How to improve flat feet ? is it possible

[maree t]

Long story sorry ....
Bought a pony from another pony club about four months ago. proven hunter games etc just what we were looking for. He is 15 years old NPS 13hh. We looked at him on the friday, they had him reshod on the Monday before we picked him up on the Tuesday. Wednesday daughter rode him and he was lame. We thought he might have knocked something on the journey (no heat/swelling/injuries to be seen). We gave him a couple of days and still very lame. Spoke to old owners who said he has never been lame before etc.
Called farrier who said he had been cut too short and shoes didnt fit, we turned him out after he had been reshod and left him alone for 6 weeks to let his feet recover a bit. He became sound and we started very gentle work building up to faster work. He has been going very well but now is lame again. He has a white front foot that it looks like he has bruised again. He has only been trotting lately because of the hard ground but has been hooning round the field with the others.

Right now what do we do, he has very flat soles, we are worried that he keeps getting so uncomfortable, our farrier says that he can put gel under shoes for an extra £50 each time . BUT we would much prefer to help his feet long term. He is field kept on quite good grass and he is a good weight .

I would like to hear what other people have tried to improve the feet long term. Not sure that hoof boots would be any good because I am not sure he would be able to cope in the field without anything on. Is there any supplements that you would recommend ? My farrier doesnt believe any of these do any good. What about hoof dressings ?

Thanks if you got this far, just want to help him, we really are fond of the little chap.

 

[Clava]

Long term health I would be looking at removing shoes and resolving why he cannot go without shoes at the moment, horses should be able to be kept in a field without shoes or they have sick hooves indeed! Diet and management can make a huge difference to concavity. My TB barefoot mare has lovely concavity all winter , but as soon as the spring grass comes through they go splat and flat unless I manage the diet carefully.

 

[pippixox]

my boy has quite flat front feet, i wish i had taken photos 18 months back to show the improvement, I've had him for 7 years, but after moving counties and getting new farriers they have improved massively, simply by good trimming/shaping and different shoes. (makes me sound like a bad owner, but i tended to always trust farriers but think farriers I've had in the past have just gone , he has flat feet, never mind, and not really tried to improve them as he hasn't been lame on them) instead of a single toe clip in the middle they switched to 2 clips, so one each side of the hoof (don't know technical name!) also they keep quite a lot of shoe behind, so quite a bit sticks out behind his heel, to encourage support and heel growth, rather than letting the hoof toe shoot forward. if anything they don't take that much off the front, as it doesn't really solve the problem of flat feet, it just makes them look less flat/splayed.

they still aren't perfect, but in 18 months they look so much better, he also used to trip quite a lot, now he barely ever does unless day dreaming! wish i'd questioned previous farriers to be honest about improving his flatness.

he is also on biotin- they recommend just straight biotin, said i would waste my money buying a fancy hoof supplement version, as it is the biotin in it that makes a difference. also they have said, sounds strange, but for some horses, seaweed and rose hip supplements work! also using Kevin bacon to keep hooves a bit moister in this weather as his feet crack other wise.

 

[maree t]

Thanks for that
Clava, his feet are so flat he would be really uncomfortable without any shoes, just taking them off will cause him a lot of pain so where do I start ?

Pippixox , He has got the shoes with two clips on the front, he has got such tiny hooves aswell. My farrier has been making very slow changes to the angle but says it should nt make that much difference. Do you use Kevin bacon much ?, he is on good grass at the moment and I did wonder if that wasnt helping with the sensitivity but he doesnt carry much weight .

 

[amandap]

Long term health I would be looking at removing shoes and resolving why he cannot go without shoes at the moment, horses should be able to be kept in a field without shoes or they have sick hooves indeed! Diet and management can make a huge difference to concavity. My TB barefoot mare has lovely concavity all winter , but as soon as the spring grass comes through they go splat and flat unless I manage the diet carefully.

Yes, I agree, diet is crucial and especially sugar intake. Mineral deficiency and imbalance is also something to consider seriously.

You might find some of these articles useful. http://www.hoofrehab.com/HorsebackMagazineArticles.html

 

[pippixox]

the difference is going to be small and take a long time.
i think diet might be playing a part with him. my boy hasn't really felt his feet, they were just flat and tripping up lots. but his grazing is very natural, with lots of herbs and weeds, so not very lush, so less sugar content, and i feed pretty much sugar free feed.
he probably needs shoes, but a lot of the barefoot people on here could advise you on a barefoot friendly, low sugar diet which would help how footy he feels.
i use Kevin bacon daily at the moment unless it has rained, seems to stop his feet getting as dry and cracked as they used to.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

You cannot paint lard (which is essentially what KB is - animal fat) onto hooves and expect it to be a magic fix. You cannot feed one supplement alone, when your grazing will probably be short of other minerals too (and possibly the one you have picked is not needed) and expect a magic fix.

The best way to improve shoe-sick or unhealthy hooves (and there are plenty of unshod horses with poor hooves) is by doing a proper barefoot rehab with the correct diet overhaul and stimulation by working the horse on surfaces that he/she is comfortable on.

Look up Rockley Farm, read the blog and see the improvements. Remember that a fair few of the horses on the blog were facing PTS as Farriers and Vets couldn't help them with 'remedial shoeing' (now that's an oxymoron).

 

[maree t]

Thanks,
Faracat, i am not expecting a magic fix but would just like to see him happier. So should I get him tested for mineral imbalance or the grazing ? we use two different places and he moves back and forth. Both have quite good grass cover. Ours has lots of clover aswell. I will have to look into a better diet for him then. He will be working quite hard over the winter if he is ok . His feet are not cracked or splitting and the grass is quite long so are regularly wet in the mornings.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

It's the marketing that gives the impression that their product will solve all - I'm always pleased to read that people don't believe it.

Re diet, you need to cut sugar and starch. Molasses is to be avoided completely. Wet grass isn't a problem. You can get decent vit&min balancers Pro hoof is meant to be a good one, I keep meaning to try it with my horses.

 

[ester]

Frank had flat feet (and flat pedal bones). It is hard to see in photos but although not 100% they are definitely improved.

Shoes came off, grazing was analysed and a specific mineral mix concocted to add to a slightly different feeding regime.

Started doing 10 mins road walking per day and gradually increased.

Wore easyboot gloves when not sufficiently comfortable (wore these for all road work for approx 4 months at one point.

 

[CarolineJ]

Finn's feet were flat as pancakes when he arrived. He'd been kept unshod in his previous home, but a bit of a tweak to his diet has made a huge difference - I use the same farrier as his last owners and he's commented more than once on how good his feet are now.

If you think he'd struggle without shoes at the moment, keep them on for another one or two shoeing cycles while you sort his diet out and give it time to take effect.