Feet! Your Help Welcomed Please!

Maesfen

Maesfen

Extremely Old Nag!
Joined
20 June 2005
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Wynnstay - the Best!
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My new pony has the most horrendous feet simply through neglect on the part of the old owners; they're being seen by my farrier this week but I'd welcome any suggestions as to how I can help them to improve as you seem to know about all the new fangled things on the markets. The quality of the hoof and wall appear to be good and she's in good health other than these feet.
She'll be a good doer so I don't want to go stuffing her full of goodies (she's IDxTB x Connemara about 15 hands) and will be started from scratch with miles of long reining once the feet are up to it so no rocket fuel please else I won't be able to keep up!
My immediate thought was for Bailey's Lo Cal Balancer to give her everything she needs and Cornucrescine rubbed into the coronet band daily too but if you have some better ideas then I'll be very pleased to hear them. I know it's going to be almost a year before we have nice regular feet again, I can't wait just to get them tidied up, that will help a lot.
To give you some idea as to what I'm talking about -
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Ouch!! Not nice feet, poor pony!!

I think that Baileys Lo cal would not quite be good enough, as it not very high spec- a better one would be formula 4 feet - just for 6 months or so until new horn has grown down ( I think with my mare I saw a vast improvement in just 3 months) agree with the cornucresciene. Has she got any thrush/white line disease on the inside? If so would hibiscrub frogs weekly and weekly put some hoof disinfectant along the outer rims of the sole.

With regards to long-reining, I wouldnt risk it until those cracks have grown right out, I would keep her quiet as much as possible (but ask your vet on that one). With a good foot supplement, it shouldnt take too long for the cracks to grow out.
 
Hi, I would go with your ideas. Do the cracks go up into the coronet band? Hopefully not, one of mine cracked a back foot, it looked quite like the last pic but further round the side (he must have stood on a flint). My farrier put a shoe on it and stapled down the crack to hold it firm so that it didn't go right up into the coronet band. We were very lucky the staples held and it grew out, you would never know he had damaged it. It might be worth shoeing her to add support.
 
I know you said her feet were bad but!...

Farrier told me best thing to put on feet is good ol cod liver oil for surface cracks. As D had a couple of them & he said the feet were dry. I was putting effol on daily & his words were "Dear & shite!" Think they look worse for the lenght of them. When your chap sets to on thm he will do a grand job as farrier here was really impressed with how balanced D's hooves were!
 
oh dear... they do look like typical ID feet been left unattended! Ron's were a bit like that when I got him.

the cornucrescine supplement is a good one, and it's a reasonably all round supplement as well. and its pelleted like farrier's formula so it's dead easy to feed.

CLO onto the feet is a good old fashioned remedy that my farrier recommended too.

sure they'll look better once the farrier has been too!
 
No, not quite up to the coronet band except for a surface crack which will heal easily once they are nourished a bit more.

Thanks everyone for your replies. It seems F4 feet gets the vote from most of you but nice to know that good old CLO is still used too.

I'm going to try to remember to take pic's monthly to keep a diary of her feet, should be interesting to get time lines for growth as they are so dire!
 
I know you said her feet were bad - but I didn't expect that
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! I'm sure a visit from the farrier will make them look better almost immediately!!
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Try giving the Formula 4 Feet people a call - they will send you a trial sample so you can see if she will eat it before you buy.

I feed it to mine and get the large sack which lasts 3 months - it has everything in it as far as vits and minerals are concerned. You can always feed Happy Hoof as chaff for extra goodies to help her feet grow. Other than that cornucresine.
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I know you said her feet were bad but!...

Farrier told me best thing to put on feet is good ol cod liver oil for surface cracks. As D had a couple of them & he said the feet were dry. I was putting effol on daily & his words were "Dear & shite!" Think they look worse for the lenght of them. When your chap sets to on thm he will do a grand job as farrier here was really impressed with how balanced D's hooves were!

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I didn't like to excagerate, lol! Yes, if they weren't so flat and broken, they're not actually bad feet.
I'll tell Charlie, he'll be pleased about that!
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Have you moved lock stock & barrel now?
 
they are rather bad aren't they.

I have had better results with naf profeet than F4F. but I think they are maybe all different. The powder smells a bit like curry and isn't liked except in a feed. But I use the liquid to cover a handful of pony nuts and that goes down just fine.

I changed to F4F for ease of feeding but after a few months they looked a bit rubbish again.

On feet I am alternating naf hoof rub and cornucrescine. TheFarrier always recommends hoof heal.
I have had rubbish results with effol and kevin bacon.
 
