Hardening soft soles??

[tonitot]

Hi all, my mare had very soft soles on all four feet. I’ve just had to retire her (at the age of 12 ) and she will moving from the yard she is at to one where she can be turned out through winter (in at night but current yard has no turnout at all through winter) The lady who owns the new yard only has her two horses there and understandably isn’t keen on my horse wearing back shoes, she hasn’t got them on currently but the farrier commented on how she was probably a bit foot sore behind when he came to do her the other day.
I’m very reluctant to put back shoes on her, she’s not a nasty horse and doesn’t generally kick others but you never know what can happen and I don’t want to risk the lady’s horses, plus now she’s retired she’ll just be in the field anyway so she doesn’t need them for work. I will keep front shoes on her as she is so flat footed that she would just be crippled especially in the summer but I’m not sure what I can do with her back feet.
She won’t be spending any time on concrete, the field is just outside the stables and it’s just mud between them.
Are there any products I can use to harden the soles of her feet or anything I can feed her that will help? I’ve never had to worry about it as I’ve just kept her shod all round until recently so any help will be greatly appreciated

 

[Landcruiser]

Hoof health comes from within and from the environment, and also from the hoof being able to function correctly. Cut out any sugar or starch in the diet, feed plenty of good forage, add a broad spectrum mineral balancer such as Pro Earth. I would take all the shoes off given the environment your horse will be living in, and allow the hooves to sort themselves out.
You will probably be advised to paint Keratex hoof hardener on - please don't. It contains formaldehyde, not something I'd want on any part of any living creature - and the hoof should be able to flex, not be like a hard block of wood anyway. There are products such as field paste (Red Horse products) that protect against thrush and are very helpful in filling nicks and cracks, such as nail holes.
There are some good groups on FB such as this one: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BarefootApproach2WholeHorseHealth/
Your farrier doesn't sound very barefoot friendly - it's probably worth looking around for a barefoot trimmer or a different farrier.

 

[Mule]

Keratex is good.

 

[tonitot]

Thanks Landcruiser, in regards to her diet I think it’s pretty sugar and starch free already, she is fed Top Chop Zero, speedibeet and coolstance copra with baileys fibre nuggets in her treat ball. Let me know if I’m wrong though, I’m not all that clues up on feed. I will look into the mineral balancer and I’ll definitely join that group on Facebook.
I understand what you’re saying about taking all her shoes off and I’d love to do that but I know when the ground is hard she will be so sore. I turned her out for a year a couple of years ago and took all the shoes off and she got incredibly sore, her feet didn’t seem to sort themselves out at all. It’s soemthing I’m reluctant to do as I hated seeing her so sore.
My farrier is very good, to be honest I have no idea how barefoot friendly he is but he has done wonders for her feet since he’s been doing her and I’ve had vets comment on how well shod she is.
I’m not saying a flat out no to taking her front shoes off, i would just need a lot of convincing to go ahead with it!

 

[Landcruiser]

A quick google reveals that the Baileys nuggets are 8% sugar :-(
Well shod is great. But healthy functional barefoot is quite another - I wouldn't be convinced by that farrier, because if your horse has soft soles the hoof health isn't there, putting a shoe on, however well, isn't actually addressing the problem, merely masking it.
Can you tell us why the horse is retired at 12?

 

[JillA]

Mine was similar (thin rather than soft) and it was a multi pronged approach - diet including mineral balancing and amino acids (Forageplus are a great source of information as Sarah is also an EP), Keratex to begin with then stimulation with boots and pads.

And sacking a farrier who would insist on trimming soles in favour of a good trimmer (no shoes under any circumstances, especially as she is out of work) and in between tidying them up myself - it's no good if the walls are too long so the soles never make contact with the ground, they never get stimulated to regrow better tissue.

Mine is so much better, he strides over the planings on the yard and on concrete his feet sound like metal they are so hard.

 

[PoniesRock]

Iodine is great for hardening the souls of their feet. I’d spray them every day for a week and then 2/3 times a week.

 

[tonitot]

Ah thank you for that Landcruiser. I'm pretty much out of the nuggets now anyway so do you have any recommendations for what I could replace them with? They're just treats to keep her occupied while she's stuck in. Is the rest of her diet okay though?
She has been retired because a few months ago we found out that she has arthritis in her neck, kissing spines and arthritis in both her hocks. This was all treated with steroid injections and she was brought back into work very slowly and then went lame in front (though I believe this lameness has been going on for a lot longer, just been masked by the other problems and then come back again when brought back into work). After seeing the vet and having X-rays it was found that she has navicular in her off fore. She had stopped enjoying her work and just wasn't happy and I don't have the money to keep injecting all the areas she needs doing so I've decided to retire her. She hasn't been happy in her work for a long time now and I'd rather just retire her, I don't need to ride her and she's a horse who is happy being out of work when she is out with friends as she will be. She will stay with me until her last day.
She is still getting over the lameness which is why I don't want to take her shoes off just yet, I want to be able to know if she is still lame or not without the possibility of her just being foot sore. I think I will take them off in the near future, just not quite yet. Is there anywhere I could look for a list of barefoot trimmers in my area? I've not heard of any around here (Newmarket/Soham) and is there anything else I can do in the mean time?

