Help me help my horse's awful feet!

[Proffie]

I have an older (19yo) OTTB with TERRIBLE feet. He was shod in front until this past February, when he developed a very deep abscess in one foot. Vet had to pull that shoe to treat it, and we left it off during treatment (soaking, wrapping, etc.). When the time came to put the shoe back on, the farrier was unable to get enough nail in to keep the shoe on. It fell off within days.

We then decided to try transitioning him to barefoot-- he’s retired and out on soft grass or in a bedded stall, so I thought this would be the time to see if that worked. That was 8 months ago, and he’s still tenderfooted and his walls are just crumbling. Did the online sizing with Scoot Boots and they told me he’s not a candidate for those because his “toes are too flared and his heels are too upright.” So now I have a footsore horse with no wall to nail into, who can’t wear the only brand of boot that can supposedly be worn 24/7. Also, he’s kept at a very remote retirement farm with limited access to farriers – certainly not one who can do therapeutic/glue on stuff.

I’m looking for any suggestions regarding other possible boot brands, or anything else I can do to try and grow enough foot back to get a shoe on, or something that could give him some sole relief.

[JB]

Do you have some good pictures of the feet?

What’s his diet?

Have any xrays been done to see if internal structures are aligned properly? Any chance he’s got low level metabolic issues and needs a diet change?

[NaturallyHappy]

We successfully used Woof Medical Boots on two - one w severe laminitis and the other w a badly inflamed coffin bone (per bone scan and w no diagnosis as to why). We also used Keratex hoof hardener and Custom Equine copper and zinc. I hope this is helpful somehow.

[WildGooseChase]

I’d be looking at diet first.

You cannot repair hoof that’s already grown, but you can grow better hoof material.

Has your hay source and pasture been tested? Start with copper and zinc. More than likely your horse is deficient. Is your water source, pasture, or free choice mineral blocks high in iron? If so, ask to use a hose end filter to get some of that out, take the blocks out as well. High iron levels will prevent the copper and zinc from doing their respective jobs.

The next set of minerals I would be looking at is calcium and phosphorus. It should be a 2:1 ratio.

Amino acids, fatty acids, Vitamin E and A are essential to hoof growth as well. Again, pasture/hay testing and feed guaranteed analysis are really useful here. All these things are lost in the haying process.

Sodium is next on the list. Your salt block isn’t giving them everything they need. Trust me. You’re far better off doing research into the GA of your feed, having hay/pasture tested, and pulling salt licks. Loose salt free choice or added to feed is a much better option.

It will take a least a year to grow an entire new hoof. Make sure diet is on point and all supplements/grains compliment your forage sources. Make sure your farrier is trimming balanced, and to the horse. Not the breed.

I really appreciate all the literature that Pete Ramey has put out. He has been a wonderful source for me, my horses and plenty of others.

Pete Ramey’s Diet

List of Articles on Pete’s Website

Scroll through the links above and see what you think. But remember, if the hoof doesn’t have what it needs to grow healthy, it won’t. You cannot “fix” hoof horn that is already grown out. You have to fix what hasn’t grown yet.

[Posting_Trot]

It really sounds like the trim might be part of the problem. High heels and flared toes aren’t a good look. That said, even if you can change your farrier/trimmer, it will take several cycles to address the trim adequately.

Are you able to work with the horse regularly? You could try painting the hooves you’ve got with Keratex Hoof Hardener. But you really have to be able to apply it several times a week for it to make much of a difference.

Can you get a different farrier? This may be the key. It might be that a farrier could do some glue on shoes for a couple of cycles, as the farrier addresses the trim and then you might be able to try barefoot again.

Sorry, in re-reading your initial post I saw that limited numbers of farriers worked local to the horse and glue-ons weren’t an option. The “remote” part of the description of the retirement farm also makes me think that you’re not seeing the horse multiple times a week. So Keratex isn’t really going to be of much use.

I think you’re in a tough spot here and I empathize.

Good luck.

[SLW]

I use one of the Equine Fusion hoof boot sets with great success.

I do agree with PostingTrot that the flare can be managed with appropriate trims.

[carman_liz]

Cushings/laminitis could cause hoof breadown and lameness. The soft grass you mention could be the source of a slow founder. Have you had a vet look at him or test for cushings? Any xrays done? Hoof testers on all 4 hooves/ does he have rings in his feet, those are a sign of laminitis flare ups as well. No amount of shoes or boots will help if there is a metabolic underlying issue that isn’t treated.

No real world advice on boots, but if you can find one that works better than being barefoot so he can move around, hell go for it at this point! Then have them come off and feet picked at the least while he is stalled and deeply bedded so it can breathe.

How often do you see him? How are his frogs and sulcus? Could thrush in the sulcus be an issue and affect his weight bearing / balance/causing growth issues and therefore breaking of hooves? Is he walked at all in a working walk a few times a week to encourage frog compression? IE: stimulating bloodflow and regrowth?

Cleaning the hooves when stalled, Pete Ramey thrush treatment packing and hand walking every other day helped my almost 30yr old mare regrow an entire frog in a few months and helped with soundness n balance, along with small raspings between farrier visits.

If his toes are splicing/ breaking and his heels are tall, are you comfortable rasping weekly just a little to help encourage growth? Maybe be there for a farrier visit and ask for a lesson on how much to rasp and how to do it? My senior gelding had a permanent crack in his front hoof, farrier would always put a V in it to help it grow out not up. I would clean his feet almost daily when it was stall time, and then either use thrush buster or blue kote spray along with keratex. It never went away but made it managable.

Give us more info, whats been noticed, what the vet and farrier have mentioned and pics of outside and inside of hooves plz?!

[ltmac]

If you are willing and/or able to haul to northern Ohio, I have an equine podiatrist (CJF and DVM) that I highly recommend.