t/bred feet

[jaffa]

My 26 yr old boy has terrible front feet ie. flat-- growth is unbelievably slow like 1/8th inch in 10 weeks, hoof walls are very week and split and break with consequent loss of shoe. I have fed Hardy Hoof for 2 yrs with the best results of anything I've tried but the feet are still awful. He's lost the same same shoe twice in 2 weeks now & I'm really worried the farrier won't get it back on this time . Any ideas would be very appreciated thanks

Jaffa

[la society]

hsve you tried using kevin bacon?

this works wonders with my horse, who suffers with bad feet,

[MelanieD]

Probably not a suggestion I should be making on the shod section but barefoot and get some boots and solemates. Solemates keep them comfortable and really get the feet growing and improving.. works very nicely even if the idea is to eventually shoe again after giving the feet a break and growing out some of the most damaged stuff.

[teabiscuit]

what are solemates please?

[Yann]

High density foam pads. You can get them in various weights which affects how soft and yielding they are but they basically mould to the shape of the underside of the foot and spread pressure evenly across it. You can either tape them on to the hoof (can be done!) or fit them inside hoof boots.

The idea is that the even pressure stimulates growth and helps strengthen the foot.

[teabiscuit]

thanks Yann :)

[Gill]

I would agree with the above. Feet improve greatly when given a chance.
Do you have a good farrier? They are getting very hard to find in our area.

[KarinUS]

I had a TB with crumbly feet like that!
If we were in teh barefoot section I'd tell you that we eventually took him barefoot adn his feet have improved so much it's unbelievable. He hasn't worn shoes in over 2 years!

But since you are asking in the shod hoof section this is what we used to do:
Whenever too much of his hoof crumbled away to attach a new shoe the farrier used some liquid yellow acrylic goo and kind of build a hoofwall for the nails to go into. The goo dried up hard and then she could attach the new shoe. Sometimes she also glued the shoes on instead of nailing them.
Perhaps inquire what kind of glues and fillers he has available?