horses feet getting beyond a joke now

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smiggy

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I posted a few weeks ago about my gelding with really poor feet, vets diagnosed either old lami or thrush, neither now.
He has terrible hoof walls. 6 weeks ago he had front shoes with pads and that made him much more comfortable.
a few weeks ago he looked like this
feet001.jpg


then he lost one fron shoe and farrier replaced it 2 weeks ago, farrier due tomorrow and today he came in with this

phonejune019.jpg


found the shoe and you can see all the nails intact plus a great chunk of wall attached

phonejune017.jpg


Barefoot is not an option he is really sore on the feet when he loses a shoe (not footy, lame)
He is on formula 4 feet/copper/hoof power plus and seaquim plus low sugar diet and has been for the 4 months we have had him. I know feet issues arent going to go in 5 minutes but he seems to be getting worse. Last year apparently, he was shod and sound and working hard all summer

plus my farrier just texted that he has stabbed himself at a BBQ and cant now come tomorrow and my poor boy is crippled :(
 
You need to bring another farrier in, you could try glue on shoes, as there are no nails, theres no chance of taking a chunk of hoof off, if the formula4feet dosen't seem to be working try farriers formula, worked wonders with my boy Also try stockholm hoof tar, it helps strenghen hooves.
 
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Rose hip from Feedmark works well for my horses, my old mare had terrible feet when I got her, couldn't keep shoes on. Put her on rose hip and never looked back.
 
I really sympathise. It is an absolute nightmare. My gelding has poor hooves, and I would have been crying seeing what you have found today.

Unfortunately, it does take time for supplements to start working as the hoof needs to grow down from the time you start feeding them. My gelding's hooves had been consistently improving over the last few years, but they have deteriorated again this year.

We don't have much growth this year, but kevin bacons hoof dressing twice a day seems to help. I also use farriers formula hoof disinfectant - when their hooves crack, bacteria gets in & weakens the hooves even more. The disinfectant helps to prevent this.

In terms of his soundness, I would recommend old mac boots. You cannot leave them on 24/7, but when mine couldn't keep shoes on, I would turn him out in them for half a day - just to keep him comfortable.

Good luck - it is a long road, but hopefully you'll get there.
 
Have you tried Cornucrescine? My mares feet were awful last year struggled getting shoes on her, put cornucrescine on her twice daily and her feet are fantastic even after just a couple of weeks. Best of luck, i know how worrying it can be
 
All of the above, plus I know its old school but get some cornucresin (sp) and rub into the coronet band 2xdaily this will speed up the hoof growth and improve the qualitiy of the horn, it wont hapen overnight, can you not get some old macs or similar for emergencys?
 
You need a supplement and check the feed and start now. Basic Biotin helps many (a Biotin compound that is, before anyone start shouting you neeed x y and z with biotin) It will take between 6 and 9 months before a complete and hopefully healthy hoof grows completely. Don't despair, just be patient.:D
 
Thanks guys

Did actually buy some Cornucrescine last week, will start using it.

Have used keratex and also a hoof moisturiser.

Donkeymad-he is on those supplements, has been for 4 months and is getting worse :confused:aargh!

Wouldnt be suprised if he was a fragile TB but hes a connemara and was 5 last week :(
 
def plastic glue on shoes. A couple of the guys on my yard have had to use them - similar problem, but not as serious as yours. They're pricey, but a few months allowed enough horn to grow and the foot to recover, in conjunction with the feet formulars.
 
You know, instead of using all the different supplements and hoof products etc, why not keep it simple? Speak to a nutritionist for advice, they will tell you what your horse needs in his diet to maintain decent horn quality. I have seen keratex hoof hardener work magic within days as a quick fix. I would also agree with something other than nailed on shoes- I doubt you'll get any nails into your poor boy's feet after he's done that to them :(

I really feel for you, it must be awful. Good luck!
 
Deffinately try the stick on shoes - sit down though and brace yourself for the cost.

Get your farrier to recommend someone else whilst he is unable to work.

