Feed Relating to Feet Condition

[Ptaty70]

Hi

As per previous threads, CW has become rather footy after being barefoot for 7 weeks or so now.. he's on and off but I am now coating with Betadine every day - due to a bout of thrush in one foot this week - and the dry weather seems to be helping. He seems a lot better tonight.

A big question though is... feed can play a large part in laminitis.. can it also play a part in the hardiness of the feet? I mistakenly bought some molassed chaff a while ago and have been mixing it with Happy Hoof so he isn't getting too much sugar. Should I cut it out completely though... ? or am I just being paranoid and looking for every possible cause?:D

thanks!

[MelanieD]

Diet can make a huge difference. You can get a mild version of laminitis where the horse is just a bit footy and gets problems like flaring, white line disease, bruising but not as easy to spot as laminitis since it's not the typical very lame and rocking back thing thought of as laminitis normally. Diet is very important to that, some horses are sensitive enough that feeding small amounts of molasses can set it off, depends on the horse.

That can affect hoof quality as well. Also not having enough stuff needed for healthy growth can have a bad effect on hoof quality.

Feeding magnesium oxide or calmag can help a lot because some of the laminitis problems are related to mineral imbalances.

Diet can have an effect on thrush as well, some horses get thrush more if the diet isn't right. For example too much sugary stuff or not enough nutrients so frogs grow slowly and thrush more likely to get deeper into the frog.

[Yann]

Diet is massively important and can be more important than anything else with some horses. Cutting out the mollassed chaff would be a very good idea - if his feet took a slight downturn once you started feeding it it may not be a coincidence. Feeding a low sugar cereal free diet has been shown to improve the performance capabilities of unshod feet time and time again.

Just had an apparent demonstration of the importance of diet with Rio over the last week. I always know when the spring grass has come through in the field because she suddenly ignores me when I go to fetch her. This year it coincided with a sudden onset of uncharacteristic footiness over stony ground, and swapping her alfa oil for happy hoof appears to have addressed it (touch wood! :) ).

There's a theory that the reason that horses often struggle without shoes in this country isn't the wet climate but the general richness of the grazing and the diet we provide them with, and it does seem to hold some water.