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mizzbiz

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So I took the plunge and went barefoot with my TB (cue the flat footed and impossible comments). He's been shod all 4s since way back when but having read up on the many benefits of barefoot I thought we'd give it a go. So I had my farrier out to take his shoes off and trim his tootsies.....

Much to everyone's shock, he has been completely sound (although admittedly he is a little footsy on stony patches). I've been working him gently to aid the transition (25-45 mins a day), hoof oiling outsides regularly, keratex'ing insides less regularly, kept him on 24 hr turn out and on a low sugar high fibre diet. No special hoof supplements yet but am interested in getting some if these will help so recommendations on supplements would be appreciated.

Below is a link to some photos of his feet - PLEASE bear in mind this is 3 weeks after going barefoot and constructive advice or comments only please. I'm aware its not particularly helpful that I hoof oiled / keratexed prior to photos but I only thought of it after I did them - d'oh. I just want to know what others reckon in terms of his transition and the general condition of his feet - i've been toying with the idea of putting fronts back on but am not sure, maybe should stick it out a bit longer or do they look terrible? :-/

http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/mizzbiz19/library/
 
For some reason Photobucket hates me and wont let me see all of your photos. :( However from what I can see, there is a lot to like and he is sound, so that's fantastic. :)

Drop the hoof oil and keratex. Horn quality can't be painted on (plus Keratex contains a carcinogenic *scary stuff*) it needs to be fed and better horn will grow from the coronet. So it will take approx nine months to get a whole top quality hoof capsule.
 
Hi Faracat, thanks for your comments.

I've heard mixed things re keratex - farrier who did the trim recommended i use it on the insides 2-3 times a week. I had another farrier out last week to check up on his feet and he told me it has ammonia and therefore draws moisture out - not ideal with the dry weather at present. Farrier 2 advised hoof oiling every other day or just when they seem particularly dry. I've found generally the hoof oil has helped with the external cracking. At first when his shoes came off they were cracking horrendously (you can see the gaps in the pics) Can't say keratex has done much from what I can tell so will drop that happily but surely oiling occasionally is good for putting moisture in?

Can you recommend any decent feeds/supplements to help his hooves that aren't going to break the bank?
 
He's your horse so you can oil if you like. I've not put anything on my horses hooves since 2010 and they look fab even in this dry weather (looked good in all that rain last year too). It would be worth asking Oberon for her feeding 101 crib sheet. A lot of people really rate Pro Hoof (ebay) but I found that the biggest difference to my horses hoof quality happened when I swapped them to a low sugar, high fibre diet. I am thinking about Pro Hoof for them though - I just haven't got around to ordering it yet.

As your horn quality improves (and grows down) you will get less cracking, especially when you do enough road work to approach the point of self trimming. Excess growth chipping off the bottom of the hooves is to be expected and is not a problem. Mine tend to square off their toes as they are due for a trim, but this is really a good thing as it keeps the breakover correct.

Look at the Rockley blog and see how the rehab horses there change the shape of their hooves by chipping off the excess on their track system. :)

PS it's Formaldehyde/Formalin that's in Keratex. Great stuff for preserving dead sharks mind you...
 
There's a lot to like about those feet, but as faracat says I'd drop the keratex and save your money. My trimmer used to say "never put anything on hooves that you wouldn't put on your own skin", excellent advice!

Pleeeeese don't put fronts back on, they're fine.
 
They look a lot healthier than my TB's when she first went barefoot. Diet and movement is everything :) I would get some boots (Gloves maybe) until the hooves are stronger if you need them.
 
Thanks for all your positive comments guys! Gives me confidence I am doing the right thing for him. Majority of people up my yard have theirs shod so think I'm mad going barefoot ("especially with a TB!!")

I think we will stick it out barefoot - I will cut the keratex altogether but will continue hoof oiling as I do think it has helped with the cracking...maybe just 2/3 days a week though. And I will ask about that feed sheet thanks again Faracat!

I was wondering about switching to simple systems feeding - a friend of mine really rates their total eclipse supplement.
 
Clava said:
They look a lot healthier than my TB's when she first went barefoot. Diet and movement is everything :)
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I agree and would add the word 'comfortable' to movement.

Re oils, much disagreement on this I know. The hoof does breath and anything but water can interfere with this and also if there is any fungus etc.lurking oil traps it under in a nice environment for it to flourish.
Horn quality will also improve with bare hooves being on the ground. Horn responds to stimulation and wear.

Good luck and I think you are off to a much better start than many.
 
They aint bad at all really :)

Agree with not bothering with oil + keratex. If its really dry I aim a hose at mine a few times a week as they have no where to paddle but apart from that dont bother with dressings - another money spinner rather like rugs ;)

Can you walk him in hand on tarmac? Build it up over a few weeks so he's self trimming a bit. Also the back of the front frogs looks a little thrushy and shrivelled so keep an eye on it and maybe disinfect or use some field paste.
 
amandap said:
I agree and would add the word 'comfortable' to movement.

Re oils, much disagreement on this I know. The hoof does breath and anything but water can interfere with this and also if there is any fungus etc.lurking oil traps it under in a nice environment for it to flourish.
Horn quality will also improve with bare hooves being on the ground. Horn responds to stimulation and wear.

Good luck and I think you are off to a much better start than many.
Click to expand...

Quite right :)

(always comfortable! which is why I'd get some boots in case they need them )
 
mizzbiz said:
I was wondering about switching to simple systems feeding - a friend of mine really rates their total eclipse supplement.
Click to expand...

