My horse is pasture boarded at a farm and fed from round bales under a large shelter. I have a question about the hay wastage that falls to the ground – should the wastage be cleaned up frequently? I don’t think my horse pees or poops on the dropped hay but it can get wet sometimes if rain blows in. He hangs out in his shelter a lot. I’m wondering if standing on wet hay could impact my horse’s feet? I’m having problems with his sole depth since moving to a new farm, but his living conditions are largely the same so it’s hard to figure out the cause. Thank you!
1 Like
I’d rather stand on wet hay, than wet soil, especially if the hay depth piles up a bit. It’s just not nearly as wet and foot-soaking as wet ground
Sole depth issues can be from diet, unmanaged EMS/IR/ID, and poor trimming. It could be from constantly wet feet to the point the wall isn’t strong enough to support the internal structures. Have you had xrays?
6 Likes
Standing on wet hay vs wet ground makes sense. I just can’t figure out why his soles have gotten so thin he goes lame up front after any significant rain (barefoot). The trim is good, sole is not being removed, Im using keratex gel, I added a hoof supplement. Xrays one year apart showed about 1 cm of additional sole growth, but he is still in the thin soles category. His soles used to be thick and hardy and like I said he developed the issue after I moved barns. Vet is running a trace mineral panel so I can more deliberately select a hoof supplement.
1 Like
that’s a waste of money, you can’t tell anything about the trace minerals as it relates to diet, from blood work. The body controls those minerals too tightly, so anything high/low is a sign of some disease, not nutritional.
Get the diet analyzed, starting with the hay
What IS the diet?
When you changed barns, did the farrier change?
Do you have the xrays, and a current hoof pic, you’re willing to post?
I feed rolls and each time or at most every other time I put a new one out I burn off the leftover and then drag it out. It turns into a wet disgusting stinking mess if you don’t, especially if it rains
2 Likes
The diet is round bale and about 3 pounds of low starch grain. He also has access to pasture. Easy keeper.
I don’t have a current picture of the hoofs, but here are the most recent xrays. The left front is most often sore after heavy rains and if I recall it is about 1mm less sole. .
which grain? How much does he weigh and how much work? Most feeds have at least a 4lb min for a 1000lb horse in no work
He’s got a little bit of sinking in both feet. The top of P3 should be more or less level with the coronet band. It’s SO unfortunate so many vets still don’t mark 2 things for xrays that are looking for why a horse is sore - true apex of the frog (where it joins the sole, not the tip), and the coronet. Often the coronet is at least fairly easy to see on an xray, and here it looks like the top of P3 is below it on both, moreso on the RF
This could be subclinical laminitis that has allowed the bony column to descent a bit in the hoof capsule
4 Likes
Ok, thank you. He’s on triple crown low starch. He’s about 1,100 pounds and is worked lightly 3-4 days/week. Vet told me to cut back on grain because he was chunky.
A whole lot of rain and constant wet ground will soften the hoof capsule and make it spread in a lot of cases. Horses in wet environments generally have flatter feet than in dry environments. So the culprit may be the rain and not the hay on the ground. Not to mention the above mentioned possible sub clinical laminitis.
2 Likes
Switch to a ration balancer then, or TC Lite. I would also be inclined to add additional copper and zinc. I use the individual products from HorseTech and mix my own. There are some other companies with individuals, and MadBarn has a 3:1 product that’s an all in one
6 Likes
Chunky horses still need the same amount of nutrients, even if they need fewer calories. Sometimes horses on dietary restrictions need vitamin/mineral supplementation. I am not in general in favor of supplements, I think most of them are a waste. But for a horse that is having hoof issues, I would consider a vitamin/mineral supplement or a specific hoof supplement.
Soft, wet ground for extended periods of time can also soften hooves and make them more tender when the ground hardens up. Also, it’s really not that unusual for horses to at some point in their lives to need shoes.
The leftover hay from the hay roll is not the culprit here, I would turn your focus towards maximizing your horse’s hoof health by ensuring good nutrition and farrier care.
1 Like
Yes it’s ideal to remove all wastage all the time, but does that really happen at a farm with 654867 other things to do? Probably not. At my best I might do a quick rake around the haybale if I have time, but realistically it doesn’t always happen.
I would be suspecting farrier foremost, but general hoof maintenance also plays a big role - How often are you picking his feet and/or treating for thrush? If your horse is thrushy and you leave it untreated, this can also lead to thin soles and all around poor hoof quality. Do you have photos of the sole? How are the frogs and heel? How old is this horse?
2 Likes
I’m picking feet around 4 times per week. He’s not prone to thrush or abscesses. He’s 13.
The farrier has changed but I can’t really fault the farrier. He’s a barefoot trimmer and hasn’t really touched the sole in 2 years since we moved barns. I don’t have a current sole picture.
I actually think the pasture at the old barn was worse in terms of rain. It took longer to dry, more huge puddles, and the shelters were not used much because hay, grain and water were not under the shelters. He was fed flakes of hay so that is one difference.
Regarding hay testing, the guides say to collect hay from multiple bales to send in. This is not feasible as a boarder. I can grab hay from the bale he is working on and maybe one other bale. Does anyone know if that is sufficient?
It’s not. There are so many variables that impact where hay shakes out. And by the time you send out the hay from one round, it will be consumed by the time you get it back.
100% this. It drives me nuts when people don’t feed at the recommended feeding rates. If you don’t feed enough, they are not going to get enough of everything IE vitamins/minerals. It’s not just about calories. A ration balancer is probably a better option in your case.
When I was at the barn that fed unnetted round bales, I would try and keep things tidy. I will say, the wasted hay was prime for taking naps in though. My guy and his girlfriend at the time were quick to figure that out!
1 Like
Touching the sole, or not, is a small part of trimming for health. Someone who NEVER touches sole is never finding the landmarks to know how much vertical wall height to take off, or where to put the breakover of the toe. This can lead to heels and toes creeping forward, which pulls and thins the sole
