worn hooves!! Advice needed please!!

0

0310Star

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 October 2010
Messages
1,228
Visit site
Sorry its long, but want to put every detail in!!

Our yard has 4 horses on, one being mind. They are all barefoot and all have fantastic feet.
Since the fields have been so wet we have opened the field up onto the yard during the day so they can choose where to stand and tied haynets up in the dry places, and as it turns out they spend most of their time on the yard even after the hay is eaten.
One of the horses was being very short when ridden so last night owner got the farrier out, farrier suggested it may be the road work but as it turns out this particular horse hasn't done any in a while! farrier had a look at the feet and was shocked at hose worn they were, he was completely foot sore! We had a look at the others and they are all completely worn down!

Now we are trying to decide what to do next. We dont want to trash our summer paddocks so dont want them in there, and their curent paddock is just mud which wont be helping with making their feet lovely and soft :(

Now my farrier has spent over a year getting my horses feet to perfection barefoot (she has a lot of confirmational/medical issues in her lower legs) and so I am reluctant to put shoes on her and ruin all of our hard work, the others also will only use this as a last resort. We thought about hoof boots but would they be any good for long periods of time? They would be in them every day for a minimum of 4/5 hours and I am concerned they would rub and also cause their feet to get weak again and having to transition all over again.

We dont want them in 24/7 if we can help in but they will be in most of the time and out for a few hours a day until we can sort something else, IF we can sort something else...

I also thought that cutting all sugar out of their diets (they aren't on overly sugary diets but the little odd bits could help maybe?) or putting them inot a hoof kind chaff maybe??


Any advice would be really appreciated!!
 
I agree with Oberon. Full diet info would also be handy.

It is not uncommon for feet to be well worn at this time of year but perhaps you just need to readress the balance between hard and soft turnout and increase hard turnout gradually...
 
Mine is unshod behind over winter for the first time this year, and I have applied keratex and cornucrescine to his feet to help with exactly this - his feet seem fine now, but won't hold up to the road work I do in summer so will be shod for that.
 
wet fields = soft horn which wears quickly. -think how soft your own nails are if immersed in water for periods of time.
We need the weather to dry up the fields to dry outand the horn will harden and wear less quickly. --------simples.
All the horses in our area have worn their feet shorter than normal this past few months but as the farrier said the hoof is growing [as proved by one of mine with seedy-toe growing out quickly] but there is hardly anything for him to trim when he called since months ago. Several of our areas farriers have mentiooned this to clients.
 
It may be that going from living on soft ground in the field to spending most of their time on hardstanding has been too big an adjustment to happen at once. Feet need time to adjust to changes in living conditions. If you could limit their access to the hardstanding and gradually increase it, you should find their feet adapt well.

Of course, there may be thrush issues from the wet also causing probs. Agree with OberBaubles that pics would be useful.
 
Not sure how big the yard area is but can you put down rubber matting so they aren't on the concrete? Mine used to spend time in a cattle court over the winter and they do wear the hooves down quite a bit. We had areas of straw down but it was easier as it was inside. Is there a school they can be turned out in?
 
I am going through EXACTLY this atm ! I am just waiting for the farrier now, and will take it from there. Shy has been barefoot until now (he's 5 going on 6), but he is just not coping atm. He is fed just a low cal balancer and hay. Not much grass to be had.

I may also get the vet out just to check things out (he did have a lami scare a while back), but he's very short on his off fore. I am really concerned, and going by what my farrier says, I am going to try hoof boots (Cavellos). If he needs shoes, he will certainly have them, but I don't want to go that route.

I feel your pain. x
 
Thank you all for the replies. They have all been barefoot for a long time, mine was the last to convert and its been over a year with her. We can hack them on any ground, they all have really good feet and have never had any issues! So this is all new for all of us.
Problem is that if this weather persists then they will all be crippled by the time to ground drys out enough to move onto summer grazing! :mad: Half of the problem is the new bit of yard with new concrete, it is so abrasive being newly laid that it is what has caused them to have worn down so much. I dont think it would be converting to different living areas as they have been in the same place for a good few months now! Just getting too much I think with the new concrete.
They all have matting in their stables so the plan so far is to give them a hay net in their stable in the morning, put them out in the field for a few hours from say 11-2, then put them back in their stables with a net so to avoid even more wear on their feet.

I have keratex for when my mare first went barefoot and it worked very well but the problem is that they are so worn that the wall of the hoof if actually higher than the sole now on all of them (not very good on the actual terms :p hope you can kind of understand what I mean!) The one that went very short/slightly lame, his farrier has suggested he stay in until the owner can get some boots sorted as he doesn't think his feet will hold up to it much longer as he is already in a fair amount of discomfort.

Does anybody have any experience of using boots for long periods of time??

My farrier is coming out tomorrow anyway so I am going to speak to him and see what he thinks but its going to be hard balancing my mares feet correctly now as there is nothing there to trim!! :eek:
 
Twinkle Shy said:
I am going through EXACTLY this atm ! I am just waiting for the farrier now, and will take it from there. Shy has been barefoot until now (he's 5 going on 6), but he is just not coping atm. He is fed just a low cal balancer and hay. Not much grass to be had.

