Nutrition help

[JB]

@Gracek

This is the third time he’s done her,

TBH, I wouldn’t be happy with a foot that looks like that at 6 weeks when it’s the 3rd time the foot has been trimmed. There’s just way too much foot there. Mayyyyybe things are just weird enough that it’s actually improving (but without past pics at the same 6 weeks not possible to know), but that would be a stretch. The after pics will tell a bigger story I think

@Gracek

It’s also hard because I don’t know if I should expect her to show immediate improvement when the right combination of shoes/pads/trimming is on or of it will still take time.

Depending on how long her feet have been NPA and otherwise out of balance, it can take a good while - months - for her to feel normal again. It’s a peeling the onion sort of thing. Be out of balance long enough and the entire rest of the body has compensated, so now you’re changing the balance of things, so muscle memory and development is challenged again, and it can be uncomfortable.

I wouldn’t pull shoes either. I know NPA can be fixed barefoot and with appropriate boots, but often it’s faster with shoes WHEN the setup is properly done (which often includes wedges in the beginning)

Her feet were in MUCH better shape when you got her (and geebers what a lovely girl!!)

[JB]

@Scribbler

The back feet look wierdly short

I see a lot of hind feet like this on young TBs. I think it’s largely a function of the feet still growing, and something about a lot of TB feet. My TB mare has small feet for her size.

@Gracek

But she looks horrible In more ways than just her feet so I do think there are both nutritional issues and farrier issues going on.

You’d be surprised how bad a body can look when the feet hurt enough for long enough

@Amy3996

I hear you. If the OTTB forum OP mentioned is the one I’m thinking of, people constantly recommend CA Trace and VB as a “hoof supplement” on top of literally any concoction of feeds under the sun. I’ve even seen one where someone suggested it for a horse who was already getting 10lbs of TC Senior a day. Drives me nuts, so that’s why I felt the distinction was important.

Absolutely! “they” treat it like Farrier’s Formula or Grand Hoof or any number of other hoof supplements. See my next comment

@Gracek

Vermont blend is advertised as a hoof supplement and forage balancer

The site says:

Vermont Blend is a supplement made specifically to balance grass hay. Typically you would need 3 supplements to balance grass hay: trace minerals, magnesium, and sodium. On top of that, horses who are lacking topline or have poor hoof quality can benefit from the amino acids that are most deficient in the equine diet

I haven’t ever seen anything on their site stating it’s a hoof supplement. It just talks about being a supplement to help balance grass hay, and hoof quality may improve as a result.

[Gracek]

Front left:

Front right: (unfortunately already pulled this shoe)