Hoof issues - abscesses

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Emsierose

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Hi All

I'm hoping you guys might have some advice on what is the best way forward for my mare.

She has always had poor quality feet (weak, crumbly, etc.) despite being on supplements, etc. She has been barefoot for around three years (previously had fronts on).

She has had a couple of abscesses over the last three years or so and has had one recently. It has been drained, she's now sound and comfortable (happy running around the field while I cringe at the thought of it wearing out the bandage!) and we're currently waiting for the hoof to grow out before removing the bandage fully (she's on a dry dressing with tons of duck tape for turnout)

The vet suspects the reason for the reoccurrence of the abscess is an underlying keratoma, causing her soles to be particularly soft and crumbly. She doesn't think that anymore needs to be done to the keratoma itself, and the horse is comfortable otherwise, however, we have an issue in her being prone to punctures causing abscesses.

I've been looking at various hoof boots but am unsure on the best way forward for a horse on full turnout - most seem marketed for occasional use. She lives out 24/7 in the summer, and is stabled overnight in the winter. I've also had a look at various fillers that can protect the sole, particularly Vettec Sole Guard which can be applied to barefoot horses. But as she can suffer from broken, crumbly feet in the summer, this may not hold effectively. So I have also considered putting fronts back on and using a filler with them.

Sorry if this post is rambly, I'm a bit overwhelmed by it all! I was just wondering if anyone had any advice/experience with similar issues/products.

Many thanks in advance!
 
I've had my horse out in a shires poultice boot for a couple of weeks at a time over a nappy when recovering from an abscess with no problem ( removing it every day and checking/changing nappy).

What supplement do you give and what do you feed out of interest.
 
Not all supplements are complete maybe do an as fed analysis and see what levels you are getting? Also look at hoof balance my guy had quite a few abscesses while we were sorting out his hoof balance issues once these were better abscesses stopped occurring.
 
Thanks I had seen them but did wonder how well they could move around in them, as looked quite bulky?

It's long term prevention I'm concerned about really..

Regarding feed. She's currently on Dengie Healthy Hooves and Alfa Beet with Blue Chip Original. The vet and farrier both aren't particularly impressed by supplements in general, and came to the conclusion that she has poor hoof conformation, so she isn't currently on a specific supplement as the HH and BC had most of the general ingredients in them. Maybe I should try one on top of those again..
 
Try adding some extra zinc and copper to your feeding regime. Can't find an analysis for Blue Chip, so don't know what the levels are, but they are quite low in several other balancers and there is some evidence that low zinc and copper are implicated in persistant abcessing. You can buy the straight minerals from Pro Earth on ebay, they're cheap and last for ages, have a google, there's quite a lot of info available, might be worth a try. :)
 
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I always recommend pro hoof [pro earth] , Ebay, for a horse with problems, it is balanced and good quality. In my opinion one can only work out your exact requirements if
1] all food is analysed
2] you can be sure the recommended daily amounts are correct
3] Your horse has normal physiology
Micronised linseed as well.
I am sure there are some turnout boots, can t remember what they are called.
http://www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk/C/Hoof_Boots_Hoofeeze-(1157).aspx I am not sure if these are the only ones.
 
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If you're looking for boots that you can use for turnout, I can recommend the Equine Fusion boots. I've had my boy out in deep mud and they didn't come off, although he did come in looking like he was wearing footballs on the end of his legs. The only drawback is that when it's wet and muddy his feet were very wet too, but they'd be like that without the boots anyway. I wouldn't have got through his transition from shod to barefoot without these boots and I still use them when he's a bit footsore.
 
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