Naf Pro Feet

Natalie_H

Natalie_H

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Hi All,

Having a problem with my TBs hooves. He has been on farriers formula for 3-4 years now, and this initially improved his terrible hooves although they have never been amazing. Suddenly they have really deteriorated. Not sure the reason why as I haven't changed anything with the exception of feeding just grass instead of alfa-a.

Farrier has recommended pro-feet. Mum's TB is on this & his hooves are pretty good, but were never as bad as my horse's feet anyway, so you cannot really compare. I am also aware that what works for some doesn't work for all.

So:
1) Who uses pro-feet & what are your experiences with it?
2) Any other recommendations for good supplements?
3) If I buy pro-feet, should I go for liquid or powder?

Thanks in advance! :)
 
Hi I have been using liquid pro-feet for the last four years, my horse had horrendous splits and cracks when I bought him but since keeping him on pro-feet I have not had any further problems (touch wood). My farrier and I noticed a difference in weeks not months, the quality of the hoof improved. Hope this is a help
 
One of mine was on Equine America hoof power plus which didnt really do any good, so changed to pro feet about 8-10 wks ago and have seen a vast improvement since (powder)
 
Thanks Tibby. That is really helpful. It is nerve wracking changing the supplement that has worked for him in the past as you never know if the one you change to will suit. All experiences greatly appreciated :)
 
lyndy said:
One of mine was on Equine America hoof power plus which didnt really do any good, so changed to pro feet about 8-10 wks ago and have seen a vast improvement since (powder)
Click to expand...

Thanks Lyndy. My Mum's horse has the powder. I think it smells a bit like curry powder, and my horse is a fan of quite strong flavours, so cannot decide!
 
My farrier says it is the supplement that he sees the quickest effect from out of all the supplements

I feed the powder as it works out slightly cheaper than the liquid
 
A supplement will only help if it provides nutrition that the horse needs and is lacking in the diet. If the poor hoof quality is due to weather/management/genetics then a supplement wont do a thing.

When looking for a foot supplement (or any supplement) the best thing to do is to choose several and compare the nutritional analysis and the cost per dose- there is a huge variation. imo NAF tends to be more expensive than other comparable or better spec products

re changing from alfa a to just grass, alfalfa will be higher in calcium and probably biotin too than grass. So that could have made the difference.
re the FF making a difference at first could be because it addressed a nutritional deficiency but your horses foot condition is also down to other factors than just nutrition
 
Thanks both for your comments. Teddy T - I cannot understand it really. Farrier said it has been very dry recently and this hasn't helped, but we have been through much drier spells in the last few years than now, but haven't seen such a deterioration. What is really perplexing is that his front feet were always the worst due to his boxy foot which developed as a result of a cannon bone fracture as a youngster. Improved management (combination of farriers formula, hoof life disinfectant, and kevin bacons) lead to decent back hooves, half decent near fore, and average boxy foot. It is his back hooves which have suddenly started to crumble.

I am meticulous when it comes to his hooves & always have been in terms of managing them.

Routine wise, he lives out 24/7, has access to ad lib hay, and a fibre diet (including pink powder). He is allergic to some cereals so we are a bit limited.

Thanks for your advice! :)
 
Fibre and lots of turn out are the best things for feet. With regars to the recent dry spell, it has followed a very wet spell. It is the wet/dry cycle that is particularly bad for feet because the horn tubules swell/dry out and this damages them. They have gone from being saturated to very dry- which is not good for the horn. tbh it sounds like you have an underlying genetic weakness which is then further deteriorated if diet/conditions arent 'perfect'. Unfortunately theres not much you can do about the weather!
 
Hi TeddyT - I think you have hit the nail on the head there regarding his underlying genetic weakness! I think that he unfortunately will never have amazing hooves. I just try & do the best I can to keep them "reasonable". My old farrier insisted on taking shoes off, and he was crippled for 3 months. Not at any stage did he get used to it, and what hoof did grow simply broke off. This farrier refused to come out in between scheduled shoeings which is impossible for my horse. Fortunately my current farrier is amazing & really works hard with him to keep him sound. Horse looks great condition wise - just his damn hooves let him down!

Oh well - we'll see how it goes. Farrier has put lighter shoes on his hinds today, and changed his fronts to double toe clips to see how we go. He has said to call as soon as we see any major cracking & splitting so at least he is looking out for him! Thanks for your great advice :)
 
Can't really help with recommendations (although we did have brilliant results with Farriers Formula a few years ago so could you just have an 'off' tub?), but Countrywide Farmers have 3 for 2 on NAF Pro Feet at the moment!
 
Hi Happihorse. Hard to tell if there was an "off" tub as I would imagine if this was the case, the results wouldn't be seen until some time later. Thanks for the tip off at Countrywide though - definitely worth a look! :D
 
I used pro-feet on my TB who had horrendous feet, lucky if the shoes stayed on for 7 - 10 days! My farrier reccommended pro-feet, there was a visible difference within a month. He also shod him with flush fitting racing plates, nothing to catch on to pull the shoes off, and he never lost another shoe for the remaining 18 months I had him. The pro-feet supports the liver and helps with absorption of the required nutrients.
 
Hi mainpower. Thanks for posting. That's really interesting. I read about the supporting of the liver & was quite interested in this due to various other issues I have had with him that I won't go into now :rolleyes:! Do you feed powder or liquid?
 
I used the liquid. I have read a theory that if your horse has good skin and coat (which have the same molecular make up as hoof horn), but poor hooves, then it is receiving enough of the nutrients to encourage good hoof growth, but the body isn't absorbing enough to feed the feet which is where the liver support is necessary. Makes sense to me! I could write a really long essay about how bad my horses feet were, the fast change when he was on the pro-feet was amazing!
 
That's really interesting. That would certainly make sense as his coat & general condition is great. Think I'll buy the liquid at the weekend & see how we go. Thanks for that advice. Extremely helpful! :)
 
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