And definately look at his diet.
 
i'm afraid i would take the shoes off and get him some boots to let the foot grow down a bit before putting shoes back on.

is he doing much work at the moment? i really think you need to sacrifice a few weeks of riding and get his feet in order.
 
Poor horse and poor you too, but before you change over your foot supplement, be aware that it takes 9months to a year for the new horn to grow down, so the horn that has broken away is in fact old horn which would have been unaffected by any nutritional changes you may have made.

I agree there is no way a farrier will be able to get nails in that foot, have you thought about maybe Mac Boots or something similar to tide him over until the foot grows?
 
I'd agree that dietary changes can take a while to show up in the feet, but you should be able to see an improvement at the top of the hoof with tighter growth if they are working. I'd echo the use of disinfecting the hoof too, I wonder if there is some sort of infection going on if they have been strong in the past? I think Right step is quite a useful one and worth a try to see if it helps.
 
Personally I would forget shoes altogether for now. He may be sore to start with but I would have all shoes off, a good trim & let his feet have a break & get some new growth on them. There is no hoof there for a shoe to go on.
Get yourself some hoof boots & give his feet a break.
Get some nutritional advice & do some barefoot research. Give him a few months & I bet they'll look a million times better!
I thought my pathetic tb would be awful without shoes but his feet are so much better now. A few weeks of footiness & he was charging around looking sounder than ever!
 
Another yeh for cornucrescin - used on my horses feet when cracked with no shoes & improved no end (also makes your nails grow stronger if you forget to use gloves !!).
 
Before you take any advice from us on topically applied products, please ask an expert. Some although they get short term results actually contain horrible substanes which will make matters worse in the long term. I agree with others who say that stuff which has broken off will have been from before the dietary changes, so hang in there, but do double check that the diet you are giving him is the best one to help it improve.

I know you have written off going without shoes, but do remember there are all manner of products which can help the transition: boots, glue-on shoes, pads etc.

Also just a note to say massaging in cornucrescine (or however that is spelt) or anything which isn't harmful to him will help the hoof to grow quicker, because the massage will increase blood flow to the hoof. Gentle exercise, (if he can cope with it), will also help speed horn growth.

Patience, cash and expertise is required, methinks. But have a big hug for now, must have been horrible to find his foot like that. xxx
 
I agree with what others have said, I don't see how a farrier will be able to get a shoe back on that hoof at the moment anyway. He may be able to rebuilt it slightly with hoof putty or simialr to help stop further damage and infection. If he is lame without shoe you may need to try putting him a hoof boot, at least while he is turned out.

This hot weather is generally playing havac with horses feet on our yard they have gone from soft and crumbling in the wetter days to competely dried out, cracking/breaking, some kind of hoof gel that mainatains the hoofs natuarl water content is good, but you have to have a good starting point first. I would try keeping the hooves as clean as possible, use a hoof disinfectant of some kind, Keeratex and farriers formula do one or Milton, baby sterilising fluid is good and wash inside and out a few time a week, similar treating seedy toe or white line disease. Then consult nutrisentist/ farrier/vet with whats best to feed, supplement the hooves and stick to it for at least 12 months, it takes a long time for hoof quality to improve as you wait for the hoove to grow new from the cornery band. Keep on eye on the feet and the weather conditions ect as you may need to change hoof oils from a hardner to a moisturiser ect to keep on top of what the current problem is.
 
Omg you poor thing! That is awful, no wonder you are upset :(

I'm afraid to say that I would def not have shoes put on feet like that :(. If he was my horse I would get the farrier out to trim him and try and make him as comfortable as poss and then I would leave him without shoes and put hoof boots on to turn out or lead over rough ground. He needs to get some blood flow to the hoof to regenerate growth and he's best able to do that walking around barefoot.

Once it's grown out and looking better I would then think about glue in shoes or normal shoes.

It may get better as the new horn grows down with the supplements ect. So sorry :( looks like your boy may need a few weeks off ridng without shoes.

Fingers crossed.
 
