splitting hooves, what can i do?

[weesophz]

farrier advised just greasing them but even with that his feet have started splitting more. i was using naf hoof moist but for all its done i wont be getting it again. what do you guys use?

 

[Brightbay]

farrier advised just greasing them but even with that his feet have started splitting more. i was using naf hoof moist but for all its done i wont be getting it again. what do you guys use?

There's research published a while back that shows that nothing you can put on hooves changes the percentage moisture content of the outer hoof wall - it stays constant. The only thing you can do for splits is to feed the hooves and wait patiently while the new hoof capsule grows in (for example, linseed added to the feed seems to help).

 

[Pale Rider]

If your not on a barefoot diet you should be, it's the only way to grow some decent feet.
There really isn't a short cut, good luck.

 

[weesophz]

so what would you guys advise feeding then? i assume a barefoot diet works if he has shoes on haha hes currently fed apple chaff, speedybeet, micronized linseed and pink powder. he is a bit ribby as hes a poor doing tb

 

[Nugget La Poneh]

Try this http://ecirhorse.org/index.php/ddt-overview/ddt-diet and putting him onto Pro-Balance (there is another one that is very similar but can't think of the name). And yes, you can use on a shod horse - all helps and you should find the shoes stay on better too. Should also help him gain weight too.

ETA: You will be looking at about 3, possibly 4 shoeing cycles before you notice a really obvious difference.

 

[Heelfirst]

Feet split /crack for two reasons
1) The diet
2) The hoof management
First I would recommend getting the diet sorted if you have not done so already (loads of threads on this site as to what to feed)
Second, make sure the feet are not cracking due to the concussion not being absorbed correctly.
If the loading of the hoof of a shod horse is out of balance, the horse can not self correct, so it is imperative that the farrier is aware of the problem, and acts accordingly.
This may help: http://www.rockfoot.com/shoeing.html

 

[xgemmax]

apple chaff is full of molasses, i would switch to a mollassed free chaff

 

[mightymammoth]

how much linseed do you feed? I fed 2 heaped mugs a day last winter and he put weight on over winter. Agree with others about the hoof balancer progressive earth do a couple and I use forage plus.

Apple chaff is not ideal although I've had to use it this summer to get him to eat his minerals, think it was about 20-30% sugar.