Hoof people! Dangersigns in tb's hooves in boggy field

paddi22

paddi22

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 December 2010
Messages
6,426
Visit site
Due to injury my tb has to be turned out over winter. The field he is going in quite boggy and there seems to be a marshy section they spend all day walking round.

He has been out a week and his hooves have gone fairly soft already. I had hassle during the summer when the bad rain came that his hoof 'spread' and he was sore on it. He will be unshod over the winter, and I was thinking of using

• Feed with biotin to help dietwise
• Keratex hoof hardener
• Keratex hoof gel
• Hoof to heel cream to stop mudrash if possible.

I am fairly clueless about hoof quality so if there anything I should be looking out for in particular? Also is there any other things people could recommend from their experience?

Should every horse be able to cope on boggyish land or do some not have the hoof strength for it? Thanks for any advice.
 
Personally I wouldn't touch Keratex - hoof strength comes from the inside, not the outside. If you want to put something on the sole and frog which prevents thrush, Field Paste by Red Horse products is excellent. As for feed, you need a high fibre, low starch feed, something like Fast Fibre (my TB won't touch Fast fibre - it depends how fussy they are). I actually feed Pure Easy by Pure Feeds. Micronised linseed is excellent for getting and keeping the weight on and is good for hooves.
 
From all I have read over the last few months as I have transitioned my mare to barefoot you really need to think of building the hoof from the inside rather than applying ointments to the outside. Are you feeding him supplements to assist his hooves? Micronised Linseed would be a starting point.....


Wait for Oberon or CPTrayes who will be along soon no doubt. They are the hoof gurus.

Cross posted with HH!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
How long would the feed take to affect the hoof quality? In the meantime would keratex products help out? The gel is supposed to stop water penetrating as much, so i thought it might give him a helping hand

Ont he first few days his hooves just felt swollen with water and had a bit of heat. Now they seem better, the farrier had been due to come and remove his shoes when he first went out, but got delayed by a few days. In the meantime two of the shoes came off, and they were a fairly new set and he always held shoes well.

but I am always fascinated by the hoof gurus here and how they spot issues. I would like to be on the ball and avoid any serious issues because of my ignorance. Is there any danger signs of hooves getting too soft?

What are the worst things that could happen due to the bogginess? What do I watch for?

I will definitely take your advice about the pure feed company and the oils, thanks!
 
I have seen a difference in my mares hooves since feeding a 'correct diet' since June/July so it has been a few months. Have you got some pictures you can post as that will help them advise further?

ObbbbbEEERROnnnnnn? Where are you? :)
 
I don't really know how long it will take for the feed to have an effect. I started mine on her high fibre, low starch, low sugar feeds and minerals about six weeks before her shoes came off. If you get the linseed you need to get the micronised stuff - it looks like a brown coarse powder and you can get it from Charnwood Milling by mail order - a sack lasts forever!

The wet ground in itself shouldn't really cause too many problems. The main problem will be thrush, and of course mud fever affecting the lower legs . When I bring mine off a wet field, I always towel her feet off and let her stand for 10 minutes for her feet to dry off properly before I take her out hacking.

Oberon, Tiger Tail and CPTrayes are probably the best members on here to give barefoot advice.......
 
Thats what i'l do. I'l take some pics tomorrow and post them up. I'd be really interested in learning about correct hoof quality and the signs of healthiness
 
A balanced diet is the key don't add supplements willy nilly you will cause unbalances in other supplements as they interact with each other.

Do an as fed analysis and balance your diet, don't rely on marketing of so called complete suplements it purely depends on what you are feeding as to what one you need.
 
I had emailed the pure feed company a while ago, I had liked the look of pure balance. but as i couldn't find a stockist in ireland I just put it on the backburner.

Would the general consensus be that 'pure balance' plus micronised linseed would be the best feed option. and knock off the biotin?
 
paddi22 said:
I had emailed the pure feed company a while ago, I had liked the look of pure balance. but as i couldn't find a stockist in ireland I just put it on the backburner.

Would the general consensus be that 'pure balance' plus micronised linseed would be the best feed option. and knock off the biotin?
Click to expand...

I think you'll get the opinion that Fast Fibre is the best barefoot feed and it's probably right. If my horse would eat Fast Fibre (fussy eating TB mare!) I would feed it to her any day of the week - it's also much much cheaper than Pure Feeds. I also feed Pro Hoof from a seller called Progressive Earth on ebay.
 
There's biotin in linseed ;)

"Flaxseeds also contain several of the B vitamins, including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, B-6 and folic acid, which help the body break down and convert food to energy. Flaxseeds contain a form of vitamin E known to protect cells from damage caused by oxidation and to promote the excretion of sodium in the urine"

My horse lives out - in a quite dry field, relative to others around me - but he likes the wet bits, and does spend a lot of time wading around eating the particularly juicy grass that seems to grow partly submerged :rolleyes:

I have found the linseed has improved the appearance of the hoof walls... but I did read recently that no matter what you do to the hoof (dry it out, soak it etc.) the moisture content in the walls remains the same. It's the sole that's most affected by moisture, but if the horse is staying in the field for the winter that isn't as much a problem as expecting them to work over a variety of surfaces with squidgy soles :) (we have had a problem with this over the last year of record rainfall, and now if it's been particularly wet, horse wears hoof boots when working).
 
photo14_zps96806ba9.jpg

photo12_zps56f638d2.jpg

photo15_zps981b8d67.jpg

photo11_zps420203fe.jpg

photo10_zps29e2bc86.jpg

photo9_zpsbb9b2a93.jpg

photo17_zps8b67585e.jpg

photo8_zpsf934e4bd.jpg

photo7_zps0d03e99a.jpg

photo18_zps3273cdd6.jpg

photo6_zps92e257ec.jpg

photo3_zpse51a994d.jpg

photo2_zps36a01593.jpg

photo_zps474eb848.jpg
 
Hooves don't look too bad to start off with :).

Don't fret too much about the wet. There's nothing you can do about the weather and while the hooves may well appear softer, that doesn't always mean they are unhealthy.

Thrush will be your main issue from constant wet - keep on top of that.

Once you get the hooves healthy....they are pretty resilient. You can help them be healthy with diet, movement and keeping an eye on thrush. The horse will do the rest of the work for you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top