Hoof Quality

[Speedy]

My mare was on full grass livery for a year (May 2000 - April 2001) because I was out of the country. She was supposed to have her feet regularly trimmed as she is TB and doesn't have great feet (one boxy, one flat). Anyway, she was neglected and her feet were dreadful when I got her back. The toes were so long that the laminae were stretched and the heels had collapsed. She was lame and didn't come sound until her second set of shoes. Nine months on the angular ridge in her hoof wall has almost grown out, but when the farrier came today, he says that she has stress lines in the new hoof wall, running vertically up from this ridge. On one foot she also has a small crack right in the middle, with a very small hole, but he has shod to help this.

My question is, would cornucrescine help with the hoof quality as well as improving the growth, or does she now need to go on a feed supplement such as farriers formula? I ask because I already have cornucrescine but would need to buy farriers formula! Any suggestions or similar experiences would be appreciated

[lamprellsarah]

when i got my TBx mare her feet were alful she had stress rings too, lost shoes had all types of cracks!!!
i didn't use farriers formula although i know some horses, that have fantastic feet due to this being fed for me it was too expensive so i fed
biotin, and made sure she got the vitamins and minerals she need!! so i fed a codlivine supplement which benefited in her coat and over look as well!!
i made sure that if her feet dried out, in the summer i soaked them in water!!!
not sure about cornucresine, not used it!!!
it took 8 months for the poor quality horn to grow out and to notice a hard better quailty horn!!

[ponyvet]

It takes somewhere in the region of 9 months for the hoof wall to grow top to bottom. Obviously all horses are different and some take longer or shorter than that.

Farriers formula also contains biotin which is a co-enzyme that helps hoof growth. I think it is a good product and seems to work well. You could try it as well, but i don't think it will make that much of a difference to what you're doing already. You can buy a biotin supplement cheaply on it's own so you could try if you want to.

I suggest you carry on as before and WAIT. Give her feet time to grow back. if I see a horse with feet as bad as you've described I usually say to expect it to take a couple of years to recover properly, that's at least 3 hoof growth cycles. The poor growth can also be related to stresses at the coronary band, and if her conformation has become so poor (i.e. her heels have dropped and her toes beome so long you have stress lines) then it will take a long time for that to recover. Some farriers and vets think they never recover once the lines are not parallel, but I think some horses do get better.

[Speedy]

Yeah, my farrier has scared me with all sorts of likely problems from having unbalanced feet for so long! As we are near the end of the first complete hoof re-growth (9mths) I innocently presumed that all would be well! Her new growth is alot better than the old and my vet is more positive and thinks she'll be fine. She's now wearing front shoes which are the same size (to start with they were so bad that she had to have different sized ones!) and she is keeping them on for the whole 6weeks rather than losing them all the time. Her coat and general condition is good, so I don't think that she's lacking in too many vits and minerals - I'll hold off on the farriers formula for now. Would the fact she stands in a muddy field all day affect her hoof quality too?

On a slightly different note - I still owe £200 to the lady who had her for that year and am witholding it as I feel she neglected her duties. Anyone know the legal implications of this?

[lamprellsarah]

mud does my horses hooves good because of the moisture but the change from dry to wet to dry doesn't do them much good!!!
she stays out u see!!! :)

[Tina J]

If she stands in damp conditions all day, every day, you could have problems. If she comes in at night and is on a straw bed, or rubber matting then the mud shouldn't be a problem. Don't use shavings for bedding for this horse, as they can dry the feet out.

With regards to cornucrescine, my last mare had dry, cracking feet when I got her, and I put a little vegetable oil on top of the cornucrescine and then paddled a brush about so the cornucrescine disolved a bit in the oil, then I painted that on her feet 3-4 times a week. In dry weather in summer I stood her in water first (rubber buckets with no handles, one for each foot, for a few minutes). If your horse won't learn to stand for this then wash his feet down and wet them thoroughly. Results were very good, and her feet never cracked after that. It was my farrier's suggestion (he checked that she was getting a good diet as well) and the idea was that the oil would act as a sort of "hand cream" and the cornucrescine at the coronet stimulates growth but also conditions the hoof. Don't know how much of that is true, but it did seem to work.

In terms of the £200 you are witholding, you need to make it clear that you are not avoiding payment, but that you are witholding the money because her neglect is a failure of her contract with you, and that failure on her part is now costing you money to correct. You can also point out that your horse is now worth less with poor feet, and that you have lost the use of him while his feet are growing out. I would seek advice from a solicitor (find one that offers an initial free interview or that will write a letter on your behalf under a fixed fee scheme) or see the Citizen's Advice Bureau for help in wording a letter. But you mustn't just ignore demands for the £200, you must respond stating your reasons for not paying. If you don't respond, then she can take you to the small claims court. If you tell her why you are witholding the money, then you are stating a counter claim against her in advance of any case, and my guess is that she will not pursue it, as she would have a higher chance of incurring costs taking you to court, with a lower chance of recovering money. Do seek advice though. This is just a laypersons knowledge of consumer law.

Best of luck.

[Wally]

Rubbing anything on a horses foot has never been proven to increase hoof growth. Oil and ointment smeared on do very little good and may in the end make the hoof horn mushy and not able to hold nails well.

Oil stops the natural evaporation and take up of water. Water is by far the best way to keep the foot in good condition, that coupled with a good diet. Farrier's formula is supposed to be good, but don't expect it do become apparent for a few months constant feeding.

Massage of the coronary band has shown a small increase of growth in the horn in some tests.

It may take years for her to get some form of decent shape back to her feet, once the heels have gone flat they will never come back to how they were. A friend had a similar problem, horse ended up on the bulbs of his heels, he did regain a good shape but it took a long time.

[rusk]

I discovered a great substance for my horses feet. He had such bad cracks on his front feet when I bought him that he had back shoes on the front feet because of the clips. His feet were also exceptionally long and not of good quality at all, he actually got seedy toe as well. It took me well over a year to get the cracks out and now his feet are much much better. What I did was put this new stuff in his feed, it's called Hoof-Rite, and also kept putting Keratex on the hoof wall. The Hoof-Rite has been quite difficult to get a hold of in Scotland but I think it's easier in England. I believe it's an American product and after trying everything else beforehand I am now convinced that it is the best. (The farrier cannot believe the difference in his feet and I give some of the credit to him for re-shaping too.) I have cut it down to a maintenance dose , but I wouldn't dream of cutting it out altogether, not after all I've been through....as they say ' No foot, no horse' :D

[Cobby]

I've been feeding my mare farriers formula at the maintenance rate for about the last 6 months and there are growth rings on her feet from then. The new hoof wall above the growth rings is really noticably thicker than the old wall.
I would definately recommend farriers formula whether or not the horse had problem feet. It seems quite expensive, but it's a complete supplement so you don't need to buy any other vitamins etc.
Good luck with your horse.

[Speedy]

Thanks for all your help everyone. Tina J - unfortunately I have to keep her on rubber mats and shavings (mixed with dust extracted chopped straw) as she coughs horrendously on straw and I can't seem to get paper here. She stands in a muddy field all day and then her feet dry out over night and I don't think it's the best management for her, but I don't have any other options as she is on a livery yard where I have to do this.

[heland]

It's great to read all these threads as my TB has a dorsal crack in his front hooves.

My vet recommended farriers formular and the farrier is due on the 28th so I will take on all his advice too:)