Ditto everything that's already been said :) IMO, I wouldn't bother with simple systems though, I've looked at it and a friend is on it but you can get the exact same things for a lot cheaper else where. For example, their micronised linseed is about £10 more expensive than charnwoods and the grass nuts are about £5 more expensive than northern crop's. All that's in the total eclipse is linseed, seaweed and yeast. Your better off feeding the linseed, a min/vit supplement and brewers yeast :)
 
Hi everyone

Can't say thanks enough re positive comments. I was panicking about all the chipping and cracking in case he gets an infection but you've settled that.

Ellie - thanks for the advice re simple systems. I did think it was a bit pricey! I'm going to go to the shop tomorrow and see what they have for footsies! He is losing weight due to lack of grass at the moment so I need to grab a bag of alpha a or allen and page to start putting weight on anyway.
 
ellie11987 said:
Ditto everything that's already been said :) IMO, I wouldn't bother with simple systems though, I've looked at it and a friend is on it but you can get the exact same things for a lot cheaper else where. For example, their micronised linseed is about £10 more expensive than charnwoods and the grass nuts are about £5 more expensive than northern crop's. All that's in the total eclipse is linseed, seaweed and yeast. Your better off feeding the linseed, a min/vit supplement and brewers yeast :)
Click to expand...

I agree about Simple systems. Get a bag of linseed (some places on the net are cheaper than buying direct from Charnwoods), a good hoof supplement and I feed speedibeet (but lots of people feed fastfibre).
 
Hi Clava, thanks for your comments

I wasn't sure about switching to a beet as I've always seen it as a winter feed? Not sure why just have! It does work out cheaply with the soaking etc. Will have a look at the shop tomorrow and decide on something then. Linseed sounds ideal- can you recommend any websites?
 
The following is the response I got from enquiring with simple systems about what his feed should be.

"Thank you for contacting Simple System about your Thoroughbred. I am sure we can come up with some feeding suggestions for him.

One of the main differences between our feeds and others on the market is that ours are completely free of all cereals, molasses, pulses, additives and preservatives. Everything is natural and being forage-based, our feeds are digested just like hay or grass.

The feeds I am going to suggest for your boy are naturally low in sugar and starch so they are non-heating, but they have good levels of nutrition to support his general health and hooves and will supply him with energy and stamina in a slow release form.

Thoroughbreds tend to do well on good grazing and then as the grass declines, they can drop weight. In some cases, they can almost drop weight overnight. Therefore, you will need to keep an eye on his condition and adjust his feeding accordingly. You will probably find that you are feeding him considerably more than you have been doing – but please don’t be alarmed as our feeds are forages, you can’t really overdo the amount you give him! If his weight should be 550kg, he needs a minimum of 11 kg of forage per day (made up of his bucket feeds, hay and grass) to maintain his weight, so please bear this in mind when working out his rations.

My first suggestion is you swap the happy hoof for GreenGold. This is a chop made from top quality lucerne, which is flash dried making it very nutritious. Lucerne has good levels of protein, but low in starch and sugar so it is non-heating. Mix the GreenGold with a combination of LuciePellets and Blue Bag Grass Pellets. Feed these as you would any other chaff and nut – i.e. two parts GreenGold to one part combined LuciePellets and Blue Bag Grass Pellets. Feed as much as he needs to maintain his condition and energy requirements. As our feeds are unmolassed, you will need to dampen them down before feeding. Lucerne is one of the main ingredients in Formula4Feet and Farriers Formula, so this diet should help with his hoof quality.

As a balancer, I would suggest Total Eclipse. This is tops up on the vitamins and minerals a forage feed horse requires. It is great for coat, skin, hooves and also acts as a prebiotic. The recommended feeding amount for a horse like yours is a coffee mugful per day.

If you find your boy requires more condition, then Top Nosh is our top up pelleted feed that really helps build and maintain condition. Again, it won’t heat him up and is great for his feet as well. It is fed at 100g per 100kg bodyweight per day, but it is quite safe to double of even triple this amount if need be.

I always recommend that horses and ponies have free access to a plain white salt lick such as our Pure English Organic Salt Bucket which will leave you with a handy skip when the salt is all used up!

Research has shown that overfeeding garlic to horses can result in a form of anaemia, so the recommended amount if just 10g per day for a horse."

No mention of linseed just lucerne, low starch/sugar = non heating unmollassed chaff and nuts, vits and minerals. Hrrmm
 
fwiw it's worth knowing that some horses are intolerant (ie get footy) on lucerne/alfalfa- the fact that it is used (afaik as a bulker) in F4F/FF is irrelevant IMO. Re the balancer if it does have seaweed in it this is usually too high in iodine. I also wouldn't feed any garlic at all.

Mine are both good doers and get fast fibre or speedi beet as a base for their minerals- handful of pony nuts (as one can be a bit of a fussy eater) and yea sacc, linseed (from charnwood) and one gets oats. It does depend how much condition yours holds though, some get on with alfalfa ok and it is higher energy/protein than a plain straw chaff.

They look like good feet to start off from though :), don't be surprised if in a few weeks he goes a bit footy- mine did as the wall wears down/foot wakes up a bit so you may need some boots to help if this occurs.
 
I wouldn't use Simple Systems either. They promote alfalfa very heavily. As others have said it can make a barefoot horse footy and quite a large proportion of the equine population don't tolerate it very well.

Unmolassed beet such as Kwik Beet makes a good base for carrying supplements and in quantity is good at putting on condition. You can mix with micronised linseed (not lozenges or pellets) which is also good at putting on condition whilst being low in sugar and starch.

Seaweed is not a good mineral supplement - you would be better off with something from the Forage Plus range or maybe Pro Hoof.
 
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