I may also get the vet out just to check things out (he did have a lami scare a while back), but he's very short on his off fore. I am really concerned, and going by what my farrier says, I am going to try hoof boots (Cavellos). If he needs shoes, he will certainly have them, but I don't want to go that route.

I feel your pain. x
Click to expand...

This is exactly what ours are like! The two TB's (one being mine) have started bucking ridden but we just thought it was them being fresh as they soon settle down, feel really guilty that it may be due to this now! :(
I think we are going to try the boot route too if all else fails, and adjusting the diets a bit!
 
If they are truly worn down too much I would just ease up on the work a bit until the hooves adjust to the yard. They will. :)

More likely something else going on imo. Boot just for riding.
 
I think your plan is a good one for the moment.

I wouldn't discount something else going on, however. My horses are both comfortable on most surfaces with their hoof walls bevelled out of a load bearing capacity (hoof walls shorter than sole). 'Twas done for serious flare, and boots are needed for riding, but on 90% of surfaces they are fine.

Perhaps thrush, from the wet could be contributing to your issues?
 
baker190 said:
My farrier is coming out tomorrow anyway so I am going to speak to him and see what he thinks but its going to be hard balancing my mares feet correctly now as there is nothing there to trim!! :eek:
Click to expand...


If they are as worn down as you say the last person they want is someone trimming them, maybe a little roll but from the sounds of it I doubt they even need that.

Theyre self trimming to some extent on the yard which is a good thing provided they arent footsore with it.

I was going to suggest boots for a few hours a day if necessary on the yard.

Whats the diet?
 
IMO a barefoot horse should not have much length to the hoof wall. They should wear their feet so that the frog/caudal hoof and toe callous are the weight bearing parts with the wall being their to protect the hoof capsule.
Here is an example.
canonpics456.jpg


The other thing that you should remember is that wear stimulates growth.
In 20+ years of barefoot work my farrier has never known a horse wear its feet away! Some have sore moments but they respond to this by growing better hooves.The surface they live on is the surface they will be able to work on.
Having said all that......it has been wet,wet ,wet and even the above horse is disliking the sharp stones because of soggy feet.:(.............I wish I had a concrete yard to keep him on!;)
 
I knew a horse who wore old macs good boots 24/7 in summer and he was fine. The owner put a new piece of animalintex in there daily, to soak up moisture so he didn't get thrush. He came in at nights in winter and didn't wear the boots in the stable. He was a TB and lived like this for 3yrs.

Once your horses hooves have grown back a bit I would give them half an hour on the concrete daily before putting them in the field, and gradually over weeks increase the time spent on concrete. Is there any way of sectioning off the area with new concrete? I went out on a hack once, on an unshod horse with decent hoof growth who was due for the farrier the next week. Rode 45min along a newly laid road and had to cancel the farrier on return to the yard, because there was nothing left to trim!
 
Yes, horses aren't machines, they respond to their environment, management and feed we need to learn to adjust with them I believe.

Trimming anything off short hooves will only exacerbate any soreness, as abitodd says wear stimulates growth but it does take a period of adjustment. I would leave them bare on the yard to adjust and ride on softer surfaces or use boots for riding. They can walk/move at their own pace on the yard. Checking diet and other possible issues is always worth doing. Perhaps the hay is loaded with starch and sugars for eg?

Great photo abitodd btw.
 
My horse is fed Hifi Original, speedi beet and spillers original balancer. same diet as always!

The farrier wont be able to trim anything off I doubt but my horse has 6 weekly visits on vets orders to adjust the angle of her feet (short toes, long heels, cant think of the name for it), I also want him to have a look at her feet and tell me I am not over reacting (this could be a pissiblilty ;)) and for any advice on it!

Mine isn't the one who is sore, its one of the others but mine's feet were very hot last night and look very worn. We aren't really doing any road work at the moment due to work/light timings, but I took her out last week and she was fine!

Personally I would like to keep her as bare as posisble (no keen on boots for long periods of time) but I am just concerned they are wearing too much :confused:
 
baker190 said:
My horse is fed Hifi Original, speedi beet and spillers original balancer. same diet as always!

The farrier wont be able to trim anything off I doubt but my horse has 6 weekly visits on vets orders to adjust the angle of her feet (short toes, long heels, cant think of the name for it), I also want him to have a look at her feet and tell me I am not over reacting (this could be a pissiblilty ;)) and for any advice on it!

Mine isn't the one who is sore, its one of the others but mine's feet were very hot last night and look very worn. We aren't really doing any road work at the moment due to work/light timings, but I took her out last week and she was fine!

Personally I would like to keep her as bare as posisble (no keen on boots for long periods of time) but I am just concerned they are wearing too much :confused:
Click to expand...

You will find, being bare foot, your horse's feet will feel warmer to touch than when they were shod as the blood is actually being allowed to flow round the hoof - i.e. the hoof is receiving stimulation. I wouldn't be panicing too much - as already said, the hoof needs time to adjust to the new surface - mud or rubber matting is MUCH less abbraisive than concrete so to go from 24/7 on either mud or rubber matting to 12 hours a day on concrete is a BIG change and will result in significant wear.