JillA, thank you, I will look them up. I don't think I would trust myself to touch her feet myself, I'd be too worried that I'd mess it all up!

 

[tonitot]

Iodine is great for hardening the souls of their feet. I’d spray them every day for a week and then 2/3 times a week.

Thank you, I had forgotten about iodine!

 

[Goldenstar]

Sometimes I use iodine but the best thing is Keratex .
I would also look at trying the horse on forage plus performance balancer this helped Fatties thin soles enormously but that’s a long term thing .
I would go for and get the soles off but be aware you may need to severely limit turnout if the ground freezes hard especially if it’s abit poached.
Years on Fatty still struggles on frozen ground

 

[Landcruiser]

https://thunderbrook.co.uk/shop/equine-feeds-balancers/meadow-nuts/
Thunderbrooks feeds are great if you can get them - organic, with no added sugars or preservatives. I've noticed a huge difference in the rock crunching ability of my boy since feeding this exclusively - I feed the chaff as a carrier for his minerals, with a small handful of the muesli because I'm soft. I had him on Top Spec Zero before...
I understand your reluctance to take off your mare's shoes while she is lame -- but have you considered that she may be lame because of the shoes?
https://www.nelipotcottage.com/keep...YoHO4e5guWjtPLnWKwAZmCpdhnFxtSVx-GSbHu2Yty4i8

 

[Landcruiser]

It's also a fact that wearing shoes increases concussion on the leg and joints considerably, as well as altering the flight due to the weight. Shoes make the feet into rigid blocks, rather than shock absorbers. Think clogs v trainers. This will only increase the problems of arthritis and DJD. It is also a fact that steroid injections can cause inflamation and even laminitis in the feet. "Navicular" isn't really seen in well managed barefoot horses.
https://barehoofcare.com/index.php/home-on-the-range/lameness-rehab/navicular-syndrome/

Sorry for all the links OP - but these articles explain things better than I can. It's just that a 12 yr old mare, written off with joint and foot problems, seems to me to be worth a punt on going barefoot - what do you have to lose? The conventional (shod/steroids etc)route hasn't done her any favours...

 

[ycbm]

Agree with the Keratex, but the hoof hardener is mainly effective because it is 8% formaldehyde. You can buy 500ml of 30% formaldehyde on eBay, water it down by very nearly three times its own volume, and bingo you have two litres of it for less than half the price of 500 ml of Keratex.

I used it for a week before I took new TBs shoes off and he hasn't taken a sore step. He had also been on a zero added sugar diet for a month previous. Before I bought him, the owners warned me he would be crippled without shoes.

 

[Gloi]

Can you take photos of her feet, seeing the shape of them and the heels and frogs may help to see where the problem may be stemming from and what can be done to help.

 

[tonitot]

I can get thunderbrooks at my local feed shop and I’m sure they do some kind of nut/cube that can go in her ball. I’ve heard a lot of good things about them so will definitely look into changing her onto it. I’m not overly keen on the TopChop Zero to be honest and my mare doesn’t seem too chuffed with it though she does eat it so will probably change that anyway.
I don’t think it’s the shoes causing her lameness. I’ve owned her for 9 years and she’s been shod the whole time (near enough) and I’ve never had her lame before. Also, the injections have worked, her whole way of going when she came back into work improved massively. She was very tight and uncomfortable before, reluctant to stretch down and wouldn’t bend to the left at all. After the injections she was stretching, bending and actually tracking up while swinging over her back, I was sure she was well on track to getting better. Then she went lame just from being in the school, gave her some time off and brought her back, then after a week she was lame again which is when I got the vet out.
The right front leg lameness has been going on for a while now but I was told by many people that she wasn’t lame, it’s just because she was tense. I wish I had got her looked at a long time ago but I believed the people around me and thought I was just worrying about nothing. Thing is she hadn't been happy in her work for a long time until she had the injections and I’d already decided that when they stop working I’d retire her because I can’t afford to have it all injected again. Just happened that she now hasn’t another problem and I don’t think it’s fair to try and keep her in work when she’s happy doing nothing out with friends and I have plenty of horses to ride (I work in racing and have friends ponies to ride)

