Problems with hoof *pics*

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Scaty_Bird

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Hi all,

a little while ago I posted about my new horses feet - today I managed to get pics of it.

The story - Got a loan horse who had lost his shoes, two days in his feet started falling apart! He has now got a bruise on his hoof and also a huge crack down the front. Farrier has been and said to just keep it trimmed until more hoof grows. I'm also giving the horse a good diet, supplement in his feed and putting ointment on his feet.

Any one else had problems like this and how did you sort it?? He was lame but is now sound - thankfully - I was getting really worried!

Any advice really appreciated!

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Is the horse stood in mud/wet for much of the time? My horse has had serious problems with his feet like this. They crack really easily and one of the things I've found helped is allowing them to dry out on a daily basis by bringing him into the stable. You're not going to see improvement very quickly, but I also use a feed supplement (F4F) and spray vinegar onto his frogs if it's really muddy. You'll need to let his hoof grow and keep them trimmed frequently by the farrier.
 
He is stabled during the night and only stands in the mud to get to gate etc in the field - rest of the field is ok.

Thanks for your advice everyone.

sueeltringham - was you still riding when you had these issues? I only do if he is sound, if he is foot sore I do nothing. When I ride him it's only in the sand school in walk and tiny bit of trot.
 
One of the horses i used to look after had a seedy toe looked kind of similar to this but the farrier never picked up on it, did your farrier rule that out?
 
My old horse (now sold but very much alive and well) used to have this problem, except it seemed to be caused by the shoeing process itself as the cracks formed from the nail hole and caused very similar looking damage- and always high up the hoof wall as it was the source of the problem- I was recommended to take all his shoes off and allow his hoof to grow (essentially making him barefoot, which I had never previously considered) and I never looked back- once the damage had grown out his feet were healthy and strong so he has been barefoot ever since
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One of the horses i used to look after had a seedy toe looked kind of similar to this but the farrier never picked up on it, did your farrier rule that out?

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Oh, never heard of that before - will google it now!

He hasn't mentioned this to me - I'm going to ring him tomorrow and see if he can come back out to check it again so will mention it. Thanks!
 
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My old horse (now sold but very much alive and well) used to have this problem, except it seemed to be caused by the shoeing process itself as the cracks formed from the nail hole and caused very similar looking damage- and always high up the hoof wall as it was the source of the problem- I was recommended to take all his shoes off and allow his hoof to grow (essentially making him barefoot, which I had never previously considered) and I never looked back- once the damage had grown out his feet were healthy and strong so he has been barefoot ever since
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I did think of doing this as don't really hack that often so he is mainly ridden on soft ground. Will be one of my options when I talk the farrier, thanks!
 
I only mentioned seedy toe because it is treated different and you would need a vet i will attempt sending you something i just read about it which is quite a bit of reading but i found the info in it helpful
 
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Are you feeding a Biotin, or something with Bitoin in it, it will help strengthen the hoof and promotes quicker growth, it helped my old boy who had disgusting hooves when I got him.

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Thanks for your reply.

I wanted to feed this but when I went to get my supplement they had sold out so I have something called supahoof?? Hopefully it's got biotin in it as have heard really good things about it. When this runs out gonna get Biotin instead.
 
I've ridden mine when sound when he had this problem (we have to do roadwork so I try to minimise this). We struggled all last summer, although mine was shod (tried both ways but can't go barefoot). If you get the feed right, then management is the second thing to improve. Of course, what you're seeing now is probably due to his diet 9 months ago. The other thing that improved my horses feet (massively) was turning him away for nearly a year, but that was a last resort. Getting a really, really good farrier has helped massively too.
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Have you a tried Keratex hoof hardener? Ive found it works really well. Its quite expensive to buy but it lasts a very long time and is well worth the money. You paint it on with a brush.
 
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Have you a tried Keratex hoof hardener? Ive found it works really well. Its quite expensive to buy but it lasts a very long time and is well worth the money. You paint it on with a brush.

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Not used this, just using cornucrescine at the mo. Will look into this also.

