Help/Suggestions needed about cracking TB hooves..

floradora09

floradora09

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My TB has what you would call 'typical TB feet'. He's shod by a very good farrier every 4-5 weeks (he cannot hold his shoes any longer than this!), and I feed him NAF biotin. I'm having a terrible time with his feet, they always, always crack where the nails are, and when he does anything like go xc or be out in the field in the summer on our baked clay ground, the hoof wall around the bottom just breaks and then the clenches come up, shoe gets loose etc and so goes the cycle! Last summer I used Kevin Bacon's liquid hoof dressing, which did help a bit I seem to remember, but there wasn't a lot I could do to prevent the cracking.

I'm really wondering if there is anything else I can do to help the situation, or do I just resign myself to the fact that he'll always have rubbish feet? I did wonder about Keratex hoof hardener, but people didn't really seem to rate it, neither does my farrier (he just says it makes the hoof even more brittle)... also I think I read somewhere that biotin doesn't improve the quality of the feet, but makes them grow faster.. can this be right?

Many thanks to anyone who can help! :D
 
I've got two TBs - one has quite good feet, but my older one always used to have crap feet. I tried all the really expensive supplements, but they didn't really help. The best one I tried was NAF seaweed - you could see the new growth moving down the hoof, it really is amazing. My farrier rates NAF Pro feet, so I'm currently trying that, but haven't been on it long enough to know yet whether it's making a difference......
 
Thanks Holly, do you think the seaweed was better than the biotin then? I did have him on Pro feet, but my farrier reckoned they all did a similar thing and for the price difference I swapped back to biotin..
 
I have tried 3 different hoof dressings on my TB's feet:

1. Gold colour round tub with green lid (cannot remember the make). Looks like vaseline- 7 out of 10 marks as it has not caused cracks but is not as good as No. 3

2. A very popular make in a red tin with black writing and a black brush in the lid. 2 out of 10 marks as it caused cracks on my tb.

3. Bacons - Fantastic 10 out of 10.

But that is what suits mine but it may not suit yours.
 
floradora09 said:
Thanks Holly, do you think the seaweed was better than the biotin then? I did have him on Pro feet, but my farrier reckoned they all did a similar thing and for the price difference I swapped back to biotin..
Click to expand...

Hi Flora.
Yes, I think the seaweed was far better - I would never use biotin again after using the seaweed. The hoof does get the lines starting to come down after a couple of months, but as long as you're not doing any high level showing it shouldn't matter. It's cheap as well. I don't really know why I'm using the Profeet. Only because my farrier told me he had seen some good results with it...if the feet get bad again, I'll definitely go back to the seaweed. Good luck with them!
 
Hi. My TB also had v bad feet when I had him. The hind feet were so bad that I took his shoes off for the winter two years ago and this really helped and he coped brilliantly.

His front feet were also always a problem but we have had really good improvement over the last 18 months. I scrub his feet on days when I bring him in to ride (he lives out), which is usually 3/4 days per week. Once clean I use a tooth brush and mix a 50/50 solution of water and baby sterlising fluid into the holes. I was once told that a lot of cracking problems can be down to bacteria breaking down the hoof wall and this was suggested to kill the bacteria. Once dry, I rub in by hand cornucrescine paying particular attention to rubbing the coronet band vigorously (v messy but worth it). He is also fed seaweed in his diet and ordinary biotin (not an expensive supplement, tried these no good). His feet have really improved and although we get some cracking he manages to keep his shoes on for six week farrier visits.
 
At his worst our tb held shoes for 3 days max! we fed/ rubbed on/ sprayed every substance known to man to help but the hoof grew down healthy then broke up from about half way down around his hoof. special hoof disinfectant really helped but the biggest difference was taking him to a remedial farrier who shod him very short. his feet had been normal but the new farrier reckoned that his toes could be shortened to change the angle of the hoof fibres and stop them splaying and splitting, making the hoof stronger. we had 9 weeks from the last set.
 