Thanks guys, all help and def sympahy much appreciated :)

I took him on early this year, he had come over from ireland at 2 1/2, first year he had bad thrush, summer was fine, broken and worked hard, last winter bad thrush again and where he was couldnt cope with it as they had no stabling.
My farrier said it didnt look like thrush but old lami, had the vet have a look and she agreed, we had him x rayed and there was 2 degree rotation in one pedal bone but both had a strange eroded area at the tip which an orthapedic expert said was lami related. They werent really able to give me any more help or advice tbh
His soles are so thin, I personally think that the lami stuff is rubbish, I think that the weak hoof wall and seperation has allowed the pedal bone to rotate and that the pedal bone erosion is due to concussion because of the lack of support and thin soles.
I discussed barefoot with my farrier and we decided that he would be so uncomfortable for so long, esp with summer coming and hard ground, that we would put front shoes on and leave him barefot behind. I have to say that the hinds are looking no better than the fronts which makes me worry about the benefits of leaving front shoes off. Being more uncomfortable for no gain seems not worth it really.
Did originally ask my farrier about glue on shoes but he thought normal shoes and pads would be better. Not sure even a glue on is going to work now :(
Work wise I am having a dressage lesson once a week in the school (having had the surface especially harrowed to break it up and soften it) and taking him out for a hack once a week-just walking and a bit of faster walk if soft ground available. He loves to work and gets grumpy doing nothing :(
He was supposed to be going to my dressage instructor for 2 weeks schooling while we are away next week (she has a lovely soft school) but cant see that happening now.
Am just stressing as I like to have a "diagnosis" which I dont have with him and also I have other horses to ride and would happily turn him away for however long if that would help but hes sore in the field and hes only a baby :(
 
holey smokes....that is alot of wall to come off....!
i would look at either hoof boots
or something like imprint shoes that glue on, so you can try to get the hoof wall growing down and nail holes grown out......
and if possible work him to stimulate the wall to get stronger/thicker.
 
OMG poor you and poor pony.

Formula 4 feet is a very decent suppliment, so I would keep on it. Sometimes you can feed and do everything right, but if the horse has naturally very poor horn and bad feet there's no instant magic wand treatment, as you know.

If he were mine I would keep him on the suppliments, and I'd start to think about what I could do to protect his feet for the next few months, as well as giving his feet a good moisturising every day.
All I do to moisturise my TB is hose his hooves down and after 5 minutes apply cornuscrescine intensive hoof moisture (which is a white water based cream). I do this every day after he comes in from the field, and is feet have almost no cracks this year.

If he were mine, I'd try a set of boa boots on him to start with, and you can ride him in those. Although they'll rub him if on for 24 hours a day. Is there any chance you can stable him barefoot, say during the day, and give him t/o at night with the boots on?

You also need a really good farrier now. A good one, may be able to pack the worst of the cracks and will know what the best course of action is. IMO it would not be wise to put nailed on shoes for a while.
 
I had a TB with appalling feet and I thought you might like to hear about what helped? My farier was involved in the trialling of Naf pro feet, and within two weeks on this I saw a noticeable difference. The idea is that it contains ingredients which help the liver absorb more of the foot supporting nutrients. If a horse has a good coat and healthy skin then it's receiving the building blocks of healthy horn but something is stopping them reaching the hooves (that's put in very simplistic terms)! At the same time my farrier shod him (I was lucky that he had enough foot to shoe) with racing plates, fitted absolutely flush to the wall, so he had nothing to stand on so couldn't pull his shoes off. Cornucrescine blistered him, literally, but an old fashioned vet told me to mix fish oil and iodine, and rub that into his coronet. He was brought in from about 11am until 3pm ish, when the heat was bad so he wasn't standing under the trees stamping constantly because of the flies. Keeping the feet at a constant moisture content helps, as it's the shrinking/swelling of horn tubules that can cause damage. So hosing and moisturising twice a day helped that. Like I said, all this helped me, and he never lost another shoe in the following 8 months that I had him, even when my fields were total bogs in the wet weather.
 
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