I wish CFFarm.
[QUOTE=stb;8297283]
Me too. The farrier I was using was “the best”, and that was according to pretty much everyone around here. But - my horse’s feet looked like crap even though I was getting them trimmed religiously every 3 to 4 weeks. I switched to a barefoot trimmer and the difference in my horse’s feet is amazing. Those contracted heels that we couldn’t get rid of? The ones that my previous big shot farrier told me “were just the way some horses are made”? After 3 months with my new trimmer my boy’s heels are spreading very nicely and his frogs are really beefing up. Also, his movement is much better, since he no longer has too long toes and underrun heels. Trust your gut.[/QUOTE]
Yes!! We had bilateral quarter cracks on his fronts. Took him to Rood and Riddle TWICE! And he was at a a farrier conference twice. All of those farriers trimmed his toe short but “the best” kept leaving his toe long…well, longer than the experts were. And he kept cracking. Finally changed farriers and I told him my concerns. He started trimming him correctly and his feet are looking exponentially better. It is so hard when you are told your horse is being seen by “the best” and make that move .
[QUOTE=BellaMia;8303299]
I am gong to be doing them myself after training. Just trying to hang on to the good growth.
Not moisturizing at this time because it it wet. That was only when it was hot, sandy, drying and the moisture was being sucked clear out of those feet. Season has changed.[/QUOTE]
Well now hopefully next time when it is hot, sandy, drying and the mooisture is being sucked clear out of his feet NEXT time, you’ll remember this and NOT MOISTURISE his feet.
Hopefully, too, you understand now that he can’t be left out where it is wet at all, and you must keep him inside so his feet don’t get wet.
Also, in case you didn’t understand, once his feet dry out, keep him out of the wet and keep him inside, so they don’t get wet again. AND, do not put anything on his feet.
If his feet get very very dry and dried out, you have succeeded and done everything right, finally.
I never, ever put any moisture on my horse’s feet. He has fantastic, hard, dry feet. I don not own any hoof application. No one in my barn uses anything on the feet, except turpentine and keeping them inside if it is muddy out.
The cracks are from the bad trims. Toes and long and flared, and his heels are underrun. Good luck finding a new farrier to fix them.
Also, why are you waiting until after training to trim his feet? He needs a trim now, yesterday. I wouldn’t be riding a horse with feet like this. Not sure what you are training him for?
[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8310220]
I never, ever put any moisture on my horse’s feet. He has fantastic, hard, dry feet. I don not own any hoof application. No one in my barn uses anything on the feet, except turpentine and keeping them inside if it is muddy out.
If i kept my horses in because it was muddy & wet out all the time they’d spend entire summer locked up. They fare fine when wet out, if healthy and on good diet good feet start from the inside out. Mine live out 24/7 wet or dry out, year round. Never a chipped hoof or a crack solid good feet on both horses,living like a horse should outside.
Some feet can’t handle being in wet conditions. We don’t know if this horse has those feet. We can’t know that until a competent farrier gets his feet properly trimmed.
But in the MEANtime, the feet do need to stay dry because of the issues originated by poor trimming and compounded by constant wet conditions.
[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8310227]
Also, why are you waiting until after training to trim his feet? He needs a trim now, yesterday. I wouldn’t be riding a horse with feet like this. Not sure what you are training him for?[/QUOTE]
I think she meant her own training, training to trim.
[QUOTE=CFFarm;8305548]
If this is the Bella Mia I know of, don’t you have a covered arena? Couldn’t you turn out there to avoid the wetness? Lately, my guys only get out an hour or so because it’s been so rainy and they are used to being out 24/7.[/QUOTE]
where in the world is it that you guys are getting rain? jeeze, it’s only rained here like twice and I live in the wettest area of NE…
but OP PLEASE no more moisturizing… think of biology, what happens when fibers get wet… they expand… when they expand they cannot support structures as efficiently and then when they dry out they are stressed and crack… NO liquid period should go near this horse’s feet… and as you know, new farrier.
