Very poor hoof growth

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dizzyf

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Any one managed to over come poor hoof growth?

My TBx Irish has very poor hoof growth. He has had all of the high strength supplemen, been tested by the vet, yet we still cannot get his feet to grow!

He has had stick on shoes for the last 6 months, now we are taking them off and getting him some mac boots, as he is failry sore without shoes.

His back feet have been completely shoeless for the last 6 months, and the farrier has never had to trim them.

Any ideas, advice or similar experiences?
 
i have the same problem with mine but from what iv seen the imprint shoes dont help much either as they have to have alot trimmed off before having them stuck on. The foot soreness will soon go. mine has be without shoes for 8 weeks now and slowly slowly its stimulating the foot to do some growing. a high fibre diet has helped to.
 
Have a look at jack's when you are next at yard. His are now growing as a result of having shoes off and being on an abrasive surface.
 
The difference I found in my girl (highland with really bad hoof growth)) was Top Spec Balancer. By the time the farrier came back, they were astounded with her feet. She hasn't looked back since August (although they haven't grown lately, due to the snow/cold which I've been told is normal this time of year).
 
mishaspey said:
The difference I found in my girl (highland with really bad hoof growth)) was Top Spec Balancer. By the time the farrier came back, they were astounded with her feet. She hasn't looked back since August (although they haven't grown lately, due to the snow/cold which I've been told is normal this time of year).
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My mare has this problem too. Someone I was speaking to today suggested Top Spec. Can I ask, did you try other products before moving to Top Spec? I was getting a bit more growth when I first started using Formula4feet but it doesn't seem to be so effective now, so am thinking about trying something else.
 
you need to feed foot supplements for a year min to get the benefits. feet slow right down in winter and start to grow again in spring. cornucrescine rubbed in daily to the coronet band does speed growth up (and you get long strong finger nails) look at the basic diet. protein levels and sugar levels, weight of horse, type of work, quality of shoeing. etc. if you take the shoes off a regular (6 to 8 week) trim/tidy up is essential to keep the split ends at bay.
 
The problem with being on 'all the top supplements' is that if you don't know the vitamin and mineral balance in the forage you are feeding, then it is impossible to calculate the right balance of vitamins and minerals in a supplement. If the forage is high in one thing, it can prevent absorption of another.....It's like baking a cake without measuring the ingredients.

Most horses cope fine, but you will find the odd one who grows poor feet or gets mud fever constantly or picks up any infection going or suffers from abcesses.....

I would wonder why he is so sore without shoes too?

I am sorry you are having problems with slow growth - my barefooters have the opposite issue. I can't keep up with their feet growing!
 
Totally agree with Oberon. Minerals need balancing. If you have a constant supply of hay and are in the same field I would have a mineral analysis done and a supplement made specifically for you horse. Compared to the amount you are probably spending on supplements it will work out cheaper in the long run. After doing this with my barefoot tb her feet are amazing not even a tiny sand crack and changing her to just fast fibre with linseed and mineral mix and plenty of hay her feet are the best they have been.
I had Sarah Braithwaite do all the analysing etc she has a website think its called forage plus might be worth a look :-)
 
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