Bless him - he's cost me more in three weeks than my last horse did in a year! They are so worth it though
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I read an old H&H article about a horse that had been sold with an acrylic hoof, to hide terrible feet underneath - looks like that might have happened to yours
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Firstly you need excellent farriery, and probably your vet too, to take x-rays to establish what is going on underneath. Regarding the hoof crack, that is going to take a year or more to grow out - I have just about got rid of my horse's now, but she has basically been out of work for that time. Most common cause is poor hoof shape, toes being left too long leading to incorrect forces pushing the hoof wall. There is no quick fix I'm afraid
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Re the biotin, make sure it's not pure biotin, it can't be absorbed alone. I now feed TopSpec Balancer, plus top it up with Equimins biotin which has the zinc etc, my horses foot now grows fairly quickly.

Good luck
 
Could you take some photos of the underneath of his foot? In particular I'd be interested to see what condition his white line is in and how much hoof wall he has.

Regarding diet what did your farrier recommend? For the best quality feet you need to remove as much sugar from the diet as possible - which includes feeds with molasses in them, large numbers of carrots, Likkits and (though less of an issue right now) lush grass.

Also crucial to growing quality feet is movement over a variety of terrain (not just artifical surfaces or the field). I'd really recommend you got him some hoof boots (Easyboot Gloves are the best and easiest to use) and get working him in those boots - hack him out as much as possible (and as much as he is comfortable with - you can insert pads into the Easyboots if he needs extra support). Stimulating the feet will encourage the hoof to grow. Looking at the photos it should take about three months for that big chunk of missing hoof wall to grow out (based on 1cm of wall growth per month)
 
his feet look very soft and thin walled- does he have much hoof wall? what condition are his frogs?
i would keep his feet as clean as possible and disinfect them regularly.
wash them clean each night before bed with a disinfectant like miltons and pack them with sudocrem.
i would try to leave him shoeless too as nail holes will further weaken the hoof wall. also watch that crack that runs right up the hoof wall- keep that as clean a poss too and put sudocrem in there.
keep the bed as clean and dry as possible too.
what shape are the feet? regular visits to keep the toes back and not allow the heels to get under-run or long will also help improve strength.
 
Thanks everyone!! I am so impressed with all your knowledge!

Gedenskis_girl - haven't got any pictures of the underneath, will try and get those at the weekend when it's light and reply to this post with them.

Thanks again all!!!!
 
Looks like sand crack to me
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Ask your farrier about plastic, it will help stablise the front?

he could have also torn some of it off - there is a bruise on the cornet band (i think) so could he have hit himself with the other leg?
 
Advice?

Don't worry about it - your farrier is right - it will grow out.

Don't put gunks on, don't put chemicals such as Keratex on that contain formalin amongst other things - just keep it as clean as you can and give a good all round diet - chemicals and gunks wont improve the hoof.

Greasy Gunks interfere with the moisture gradient in the hoof wall - and that moisture gradient is there for a reason - the only thing you should put on there is H2O!

Gunks may make it look pretty - but they do more harm than good.

You can't make a better hoof - you can only grow a better hoof.
 
Hi there,

You must treat for infection first otherwise you will be fighting a losing battle.
You horse has lost structure and strength to the inner wall and the only way to regain strength is to stimulate this properly.
Do not ride your horse and avoid sand as this will irritate if infection present.
PM me if you want more info or visit
www.phenomenalhooves.co.uk
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Advice?

Don't worry about it - your farrier is right - it will grow out.

Don't put gunks on, don't put chemicals such as Keratex on that contain formalin amongst other things - just keep it as clean as you can and give a good all round diet - chemicals and gunks wont improve the hoof.

Greasy Gunks interfere with the moisture gradient in the hoof wall - and that moisture gradient is there for a reason - the only thing you should put on there is H2O!

Gunks may make it look pretty - but they do more harm than good.

You can't make a better hoof - you can only grow a better hoof.

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I couldn't agree more. I would also bed him on shavings which are more drying than straw and provide more support while he is in the stable. Please also make sure that your farrier is the best avaliable in the area, ask around for recommendations for remedial farriers and be prepared to pay for this expertise. (I do understand that your farrier was not responsible for the horse when his hooves got into this state).
 
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