Sore Feet, Thin Soles & Barefoot Diet

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kafkaf

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Hi everyone - I could do with your advice please!

I have a 17hh 11yo TB who has very flat feet and thin soles and I'm forever having problems with him suffering from sore feet - in addition my farrier tells me he grows a lot of toe but nothing else. Farrier now suggesting gel pads.

He is in full work & currently shod but I am considering changing him to barefoot so thought I should start off by looking at his diet.

He has just moved onto lush summer grazing - could that be adding to the problem?

He is fed a complete feed that is high fibre/low sugar (Primero Total Holistic horse feed) and linseed meal (200g). The Primero Total ingredients are listed as follows:

Pure Grass Pellets
Fresh, Dried Meadow Grass
Linseed Oil
Black Sunflower Seeds
Micronized Peas
High Fibre Pellets
Live Yeast Probiotc
Bespoke Vitamin & Mineral pellet
Natural Antioxidants
Electrolytes
Fresh Dried Mint
VERM-X – blend of 100% natural Herbs.

Is this diet ok? Is it balanced enough for him? Please feel free to critique!

I note a lot of barefoot diets contain salt so would that be a beneficial addition?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanking you in advance :-)
 
Can you post a photo? Preferably from front, back and side on from floor level?

My mare grows a lot of toe and not much else and she has never been shod. Sometimes it's just how they are. However she is sound and doesn't need shoes for hacking. She is on grass only.
 
I think that he wants to have less grass not more, as he is on summer grass which is lush this is about the worse thing for him I am afraid. I would cut out grass and grass nuts, no alfalfa, and use micronised linseed which is less processed.
I would find another field or keep him in all morning with ad lib soaked forage and a small feed with minerals like summer balancer from pro earth or from forageplus. You can put all the minerals on a spreadsheet and compare them, what you want is 10gms plus of magnesium per day, and other minerals balanced for feet.
Yes some salt is fine, but he gets electrolytes so they should do the same job. Basically he needs less sugars more fibre and more minerals.
It seems quite a refined diet, is he getting a lot of work?
The farrier is suggesting pads, but the problem is that you are covering up the feet which is not healthy, it depends on your own thinking, but personally I would change the feed regime for a month, see if there is any improvement in the soles, and then decide if a month's trial with no shoes and exercise in hand would be a possibility. Having the shoes off might help the situation, or it might not.
How often is he shod, it is important the hooves grow reasonably fast and that he is not left too long.
 
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Hi the Primero mix that he gets is meant to be suitable for foals through to veterans so I don't think it contains much sugars. I think the only sugar he's getting must be from the grass so I need to get that sorted. I've just ordered some Forage Plus so hopefully that'll arrive soon to help on the mineral side of things.

I've got some photos now, anyone know how I upload them?
 
May I suggest a product called "keratex hoof hardener" rather than pads. I had a horse that had feet like this all his long life and we tried everything. Keratex won't cure the problem but will let you keep working him while you do other changes, feed shoeing etc. also it's a fraction of the cost! I put it on at least once a week on soles and nail holes.
 
Thanks Welly - I have some - I used it through the winter as his feet were getting so soft in the wet. I started using it again last week so hopefully it'll start to help :-)
 
As far as I can see dried grass has 12-14% sugars, non molassed beet pulp has 5%, to my mind you are adding sugar to his diet when you want to reduce it.
 
Thank you, I've never looked at it on that way. Yikes it's shocking how much sugar is in everything! What would you recommend I use instead?
 
You can use non molassed beet [soak15 mins] as the base feed, it depends on what he needs for condition and energy, he may be in full work and need very little more or he may need more, even oats. Dengie do non mol non chaff but it has some alfalfa, I only feed a small amount.
I tend to feed minerals all year round even when not in work, 20gms of linseed meal and 20gms of salt and 20gms minerals. This keeps skin and hooves and coat in top condition. More if in work.
 
Thanks! So speedi beet is ok? Makes it a lot cheaper. He's in medium work & is a typical TB so I struggle to keep his weight on ( more so in winter) - can get quite buzzy so I've never considered adding oats...
 
Well, if a fizzy type use hi fibre plus micronised linseed as his base, if you use a mineral for feet he will get magnesium, magnesium is used in many calmers, and a lot of UK soils are Mg deficient.
You can increase micronised linseed to 200/250 [large horse]gms per day in winter.
See Rockley Farm blog for info about feet. All their horses are barefoot, and diet is one of their main keystones.
Oats are used in hard work, hunting and so on.
 
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