Hi - i haven't been on here in quite a long time but could really do with a bit of advice from all you barefoot converts please!
My mare has had laminitis at some point in her life and has really poor quality hooves as a result. This combined with her age and time of year has started to cause problems lately. Basically the farrier has had to repeatedly nail into the same place so it has become really weak. Last time he came a week ago we agreed to try taking her shoes off to give her feet chance to recover over the winter while she is not being ridden very much. I have just started her on formula 4 feet and she is also having cornucrescine put on daily and keratex hoof hardener daily at the moment but according to the instructions should be 3 times a week form next week. She seems to be perfectly sound on soft ground but very sore on gravelly surface and somewhere inbetween on flat concrete. My conern is that because her feet are so soft and crumbly she has already worn them down just being in a muddy field. They are level most of the way round with the sole but the fronts are chipped right back shorter than the sole. Is this normal or will it be causing her pain? Is there anything else i should look out for? What should i expect over the next few weeks? When do i say enough is enough and put shoes back on? When should i start to see some signs of improvement? and finally am i doing all the right things and is there anything else i could/should be doing??
ETA - also should i avoid taking her out on hard ground/riding her or will short trips out help to encourage hoof growth??
Thanks in advance!
My mare has had laminitis at some point in her life and has really poor quality hooves as a result. This combined with her age and time of year has started to cause problems lately. Basically the farrier has had to repeatedly nail into the same place so it has become really weak. Last time he came a week ago we agreed to try taking her shoes off to give her feet chance to recover over the winter while she is not being ridden very much. I have just started her on formula 4 feet and she is also having cornucrescine put on daily and keratex hoof hardener daily at the moment but according to the instructions should be 3 times a week form next week. She seems to be perfectly sound on soft ground but very sore on gravelly surface and somewhere inbetween on flat concrete. My conern is that because her feet are so soft and crumbly she has already worn them down just being in a muddy field. They are level most of the way round with the sole but the fronts are chipped right back shorter than the sole. Is this normal or will it be causing her pain? Is there anything else i should look out for? What should i expect over the next few weeks? When do i say enough is enough and put shoes back on? When should i start to see some signs of improvement? and finally am i doing all the right things and is there anything else i could/should be doing??
ETA - also should i avoid taking her out on hard ground/riding her or will short trips out help to encourage hoof growth??
Thanks in advance!
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