You know, just throwing this out there for consideration…
I’ve been bedding my horses on peat moss this past year. Early googling on the topic turned up comments of it making hooves wet by its dampness, but after a year of use I’m finding the opposite - its ideal moisture control if not drying.
Just tossing it out there if your horse spends more time in a stall than out.
[QUOTE=BEARCAT;8310358]
Like this?
https://www.facebook.com/harry.hansen.3382/posts/1613124832283334[/QUOTE]
Why wasn’t any length of toe removed there? Seems like it would just pull back apart to me…
[QUOTE=Mosey_2003;8310335]
I think she meant her own training, training to trim.[/QUOTE]
Thank you Mosey. That is what I meant. She is on a 5 week trim schedule and I would like it to be a four with rasping in between.
[QUOTE=BellaMia;8280288]
http://s17.postimg.org/oqcke66nj/20150604_183404.jpg
There are two of these in each front hoof. This is an OLD pic and they have grown out almost halfway down and she has beautiful growth above now just FYI.[/QUOTE]
I have a two year old that developed some vertical cracks, my farrier (who also shoes for my vet so I trust him with my life) did two things. One, he used a hoof knife to carve grooves on top of the crack so it doesn’t continue to crack, if it keeps going to his the cornet band, then you’re in trouble. And two, he put a front show on her, the crack comes from the bottom up so by using the shoe to hold the hoof in place and keep it from separating and cracking more.
[QUOTE=beowulf;8310382]
where in the world is it that you guys are getting rain? jeeze, it’s only rained here like twice and I live in the wettest area of NE…
but OP PLEASE no more moisturizing… think of biology, what happens when fibers get wet… they expand… when they expand they cannot support structures as efficiently and then when they dry out they are stressed and crack… NO liquid period should go near this horse’s feet… and as you know, new farrier.[/QUOTE]
Northeast Florida.
[QUOTE=AKB;8281899]
Just say no. Take your horse to a university vet school farrier clinic. Then, you can get a plan from a certified farrier. You may also have your horse seen by a lameness surgeon vet to be sure there is nothing medical causing the problems.[/QUOTE]
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
I might have missed where you live, but there must not be many farriers within 100 miles if this one is the best you can get.
I am not a farrier, nor do I play one on TV, but several things stand out to me.
Why is this horse barefoot? How can your farrier control the weight bearling portion of the feet without shoes? I know there are some people who think shoes are the devil’s work, but when you have feet like these you use everything available to you to balance and support the feet.
Why is the farrier coming every 5 weeks? My horses have good feet and my farrier comes every 4 weeks in the summer and 5 weeks in the winter. Maybe that is why my horses have good feet.
Why is the foot wet and muddy? If dry feet are desireable, why is the horse outside when the feet will get wet? I know that many people do not have a barn, but hopefully everyone has a run in shed/dry place for horses. Sure it is nice to leave horses out, but not when that will make a bad problem worse.
You need a detailed plan. You need somone other than this guy to draw up that plan. I 100% agree with taking this horse to a university podiatry center and having a team of specialists look at these feet.
Has your farrier requested/required a full set of x-rays on these feet to see what is going in inside the hoof? Has a vet seen these feet? Did he take x-rays?
If I kept her in she would be in for months at this point. It has poured everyday. She is able to come in and go out as she pleases, but it is still a mud pit outside. She has now been moved to a 4 week schedule and he took a good bit off her toes this time which has made a noticeable difference. She actually looks like she has a hooves now a bit vs waterlogged platters. Irritated that if he had come when I had asked him to we would have cut out a couple of the cracks with this last trim, but because he didn’t they went up above his paring mark so we have a few months tacked on all going into winter. 
Vet was out the other day. Not happy about all the wet, but limited on what we can do. He suggested moving her to a place he knows, problem is it is well over an 1.5hr drive one way from my house IF there is no traffic. Fat chance on it being a quiet drive over there. Other than that, he has no suggestions. You can’t do much with the ground as saturated as it is. My house drains beautifully and is lovely grass. Problem is, I am not zoned for horses! Otherwise I would have her in my backyard, lol.
