Stoney gravel, paper thin soles. Advice ??

J

Jim bob

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I am just wanting some advice really.

I have a wimpy, big, thin soles, poor feet, poor doer tb :)

Apart from the barn our yard is laid with gravel. My horse bruises very easily.

Currently my horse is on Alfa A oil and Build up cubes( D&H). This seems to work well, not blowing his mind , giving him the energy he needs and keeping the weight on him :) He is also fed Biotin plus due to his feet. I am wanting to strengthen his soles really, but looking towards diet rather then painting his soles. I am aware of the barefoot diet and, possible going to attempt to take my horse barefoot in the winter, this sounds stupid to some people. Correct me if I am wrong by all means but if I give him the right food, environment and movement. Surely there is no reason he cant actually grow healthy strong horn and hoof?

In the mean time, what would you recommend. It seems the gravel he really struggles with and I put it down to well first of its gravel and his has thin soles or 'paper thin soles'. In regarding to pads, which my vet suggesting looking into. I spoke to my farrier who said they are pros and cons to them and a horse like my horse, who has deep cleffs would be more prone to thrush (he does get thrush in the winter), so he could pop them off but would probably end up taking them off after a few months.

What would you all do ?
 
Putting pads on will not help long term and certainly not prepare him for going barefoot it is like putting a sticking plaster on, the soles will become softer not harder underneath, if he suffers from thrush that will become a problem also.
If he is footy now in shoes and the soles are thin then you need to look into the diet and supplement more appropriately so he can grow a decent foot and toughen up a bit before the shoes come off, the sugar and starch levels in the cubes are probably very high, some horses become footy on alfalfa so a complete change may be required in order to get his feet more comfortable.
Biotin is not considered useful by the barefoot people as most horses have enough in their diet anyway, I have a tb who came with rotten feet, literally rotting away with thrush, he has a simple fibre based diet, he is not a good doer so gets linseed to up the calories, salt and magnesium, he is barefoot and totally comfortable on all surfaces which I would not have though possible when he arrived picking his way carefully over the yard.

I dont think it is impossible but you need to look at everything so he can grow a healthy functional hoof.
 
You might be better trying hoof boots, as they will offer protection and stimulate growth of a stronger hoof.
 
I took my mares shoes off when she was diagnosed with hock spavins, she also had paper thin soles. TBH i sometimes wish i hadn't gone barefoot as she really struggled to walk but i was following the advice that barefoot was best for arthritic horses. I literally used to have to sweep the drive before i turned her out into the field because she was so footy! I tried the hoofboots and highly recommend< the difference with them on was astounding to see her actually striding out.I think they help immensely. BUT if your horse has poor feet i would think very very carefully about going barefoot, it is a long and sometimes quite painful transition and i wish i hadn't put my poor girl through it.
 
Who trims him? It took me a while to twig that my lad had thin soles and my farrier was trimming his soles with each trim. Said farrier no longer trims for me - now I have a good trimmer a couple of times a year and keep his feet tidy myself in between. His soles are allowed to exfoliate naturally, ditto frogs, and he is way more comfortable walking across a planings yard - his feet are a lot more robust. We don't do roadwork due to this and some other factors but from being "sensible" in his paddock he has been seen doing squealies and generally pratting about.
Sometimes shoes are the worst thing for compromised feet, they don't allow the foot to flex naturally and thereby regenerate healthy tissue.
If you can manage without roadwork etc for a few months you might find he never looks back.
 
Second JillA about sole trimming.

I suggest you do lots of research, paper thin soles need protection if gravel yards can't be avoided unless it's deep pea gravel. Sub solar bruising can lead to very painful abscesses. A good mineral balancer should help.

Read "Understanding the Horse's Soles" and "Feeding the Hoof" for starters. http://hoofrehab.com/Articles.html

ps. He's not wimpy, he's protecting himself, listen to him re surfaces he finds hurt/uncomfortable. Thrush can also be very painful. The aim with thin soles is to enable them to grow thicker not just harder. The sole protects P3 so needs to be thick and compacted.

http://www.hoofrehab.com/ReadingSoleThickness.html
 
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My horse is still in shoes and will be going barefoot ( Hopefully!) in winter, so just not yet.

Thank you for all the advice so far .
 
Supplement his feed, forageplus or pro earth, 25gms salt, 50gms micronised linseed, feed some soaked hay or fast fibre, get him off lush grass, no molasses, or alfalfa.
 
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