Back to her feet, for now I want to keep the front shoes on so it’s easier for me to see if she’s lame or not. She had one front shoe taken off for her X-rays and was incredibly sore on it for two days until the farrier put the shoe back on, she then instantly came out of her stable feeling fine. What I would like to do is change her diet and manage her back feet as if she were barefoot (as they have no shoes on) and see how they get on before I try with the fronts.
I’m probably just worrying about her far too much but it breaks my heart to see her in pain and I’d hate her to be in pain because I’ve had her shoes taken off

 

[tonitot]

Can you take photos of her feet, seeing the shape of them and the heels and frogs may help to see where the problem may be stemming from and what can be done to help.

I can do that, I’m going up there shortly so will see if I can get any decent ones though it may be dark by then

 

[pippixox]

I have an almost 21 yo who has had arthritis for years (he raced until 8yo) he had full set of shoes always but would lose them and front feet very flat. At 19 when he retired due to an illness (brain abscess which he thankfully recovered from) but also as even as a light hack he was stiff and regularly a little bit lame. He was sore after being shod and I decided to find a podiatrist and try to go barefoot. Yes, he was a bit sore for a while, especially on hard ground, but I cut sugary food and put him on a track (he was never obese but would get a grass belly and his 2 mates needed to lose weight), a year and a half later he can now trot in from the field sound on hard ground. Took 6 months to start seeing clear improvement. But he wasn’t constantly sore before that. I put it off as like you in the past he briefly had shoes off (either when lost or once for long box rest) and he was so sore. But it was the best decision I’ve made for him.

I looked up registered equine podiatrists. They do more than trim, mine always walks up and assesses them.

As someone else said- what have you got to lose? There are numerous cases of horses who have improved bare foot. But yes, there is a transition period.

 

[tonitot]

Thanks Pippi, it’s the transisiton period that concerns me, I’m too soft and can’t stand her being in pain. Where did you find the podiatrists? I haven’t gotten round to googling yet.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

As an alternative to shoes have a look at Hoof Armour. It's a product which is painted on the underside of the foot to protect thin soles and is fully flexible so the foot moves naturally. Each appplication lasts around three weeks although if you aren't on rough ground it might last longer. My BF farrier has had some very good results with it.

 

[splashgirl45]

if she is sore on her hinds you will do no good taking the fronts off as well. i would get her feed sorted out and get her moved to the other yard where she can be out in the field and her hinds should gradually be ok especially if you use some sort of hardener, keratex is very good but very expensive. once her hinds are ok you could then think about taking fronts off but bear in mind that frozen grounds may not be the time to remove shoes....good luck and remember to keep listening to your horse (as you are at the moment)to decide when to take shoes off. its lovely to hear of someone who is retiring a 12 year old and is willing to take the trouble keep her comfortable.., you must love her.

 

[pippixox]

Epauk.org has a map I think.

Completely understand Op. I nearly chickened out and there were some days he was sore. But he also had padded boots to wear for up to 12 hours to start and it was so worth it. I’m not saying barefoot is a miracle answer for everything, but the more you look into it, the more it makes sense. Especially with horses who have soundness issues.

Also not just as a money saver for horses who are retired, but as part of a hole life style change for a better retirement. I also went barefoot with my ridden mare, and with farrier she was still footy on stones, but since being careful with feed and using a track and using podiatrist she is brilliant on all terrain. I’m sure not all farrier are bad- but some seem to trim same amount each time regardless, rather than really assessing how much needs to come off. She used to go footy when farrier trimmed and never has with podiatrist.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Little ex racehorse had dire feet. I started in preparation for him going out shoeless (long before I owned him!) applying hoof hardener alternating with a eucalyptus based conditioner. I also put a scoop of plain cheap biotin in his feed and he’s now been turned out since mid December with no trouble at all, I expected him to be sore but *touch wood* it all seems to be working.
I think it’s time with feet though, it’s never a quick fix

 

[claret09]

a couple of the girls on our yard are using Eucalyptus oil and that has really helped their horses hoof quality. I personally am using sunflower oil - my boy has excellent feet but it does seem to have helped even his - he has suffered from no cracks or breakages since using it regularly, you could try either.

 

[Hazkirbo]

Like others have said diet is the most important things. In regards to low sugar treats, Harley loves crunchits!

I’ve had good results with red horse field paste (I watered it down and apply it, and do a deep cleanse once a week) and stronghorn. I used these as my horse was footsore on rocky surfaces after moving yards and not being used to them, seemed to help the process loads!x