Soft Feet

[Molineux]

My big man has never really suffered with bad feet before, but over the last few weeks with all this wet weather he has

Now he is still living out so I do know that him out in a wet field is not going to help so it could mean that he will need to come in soon.. (YWAN!)

I had his shoes done yesterday and my farrier said he was a little Concerned about how soft his feet were as they were just
Crumbling when he was putting his back shoes on.

Now I know of all the hoof hardeners etc but I wondered if anyone knew of a good food supp he can have in his feed? I have had so many mixed reviews on FForm so not sure about using that.

Just wondered if anyone has used something for this purpose and it had worked

Thank you!

 

[shirley123]

my horse has been on a good hoof supplement (equihoof) for 20mths and also has alfa a and baileys low cal balancer - so i would have thought his nutrition for healthy/strong hoof growth was good. he has a good rate of hoof growth. he is shod every 4 weeks in front he grows alot of toe and they need to be kept short due to his 'issues'. but in the last week before shoeing i can never ride him due to nails loose/pulled through etc. i know all about hoof moisturisers and use them. but the farrier has mentioned he has soft crumbly hoof and not the best feet !! i mentioned trying some keratex hoof hardner but he was against that and suggested soluntion for feet which i tried - but didnt solve anything. i posted on here about the keratex hoof hardner and got mixed feelings. however i decided to go ahead and try some. i used it has one member on here suggested ( once a week just around the nail holes) and for the first time ever i have been able to ride in the last week before shoeing. when the farriers came on monday i casually said they have'nt cracked of crumbled this time have they !!! they said no they are fine i never mentioned the keratex but i will carry on using it carefully. on the label it mentions its ideal for barefoot horses and gives the farrier something hard to nail into so maybe it would 'toughen' up your horse feet?

 

[cellie]

We have just had the same problems with our loan mare.Her feet are just disintergrating in the wet conditions.I have had her shoes taken off as her feet were so bad.She has had keratex hardener on to make her more comfortable and I have found a new product from keratex a gel that you can put on once a week to stop the water penetrating the hoof.Poor mite also had fungal infection this week around the coronet and I have been using keratex disinfectant /anti fungal treatment it has all disappeared in 2 days and the gel seems to be working.Hopefully she can have her shoes back on thursday .She is going home on saturday and will be living out so it was really important to me to get her feet back in top condition I have had her on keratex feed supplement as well.I can recommend the gel fab product.

 

[RachelB]

My farrier was, for once, pleasantly surprised with the condition of my horse's feet last week. Her feet have stopped cracking so badly, her seedy toe is 99% cleared up, and best of all her walls and soles are like concrete! The only thing I've really done any differently in the last two months is feed her Formula 4 Feet. My farrier is rarely moved enough to say anything much about my horse's feet (he's usually too polite to say "oh b***** h*** they're awful"

) so I am quite impressed. She never has anything topical applied, just picked out once or twice a day.