Both myself and my farrier firmly believe its more about what they eat than what makes them look 'pretty' from the outside. ;)

I have owned my TB for 2 1/2 years and when I got him he'd not been out of training long. He kept shoes an absolute maximum of 4 weeks and literally ripped his hooves to shreds if he pulled one off. They were so bad at one point that we looked at glueing a set on. I experimented with biotin, farrier told me not to bother - 'just get some decent grub down his neck' lol! (He gets plenty, including Baileys Stud Balancer, nuts, sugar beet and plenty of oil).

He also had all four shoes off last winter for 4 months and this did him the power of good and let all holes grow out. He's only shod in front at the moment and is shod every 8 weeks - the farrier always comments that they are still on really solidly and he could go longer. He also comments that he has the best feet of any TB he sees. I put hoof moist on every few days over the summer but do little else externally.

If you've not had him long I'd ensure he continues to get a good balanced diet with plenty of oil an give them chance to grow. If you get the opportunity it would definitely be worth a spell barefoot to let them grow out. :D
 
I'm really surprised to hear your farrier doesn't rate Keratex?! My farrier swears by it, it was he that recommended it to me. I have a TBX and she suffers with her feet in the summer in a similar way (we have Essex clay which is a nightmare). When I see a crack appearing I slap on the Keratex and off we go, no probelmo. (I have even put it on in the weeks before a comp to ensure her feet are strong and ready, just in case!)
And I am sure you already know this, but remember that whatever you feed will take at least 3 months to effect the hoof growth.
 
My tb has been on profeet for 3 months now and you can see the growth line from where I started using it - the horn above the line is denser and stronger looking. I guess only time will tell what happens when the new horn grows down enough to nail into......

I have used keving bacon dressing and not noticed much difference, but did notice faster growth with cornucrescine. I'm about to have her shoes taken off for 6 weeks seeing as she isn't in work at the moment, my old farrier advised me to do this at least once a year if possible to allow the nail holes to grow out. I'm also going to try disinfecting the nail holes as I think this may be where some of the problem lies.
 
I had the same problem with my TB, the best thing I ever did, with my farriers encouragement was take his shoes off. The first few weeks were sore and hard for me. I chose to leave them off a year and give a year off too. His feet improved massively.
He had them put back on in September last year. Farrier came yesterday and is still really pleased with them. He'll have his backs off next time and then maybe a break from all in winter this year again. It really helps to give them a break and grow some solid foot again.
 
My TB's feet were cracking and I used Keratex and it sorted it out within a few days! Just dab a bit on every now and then when I see a liitle crack starting and it's never a problem. I don't use any hoof supplements either.
 
Havent sifted through all the replies but MILs horse used to lose shoes like it was going out of fashion, we put him on NAF pro feet liquid for a few months and then moved to the powder and it made a massive difference - this coupled with using Kevin Bacon in the summer and effol in the winter (his feet really absorbed water so the effol acts as a barrier according to our farrier).

I cant remember the last time he lost a shoe... :)
 
I found regular cleaning of the nail holes helps with my old TB and my current. I use either keratex nail hole disinfectant or dilute hydrogen peroxide as the holes are a good place for bacteria and fungi to thrive and these breakdown the hoof wall.

If you are going to feed Biotin, you also need to feed..... oh lord I have forgotten it now, as you need to keep the hindgut balanced to help the bacteria break the biotin down so the horse can absorb it. Biotin is not absorbed naturally by the gut, so you need to ensure that the hindgut is balanced.

Another thing, that I notice has been mentioned is that the trim is also important. I discovered that many TB's feet grow long rather than down, so you need to insist with the farrier to keep the toes short. This ensures that the correct angles are maintained and the hoof capsule is not compromised by shear forces.
 
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Thanks for the replies everyone, it might be a case of being very persistent with the Bacon's and put it on everyday for a while. Might try the nail hole disinfectant. I'm sure it'd do him a world of good if I could get his shoes off, but I'm not convinced now is the time to do it, a busy summer planned- and on the hard ground I would expect his feet might just break up. Thanks :) xx
 
I have a warmblood with brittle feet, I now have him on Feedmark Hardy Hoof formula. I also use keratex but apply every other day - there's no point waiting for a crack to appear before applying it, prevention is better than cure!
 
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