When you said they were bad, I didn't think they were going to be that bad! I think just one trim will improve them dramatically.
before adding expensive supplements you need to ensure a diet with a good vit/min element.
You certainly do not want to give Biotin with either of rhe farrier formulas, and long reigning is a good idea, as exercie helps boost the growth and the blood flow which will encourage a better quality hoof growth. needless to say, I would go with what your farrier suggests when he comes.
 
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Try good old Geletine powder from the supermarket they sell them in sachets give one a week. Good luck

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Ps you obviously feed this! Oh and try goose fat to put on all over the foot/hoof.
 
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[ QUOTE ]
I know you said her feet were bad but!...

Farrier told me best thing to put on feet is good ol cod liver oil for surface cracks. As D had a couple of them & he said the feet were dry. I was putting effol on daily & his words were "Dear & shite!" Think they look worse for the lenght of them. When your chap sets to on thm he will do a grand job as farrier here was really impressed with how balanced D's hooves were!

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I didn't like to excagerate, lol! Yes, if they weren't so flat and broken, they're not actually bad feet.
I'll tell Charlie, he'll be pleased about that!
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Have you moved lock stock & barrel now?

[/ QUOTE ]

Kind of! D is being a star there! Robert is away for another week in 39 degrees!
Today we were just coming back up the quite country lane to the stud when we could hear this boy racer coming. B placed himself out further in the road so racer would see us (coming over a blind hill, we were halfway down) & racer saw us but didn't slow at first!
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(was on his mobile) then applied brakes a bit which didn't help much. Then really applied them started to screach & skid. Front 2 spun & were for bolting (don't blame them) D never batted an eyelid & kept walking forward!
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She hasn't a care out on the roads! S & B laid into him verbally, then I walked passed he picked his darn mobile up & carried on chatting
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Ooo!!
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Horse at our yard is on Formula 4 Feet and raving about it - our farrier recommended it. He (also IDxTB but minus the connemara bit) has had terrible feet and from what I gather it's taken a long time, the right feed and a really good farrier but they're starting to come right.
 
ouch, poor pony.
umm, better than Cornucrescine is something that comes from Germany, Hainzl Hufsalbe, recommended by my trainer and i found it to buy on the web. i think it contains camphor, it definitely has something in that stimulates blood flow and therefore growth.
other than that, really good trimming asap, and keep feet dry to keep them hard and strong.
 
OK, if it were me I would take 2 courses of action - feed and dressings.

Feed wise, Formula for Feet Double Concentrate - fed with a bit of hifi lite or whatever you have, OR NAF ProFeet. Along side that, I would be dressing the feet daily with Kevin Bacon Hoof Dressing, along side Cornucrescine in the coronet band every other day or so.

As you know it will take ages to see the benefits, but when you do, you will be really pleased.
 
i would feed her seaweed and biotion and apply effol hoof cream to them lots of trimming and regularly they will come bak but they will take time!
 
good grief I can see why you didn't want to post pictures of her feet in the other post!
Agree on the formula for feet supplement but as an aside have you thought perhaps about one of the Top Spec Feed Balancers? Perhaps the leisure time one? It contains all the mins and vits she will need plus all that's needed for her feet too?
Only suggesting this as had Pidge on a foot supplement and then swapped him to Topspec as it worked out the same price but obviously gives him all his other mins and vits? He's on the comprehensive feed balancer but sister's cob who is a good doer is on the leisuretime feed balancer and it has done wonders for his feet (unusual for a cob he hasn't the best feet). Just a thought?
 
Top spec lite has less calories for good doers than leisure time and has more for the feet in it as well, that's what sunny is on at moment, not leisure time as per sis!
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OK. Looking at all the positive comments about it plus researching it a bit, I have spoken to the Formula 4 Feet people and the first tub is on the way so it will be very interesting to see how her feet react and I will keep a regular diary about them (that looks a bit saddo now written down!
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) They also said absolutely no need to feed another balancer with it as it has everything and more in it itself; if I want to add anything, something like HiFi or Healthy Hoof will be ample although I'm not as restricted as if she had been prone to lamminitis which is a relief.
So once again, I have to say thank you for all the advice on here, you've come to the rescue once again!
 
To give her feet a boost alongside the F4F I would consider Hoof Maker.

I second the Kevin Bacon Hoof dressing - it's amazing stuff!! Similar to cornucresine, but somehow better (I've noticed a difference in my own nails when using it LOL).

I'd also consider feeding Black Sunflower Seeds - I've noticed a marked improvement in B's feet since being on them for about 18months now.
 
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