Please help - terrible TB feet - I'm at my wits end - sorry a long one

[Janetterose]

Hi, I have posted problems with this before but they have just got worse. When I got my TB 3 months ago, he shed his shoes constantly, got a nail bone infection and so we removed the shoes and cleared up the infection. In the meantime he was wearing Old Macs which in turn caused thrush. That is all cleared up now but when the horn had grown out the farrier came to fit shoes but couldn't because his soles are so thin. Where he tried to fit the shoes, my poor boy is really sore (that was just under a week ago). Instead of iron shoes we decided to try plastic ones (Imprints) and they were fitted yesterday by an experienced fitter. And now one has come off!!

I am worried because he seems so sore nearly a week later and because I dont know what I can put on him for work or turn out to protect his feet. Has anyone got any ideas?

 

[Janetterose]

I have just been reading previous posts - looks like I am goin g to need a lot of patience, carry on using the Old Macs, use Keratex on the soles twice a week and get his feet trimmed regularly. I am gutted he is in so much pain recently, gutted that we cant work and gutted at the amount of money I have spent on this!

 

[glenruby]

I had a pony who my local vet used to bring students to see as the example of a pony with the worst feet hed ever seen.
He spent 12 of the first 14months I owned him off work due to nail-bind, drops, and losing half of his hoof wall when losing a shoe. Everytime he was shod he would be sore for a few days and frequently lost shoes - resulting in lameness or tenderness every time.
He then got strangles and lost a tonne of weight which resulted in him having 4months off on good grass over the summer. During this time, I started giving him cod liver oil, eggs, biotin and chelated copper with his feed. I also applied stockholm tar to his soles a couple of times a week, keratex hoof hardner daily for roughly 6weeks and cornucresine 2x daily to improve hoof growth. He was shod all round whilst at grass (shared a field with one other pony) and when I brought him home and got my regular farrier to him, he couldnt believe it was the same pony ( except that he was dun - and there arent too many of those around!

)
He was shod that time only infront and from his next farrier visit until I sold him 18mths after - he was never shod again! For maintenance I kept him on a copper and zinc supplement and linseed oil ( eventually switched to soya oil).

I would strongly advise to try your horse on biotin and copper/zinc supplements for a few months as I believe this is what caused the greatsest change in my horse. A protein supplement in his diet may also be of use ( as the hoof wall contains a lot of prtein) and cornucresine to encourage hoof growth. Thankfully, none of these products are excessively expensive - except perhaps for chelated copper ( used as a booster paste to get some copper into him quickly) - the price can add up quickly enough for an adult middleweight horse.
Hope this is of some use.

 

[JaneSteventon]

Hello, I posted earlier (barefoot, keratex and hoof boots). It will get better honestly. My horse works barefoot in summer now, something I would never have thought possible, and his hooves have improved loads. He will, I think always need boots in winter as they soften up in the wet and stones make him sore. However once you have paid out for hoof boots they last ages, so it should now be much cheaper as you will only have to pay for trims now.

 

[air78]

A few things about barefoot TB's........... It does take time though, and I beleive feeding plays a big part. My TB is shod in NB shoes and has done really well in them. He's been fed on Topspec for the past 18months.

http://ihdg.proboards91.com/index.cgi?ac...7566&page=1

http://ihdg.proboards91.com/index.cgi?ac...8497&page=1

 

[cellie]

My tbs feet were terrible big lumps of horn used to break off.He overreached and tore off his shoes every two weeks there were lumps missing out of the horn which was a nightmare for my farrier.I used scientific nutritional products hoof supplement and his feet are really hard and in great condition.I ll keep him on it for life.It took about 3 months for a improvement and after a year the quality was so much better although he needed work to make his feet more upright .He was very flat and needed the toes bringing back, he is never foot sore any more.It costs £27 for a tub that lasts 3 months or longer.The other thing I have tried is keratex to harden the horn I used this on a welsh cob and it works although I wouldnt reccommend you use it long term as it can make hooves brittle..The welsh cob is now being fed healthy hooves chaff by dengie it has added biotin.Biotin is ok on its own if you are on a budget .I cant reccommend the snp enough.I think you need to look at your problem long term unforunately there are no quick fixes for hooves if you can improve the quality your problems should improve .good luck

 

[lifeslemons]

I don't have much experience in this field so can't comment, other than to say Imprints are a nightmare. In principle fantastic, but they just won't stay on for longer than two weeks (= £££££££!)

 

[Louby]

Hi, my friends got a similar problem but she seems to be getting there now. Her horse had plastic shoes for 2 shoeings and spent all but the dryest days stabled and when she turned him out it was in a very small electric taped paddock to keep the damn things on. She hated it but has come through it now and he is now on his 2nd set of heart bars with wedges to lift his low heals and help his very thin soles. Shes riding again and things are looking up.
Good luck, stick with it, things will come right.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
I have just been reading previous posts - looks like I am goin g to need a lot of patience, carry on using the Old Macs, use Keratex on the soles twice a week and get his feet trimmed regularly. I am gutted he is in so much pain recently, gutted that we cant work and gutted at the amount of money I have spent on this!

[/ QUOTE ]

Haven't read all the replies, so sorry if I repeat. I would look at introducing a feed balancer in to his diet. The quality of the horn can really only be helped nutrionally - so whilst putting something on his hoofs may help, diet is the key.

I would also speak to your vet about giving you some Danillon to help your boy through the soreness of trimming. There's no reason for your boy to be in pain - and a couple of Danillon will help.

 

[JaneB]

We use Battles blue Foot Rot Spray (for sheep and cattle, I think) on our TBs' feet especially one who has soup plates and very thin soles. We spray them every day and it does help to keep the soles harder and less prone to bruising.

 

[dill]

I have a TB ex-racehorse who had terribly flat feet when I got him in June - his shoes fell off constantly and he only had to tred on a bit of gravel and he'd bruise and be hopping for three weeks. My farrier initially opted to put regular Stromsholm horseshoe shaped pads on him, partially to protect his soles and partially to support the hoof wall and to give the nails something solid to hang on! These didn't work because the shape of the pad was marginally too concave for his flat as a pancake feet and in fact bruised his feet! Plan B worked a treat however ... this time when his feet were trimmed they were coated in stockholm tar and the sole around the frog was layered in 'flat section' cotton wool. Over this we put a flat piece of firm but thin plastic (not sure where my farrier gets it from but it's about the same thickness as the plastic that sandwich boxes are made of). So when his entire sole was covered in the tar/cotton wool/plastic his shoes where fitted (we went for slightly wider shoes and left a small overhang at the heel to support his collapsed heels - you might have guessed that I bought this horse in the dark!). Touch wood he's never had a day's lameness since. We turn him out in overreach boots to reduce the risk of him catching the heels of his front shoes but it really has been a lifesaver as I was at the end of my tether with a horse that I'd only been able to sit on three times in three months because the rest of the time he was lame.