I agree. I think you should just leave her out in the mud and wet. It sounds like its just too hard to do anything else. You could move her to a better place with dryer areas for her, or keep her inside for a few months, that would be good for her, but it sounds like it would be just too hard for you. Keep on doing what you have been.
Ambitious Kate: You really are an interesting person, in a passive aggressive way.
So, by your feeling, keeping her in a stall 24/7 for a month or more
[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8313904]
I agree. I think you should just leave her out in the mud and wet. It sounds like its just too hard to do anything else. You could move her to a better place with dryer areas for her, or keep her inside for a few months, that would be good for her, but it sounds like it would be just too hard for you. Keep on doing what you have been.[/QUOTE]
would be much better for her than having the ability to come and go as she pleases? Really? So I guess her mental health doesn’t count for anything in your book? I also guess knowing that she stocks up severally if not allowed to move around, something that is not uncommon with previously hard worked OTTB’s, also doesn’t count in your book? Oh, wait, you might not have known that because you only pick through what you want to read. And count me as a bad owner wanting to be involved with my horses care and life. I mean, shoot, I guess everyone like you should have about 4 hours a day set aside JUST to get out to see your horse. Not including the time you want to actually groom and care for him/her, just drive time. Tell me, what’s it like having that much spare time in your day??? It must be AMAZING! Being an active mother myself, foster parent to several local rescues and a business owner, I guess the idea of having all that time just blows my mind. I really, honestly do appreciate your concern. But since you don’t really have anything beneficial to add other than passive aggressive hatefulness, why don’t you just mosey on along and enjoy ALL that spare time you have to fill each and every day in your stuck up little life that you so clear get so much joy out of. 
It really just exudes out of you! 
As for everyone else who has be helpful, thank you. I know the situation isn’t ideal, but when everything is flooded, it isn’t a simple as moving to a new barn. Everyone is underwater at the moment. My main point in posting was to ask if what the farrier was suggesting was the right move or if there was a better solution. Several of you have given me alternative ideas and I am implementing some of them. Hopefully it will ease up on the daily let downs which will let it dry up. A great thing about Florida is when it isn’t raining constantly, things dry out very quickly. You aren’t stuck with a mud pit for more than a few days and once the ground saturation drops, the rains won’t muddy it up but drain away. So there is hope on the horizon. And with a closer trim schedule and me rasping to tighten things up in between, we will have beautiful feet for the first time since I rescued her as a starved, beaten skeleton with infections running rampant off a meat truck earlier this year. Hooray for that! It takes time to turn things around and while her feet still stink, I am happy that she is at a good weight and still gaining to a perfect weight. All infections have long been cleared up. Worm count is awesome and the shine on her coat says it all. That and that she follows us everywhere when before, she was terrified of being touched. So I have to say that is great progress overall.
I always appreciate the COTH Members who are helpful and use their experiences to better others. This is a great board as a majority and I am grateful to having such wonderful expertise at the tips of my fingers whenever needed! Thank you guys!!
I’ll go against the grain and suggest that you’re on the right track… frequent schedule, you learn how to rasp in between. Get the foot balanced so there is no more pressure on the cracks, KEEP it balanced with weekly rasps if necessary, and watch the good growth continue down from the coronet band. Make sure the diet lends itself to healthy horn growth.
Staying in the stall for months on end will do no one any good.
Months on end is silly and being dramatic, but the concept is a valid one.
Yes, at some point you DO have to do what’s best for the feet, and manage the mental health as best you can. Is this a situation where she needs to be stalled for a few weeks while the ground dries out enough to not be constantly degrading her feet? I have no idea. But situations like that DO exist.
Unhealthy feet that stay waterlogged will have a terrible time regaining health, no matter how good the trimming becomes. It isn’t helped by having poor quality trimming which has led to the problems, or at least greatly exacerbated them. At some point, even with good trimming, you HAVE to get and keep them dried out for a period of time, before re-introducing them to wet conditions.