The diet you are feeding isn't as sugar free as it could be. I would vcertainly be feeding hi-fi mollasses free rather than original (but I wouldn't feed it at all TBH) and I would be double checking the sugar content of the balancer too... and then getting a good quality hoof supplement like pro hoof or forage plus's one to support healthy hoof growth.

It's a massive learning curve this barefoot malarkey and freak weather makes it all the more challenging :)
 
IT'S BLOODY THRUSH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek::eek:

Plus his feet are very soft due to the waterlogging.

Farrier measured him for hoof boots, and is going to ring me tonight with his suggestions, plus he's getting me some Thrushbuster.

ps, yes it's Topspec Lite, but i think I'm going to switch next bag..
 
Twinkle Shy.... At least it is nothing too major and you can get on to the job of improving things now!!

Thats interesting to hear that my diet could be adjusted, I was thinking it could do with some tweaking but its always hard to know what to do diet wise as I dont want her weight moving either :confused:
I did see that Dengi do a hoof kind complete feed... Anybody have any experience of this?
Or any other suggestions on whats best to feed??
 
Last year coming into the winter I took hinds off of 2. This left 4 shod in front and the yearling turning 2 bare. I had worn down feet and some cautious horses while everyone adjusted. The mud was being blamed. This year mud is much worse for much longer. They are not over wearing their feet. Nobody is really being trimmed either and I now have 4 completely bare. The diet is different in that I've tweaked it even more for less sugar and starch. So diet is a factor. Mine have concrete stalls with no matts and eating areas mean they do have to stand on the concrete. However, before I'm slagged, they have 2ft plus of straw underneath them and good tall sides. Plenty of coverage. But also an area of hard to stand too. I'm quite surprised how well everyone is after last year. And my gaps are mud heck and the bottom is tiny grit rock. I keep expecting more issues you know cos I'm a pessimist!

Terri
 
Dengie have a product called Healthy Hooves which is great, but you need to feed the RDA to get the vits and minerals in (a lot,lol). basically, you are looking for a very low sugar, low starch feed.

I gave up on normal feeds as Shy seems to be very fussy, and wasn't to keen on the "chaffy style" feeds - so he just gets lite balancer, and he has never looked better, plus Linseed Oil. Plus adlib hay. A lot of peeps use the lo-cal balancers as the diet basis.
 
This may be a ridiculous suggestion but what would you think about bedding the yard down? Is is possible to cover it in a thick layer of straw for now or is that a completely stupid suggestion as it will just get soaked? I think I am answering my own question here.... :rolleyes:
 
I think it is just a question of adjustment- I have kept my horses on a yarded (tarmac/concrete/stone-approx 1/4 acre for 3 horses with access to deep bed + matted stables and some turnout for a kick around on a woodfibre surface) area over winter for over three years now- the first year I did have problems like yourself- too much wear on one horses feet, in addition to 6 weekly trims and roadwork- too much, too soon. This year my horses are all quite happy doing lots of roadwork, are not trimmed just tidied and their feet have never been better-they are on a very low sugar/starch diet + vitamin and mineral supplements.
Perhaps boot for roadwork, but otherwise just wait for the growth to catch up with the wear- if very worn then excercise (riding / lunging / freeschooling) on a soft surface will stimulate more growth without causing footsoreness. The more excercise the horse has, the quicker his feet will grow!
 
Everything else aside I've found (and seen at Rockley) that most horses will grow and wear their hooves the way they need them and our idea of balanced isn't always right for them. Horses are very good at compensating for any conformational issues all by themselves, why exactly does your vet think your horse's hooves need 'balancing' and have you ever tried letting the horse do it their own way?

Mine looks odd just looking at his hoof shape but actually looking at his whole legs and way of moving he's better than ever with the funny shaped hooves. Just something to think about :)
 
With regards to long heel, short toes i would think my wording is totally wrong! Am i right in saying pastern to toe alignment? Or digging myself in a bigger hole with my wording :-p basically my horse has ringbone, sidebones, djd and the startings of navicular. Vet wants her in remedials with pads and wedges but myself and farrier have agreed that for now she is better barefoot as she has copes so well and has come a very long way in her progress since being barefoot, would rather keep her out of shoes for as long as possible.
Vet has agreed that as long as she is trimmed correctly (farrier is very well respected and my vet trusts his word and has done for yesrs) we should keep progressing!
Does that make a bit more sense?
 
For those who are finding thrush persistent - diet and movement are key.

Movement to stimulate the horse to produce more tissue faster than the thrush can eat it.

And diet to ensure adequate zinc to produce good quality tissue and boost the immune system.

The zinc is low in UK's forage (and the iron is high....which blocks the zinc) so it's no wonder we have such problems with thrush/mud fever every time there's a spot of rain ;)

We also like to feed lots of molasses in the UK - this doesn't help either :o

My horses stand in a bog most of the year. The Tank is always fine. The old lad isn't completely immune to mud fever or thrush - but he's a helluva lot better since I got the mineral balance right......:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top