my boy has no hoof!

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CBFan

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not literally but almost...

He's only 2 so unshod, was last trimmed on New Years eve and currently had NOTHING to take off but as a result is also quite footsore. he otherwise has very good feet! - no cracks or chips or anything...

I have just started using keratex hoof hardner again to toughen up his soles but was just wondering if anyone can recomend anything to do or feed to help improve the amount of growth...

thanks!
 
Have you tried a Boitin supplement??? I give all my horses Happy Hoof (made by Spillers) which is a complete fibre based feed, which also contains biotin. All their feet have really improved over the last year I have been using it.
 
My understanding is that biotin on it's own is not much good as it needs other things to make it work. As for the happy hoof idea... I'd love to feed it as it smells so yummy, however for him to have the full benefit I'd have to feed the recomended amount which for a 16.2hh would be a hell of a lot and he WOULD get fat on it! (and it would cost me a fortune!!)

He does get a broad spec vit and min supp (equivite) added to his hi fi and alfa lite but I'm happy to change to another supp if it comes highly recomended... I had heard that seaweed is good for this sort of thing?
 
The fore soreness could be from too much sugar in his diet - this causes inflammation in the foot (often termed low grade laminitis), which makes horses footsore. If he's not being fed anything high in sugar (unlikely at his age) then he might have EMS (equine metablic syndrome) which makes him even less able to cope with sugar in his diet than a normal horse. So the first thing I'd do is look at his diet and cut out anything sugary (including any feeds with molasses in) and take him off grass for at least part of the day. If that doesn't help then get your vet to test him for EMS. In the meantime you could also try giving him a magnesium supplement - magnesium helps the body to break down the sugars and for many barefoot horses is the difference between soundness and footiness.
 
Join the club!

My TB has absolutely no hoof at all and is losing shoes every week as there is nothing to nail the shoe to. I think a lot if it is that he isnt getting enough from his diet. He is fed a high fibre diet and really good ad-lib hay, but because of the weather the grass isnt giving him anything so for the first time in 5 yrs I have to feed him some sort of multi-spec vitamin/hoof supplement.

If you look a bit further down the page, I also asked for some tips and people have come back with some really good suggestions. I am so desperate I have ordered everything suggested!
 
He is only on a handful of hi-fi lite, a handful of alfa a lite and a cup full of hi-fibre cubes with a small serving of speedi beet + one carrot twice daily. ALL low sugar and thus laminitis trust aproved. I must add I'm reluctant to feed high protein and sugar feeds due to the risk of growth disorders..

I think his hoof has been worn away simply walking on the hard / frozen ground.

thanks for the idea re magnesium.
 
Remember that the foot does grow more slowly during the winter months. But nutritionally he's not getting that much support, so perhaps look at a more supportive diet??
 
Hi All. Yes CBAngelo - my boy had exactly the same problem. No Hoof wall (thinner than my thumbnail in parts), losing shoes every week etc etc

Biotin and limestone powder. biotin for the promotion of growth and aids binding of calcium into the hoof wall. Limestone obviously for the calcium. I got my boy last september with slightly better than typical rubbish TB toesies, started him on it mid october and it has just finished growing right through. I now have a TB who holds his shoes for up to 2 months between trimmings. Much nicer spread, shape and consistency too. Farrier loves them.

tablespoon of each DAILY cos otherwise it diltues through the system and apparently won't be taken up by the hooves very well.
 
It may be a trace mineral he is lacking in rather than biotin, this can be difficult to detect. I had a horse with similar problems, on my farriers recommendation used Kevin Bacon Hoof Formula and hoof dressing, apparently this hoof formula is a general multi vitamin supplement with high levels of biotin and methionine and the hoof dressing is all natural with Laurel leaves added for their antibacterial properties. All I can say is since my horse has he this stuff he hasn't looked back! :-)
 
Forgot to say he is also getting Add lib (as in over half a bale a day) of good quality hay... he's not exactly starved...

I do agree though it looks as if he is lacking a little something...

I looked at the kevin bacon formula as I swear by the hoof dressing but it has an extremely high protein content which I want to avoid.

Just been looking and come across D&H surefoot which looks more up my street... any experiences?
 
I have found the naf profeet liquid and powder to be excellent for hoof growth and quality. The liquid is more palatable and is not fed in a large amount.
 
Have you tried rubbing Cornucrescine into his coronet bands? Last year my boy had no hoof growth (farrier thought it was probably the cold weather). So this year I tried a biotin supplement from about Sept but he stopped eating it and so I tried the Cornucrescine. Have been using it for about 6 months now - only once or twice a week - and it's made a huge difference, even though this year was even colder than last year. I have no idea how it is supposed to work but it does!
 
Another vote here for Naf Profeet. At the recommendation of my farrier both my horses are on it - started it last may/june ish. Takes a while to take any effect.

Sam used to have rubbish 'flaky' hooves with almost no growth - so we had lots of problems if he lost a chunk of hoof! He is now shoeless with really tidy healthy hooves.
Rusty - well i do a lot of miles (85 last week!), and farrier said he had thin walls & not much to nail a shoe to. Have seen improvement since starting the Profeet.
 
Alfalfa is very good for hoof growth, also just make sure the Farrier doesn't take too much off next time, let them grow out and get him to take the minimum off next time so the same thing doesn't happen again
 
P.S I've just put my youngster and also my older horse on Equilibra and the reports I've been getting is that it is v good for their feet. May be worth a try, I've only used it for a week so far so I can't say how good it actually is, although the company that makes it are very helpful.
 
Farrier didn't take much off last time at all! and as I said, he was LAST done on New years eve - so a couple of months ago!! and as for equilibra, as with most balancers it has an extremely high protein content which I am avoiding due to the risk of OCD. He's a large two year old and I really don't want him growing beyond his means...

Thanks for all the sugestions... will look into them all.
 
Don't confuse "no foot to be taken off" with "sensitive soles". Barefoot working horses have no foot to be taken off. A farrier would find no hoof wall to take off my hunter at all. Barefoot horses walk on their heels, frogs and soles, not their hoof wall.

It sounds to me as if your youngster has sensitivity issues, not necessarilty rate of growth issues, and that is dietary and comes from inside. He may be sugar sensitive, as someone has suggested. If he has been eating frosted grass for the last several weeks, it could be that. Or he may be lacking minerals or have too many of the wrong ones (manganese is a big baddie if you have too much in your grazing, so is iron. Seaweed is high in iron and if he already has too much you will make things worse.).

If you buy Feet First it will tell you most of what you need to know to get him healthy. Meanwhile, many of us have seen big improvements in hoof function from using brewers yeast and magnesium oxide in what might seem like fairly big doses, you'll see what I mean from the book.
 
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