched to scoot. I just boot up for stony tracks. there are loads fo really good threads so if you do a quick search you will find tons of good info

Thanks! He was barefoot all of his life until a few years ago where I “got back into it” and obviously the workload increased. I’d love for him to be barefoot again

 

[HelenBack]

Mine is barefoot and we boot just to ride. When his shoes first came off his feet were in a bad way so I did boot for turnout sometimes at first but it sounds like you won't need to do that if your has already been barefoot a lot in the past.

I think boots are great and I love being able to use a pad in them. Mine has had some issues so hard ground isn't good for him but boots with pads make him really comfortable. If you wanted to use thicker pads then you're limited to more clumpy type boots, although loads of people get on fine with these, but you might find in your case that you'll be able to use a lower profile boot with a slim pad, which is probably better if you can.

There's loads of choice of boots and it can be a bit of trial and error as to what works for your horse and your type of hacking. The best thing is to contact somebody like Hoof Bootique or Urban Horse and they can give you advice on might work best for you. You can look on their website beforehand to get a feel for all the different types of boots there are too.

As for a hoof supplement, it probably depends on what the balancer is as that might have an added hoof supplement already. Some of them are a bit low in a few key minerals though so it really depends.

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

My youngster who has never been shod & is being ridden 3 or 4 times a week on forestry tracks is booted infront with Scoots & will soon be behind too once his other set arrive - he's started looking for the verges so booting behind as a precaution. He's barefoot unless he's being ridden.

My cob has been barefoot behind for years & had his fronts off 7 weeks ago. He's out of work all summer due to a pollen allergy. He was booted infront for a week or so 24/7 to help him adapt, hes now totally barefoot all the time & most nail holes have been trimmed out. I will boot him infront but only when ridden.

As for supplements, mine are both doing well on Formula 4 Feet, magnesium & salt. The cob is also on a track to help with movement.

I highly recommend contacting Urban horse - they've been awesome to deal with helping me to choose & fit the boots to both boys by through sending photos etc plus will always advise & answer questions after you've purchased. They're the experts when it comes to knowing what boot will fit your horses hoof profile etc & where to size up & down as some come up small & large on the size charts. Very easy & reasonable to order a fit kit to try too.

 

[I'm Dun]

Mine are all barefoot, the newest is a TB and is transitioning. He is wearing his boots for turnout, but only because he has compromised feet and needs the support of boots and pads at the moment. He will eventually only have them on for hacking on rougher ground.

He has just graduated from Cavellos which I hated, clumply, horrible things but very good for early days with compromised feet

You dont need a specific hoof supplement, just low sugar and starch diet with a decent high copper/zinc, no iron mineral balancer. I also feed a decent dose of salt. Progressive earth, equivita and forage plus all do premixed supplements

 

[lynz88]

I want to bring mine barefoot again. He was for years and then came over here and became footy (he's a TB). Also farrier put him at broken back angles and they were BAD so vet recommended shoeing and wedges. Did that and got it sorted when farrier did it again. Sorted it and farrier did it again. Fired farrier and got new farrier. Have kept him in shoes though last year pulled his backs because he was sore and farrier was struggling. Horse also struggled without shoes so back on they went. Was a real shame because the angles of his feet were the best they had been since he was barefoot many moons ago!! Still in shoes but have him on the FP Winter Skin and Hoof with the aim to bring him barefoot in the next 6 months or so. He's only been on it for the past 1.5 months so we will see. I may call on the help of turpentine if I need to but am determined to do the change. I've had enough of shoes and want less concussion on his arthritic hocks/suspensories. Plus pedal bone angles seem to be MUCH easier to manage with him barefoot with newest farrier. I don't really subscribe to the idea of "TB feet" after him being barefoot for so long in his younger years and had no issues on any surface.

PS: WHY do farriers here put so many horses broken back? I've seen it on SO many horses over here with one person on my yard extremely upset with her farrier for doing it to her horse for the 3rd time. I've never seen this problem anywhere except for over here....