White line separation... rubbish feet... any ideas, please?

ShadowFlame

ShadowFlame

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Yuup. More feet stuff. Sorry!

Horse in question is a 4yo Arab. I've had him 3mths, he was underweight when he arrived and his feet were diabolical (a previous thread on here brought up possible hoof wall separation syndrome, this has improved no end and the feet aren't chipping to the degree they used to), however the white lines are a state. I'm having to chisel stones out of them daily, and I'm not just talking one or two, I'm talking the whole way round the hoof. The fronts aren't great, the backs are worse.

To give an idea, this was taken yesterday:

IMG_20130826_143402_853_zpsa7ec4812.jpg


He was trimmed 2 weeks ago, farrier had stated that there was nothing to take off his feet, that his feet are poor and that he wants to shoe him up next time around. Me being me, I'm reluctant to unless that's really necessary.

So, any suggestions? He's out 24/7 at the minute on no hard feet (as he just doesn't need it), I have been offered a place for him on a Paddock Paradise track which I'm sorely tempted to take up, but I'm not an expert on feet. Maybe shoes really are the way to go?

I'm just musing to myself now. Any thoughts, please?
 
I don't believe shoes can help white line issues. Work/regular trimming along with possible dietary changes are the way to go in my understanding.
Re shoeing, is he sound? If he is I would try other avenues first myself, but I would anyway. lol
White line stretch is usually dietary in the first instance and it will be a case of waiting for better growth to grow down.

This article is about shelley brittle walls that wont hold a shoe but is imo relevant to your horse. http://www.hoofrehab.com/HorseWon'tHoldShoe.html
 
amandap said:
I don't believe shoes can help white line issues. Work/regular trimming along with possible dietary changes are the way to go in my understanding.
Re shoeing, is he sound? If he is I would try other avenues first myself, but I would anyway. lol
White line stretch is usually dietary in the first instance and it will be a case of waiting for better growth to grow down.

This article is about shelley brittle walls that wont hold a shoe but is imo relevant to your horse. http://www.hoofrehab.com/HorseWon'tHoldShoe.html
Click to expand...

This ^^^ can help fix the hooves. But in the meantime, I'd recommend Red Horse Products HoofStuff. It's a sort of sticky white hoof packing that's antibacterial. You can make it into a long thin sausage shape, and poke it into the separation. I'm always surprised how long it stays in :) It won't fix things, but it will help stop stones and grit getting stuck in the gap while your horse grows better hooves :)
 
Trim the hoof wall down to the level of the sole, this will help the foot to heal quicker and the white line should start to disappear, at present all weight will be on the hoof wall, not good.
 
amandap said:
I don't believe shoes can help white line issues. Work/regular trimming along with possible dietary changes are the way to go in my understanding.
Re shoeing, is he sound? If he is I would try other avenues first myself, but I would anyway. lol
White line stretch is usually dietary in the first instance and it will be a case of waiting for better growth to grow down.

This article is about shelley brittle walls that wont hold a shoe but is imo relevant to your horse. http://www.hoofrehab.com/HorseWon'tHoldShoe.html
Click to expand...

Interesting article... and a good point. He is sound, but can be footy on stoney ground. I'm doing as much work with him as I can without making him too sore, and although the wall seems to be improving (we're not losing chunks of hoof anymore), the white line just isn't changing. In terms of diet, what's the best thing to put him on?
 
Brightbay said:
This ^^^ can help fix the hooves. But in the meantime, I'd recommend Red Horse Products HoofStuff. It's a sort of sticky white hoof packing that's antibacterial. You can make it into a long thin sausage shape, and poke it into the separation. I'm always surprised how long it stays in :) It won't fix things, but it will help stop stones and grit getting stuck in the gap while your horse grows better hooves :)
Click to expand...

Ooh. I'll look into that... do tack shops usually stock it?

putasocinit said:
Trim the hoof wall down to the level of the sole, this will help the foot to heal quicker and the white line should start to disappear, at present all weight will be on the hoof wall, not good.
Click to expand...

That trim was only done 2wks ago :\ Farrier did claim there was virtually nothing to take off though, which was a problem. He does weightbear on his frogs, they are always scuffed after taking him out on the roads.
 
You have to order the Red Horse stuff online I think. There are a few places that stock it, but I've always ordered it.

I've not found anything else that's as effective in keeping stones out :)
 
The new improved white line will take time to grow down so you will be waiting weeks to see a difference. My boy had a stubborn infection in there which was causing the separation and it only improved when I added extra copper to his feed. I had to be quite particular about keeping it clean and trying to keep on top of his feet needing trimmed so there was no excuse for them to flare. New white line is tight but it took a while...

Personally I wouldn't shoe over a separated white line, there's no way you could keep it clean with shoes over it.
 
ShadowFlame said:
In terms of diet, what's the best thing to put him on?
Click to expand...
Ok, I'm not a dietitian but it's just a basic horse friendly diet. Low sugar, forage based diet with balanced minerals.
Grass and hays can be a problem for some horses as sugar content can vary but perhaps start with a decent balancer with good levels of minerals and lysine. Ones bf peeps use often are Pro hoof or pro balance (ebay), Forage plus ones and Equimins metabalance and I believe their Advance complete has recently been upgraded.
Most also add extra salt and micronized linseed if grass is restricted and in winter.
If Oberon is still around she has a diet sheet she shares if you pm her.

Here's some Forage Plus articles. Also check out Pete Ramey's articles page, there is one on feeding the hoof. http://forageplus.co.uk/category/nutrition/
 
I found a huge improvement quite quickly this summer using the Forageplus summer hoof balancer, you could see the improved and non separated new growth starting within a month. apparently it might be the copper (and lack of iron which is in a lot of supps yet Uk soils have a lot of iron normally anyway) that helps.

Worth talking to trimmer tho.
 
My tb has had very similar problems which my farrier dismissed as nothing to worry about. He also had blood in the white line and infection from bits getting in. He was very sore and unhappy.
I finally bit the bullet and got a podiatrist/ bare foot trimmer to look at him.
I wish I'd done it far sooner and saved him such a horrible summer!
I'm not saying get a podiatrist as I've heard many bad reports about them, I got lucky mines amazing and has helped so much.
She recommended a supplement by Progressive Earth called Pro Balance, getting horse to stand in Milton- not managed this one yet tbh! Using Eucalyptus oil along the white line area and frog. Walking him out to get circulation going a bit (mines not rideable)
Restricted access to grass was another recommendation.
I've been following her advice for about 2/3 weeks which obviously isn't long enough to see a massive improvement in hoof quality but I certainly see an improvement in the horses comfort and his feet have definitely not deteriorated any further (previous to this they were worsening almost daily)
She said putting shoes on, which was my plan would maybe help comfort wise short term but basically would just be masking the problem so I'd not be rushing to shoe your horse yet
 
My mare often gets this, I use a cheap wire brush to clean the foot I then make a strong mix of milton and water and syringe it all round the foot, i do this a few times a week and once a week i put tree tree oil on the white line it does improve but will take a few weeks, her feet are always worst in summer as the grass is richer so effect the feet, I also soak her hay for longer in summer.
 
My barefoot (backs) cob used to suffer with this problem, my farrier couldn't wait to get his shoes back on to offer protection.

Whilst you haven't got any shoes on you could always wrap duct tape around the edge of the hoof to stop the stones getting in and up the white line. My farrier gave me this tip when i had a shoe taken off my cob due to side bone, the duct tape would stop his hoof splitting
 
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