Soft Feet!

Blazeyboyloverx

Blazeyboyloverx

I Love Blaze..x
May 1, 2009
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Hertfordshire...x
My mare has soft feet and not long ago we took her back shoes off but her hoofs all crumbled! Now we put hoof hardener on her feet. She has white feet you see and ive heard that white feet are like soft. Our farrier said we need to get her shod more often. Do you think we should leave 4 shoes on. But we go on the road. My ponies only got 2 shoes on you see. Anyone got any ideas?
 
Firstly, soft feet have nothing to do with colour. The only difference between white feet & dark is the pigmentation.

'Crumbly' feet may be due to nutrition, insufficient or bad hoofcare, lack of exercise, too long in shoes, etc. Might also be your perception, if her feet were too long & perhaps the excess 'crumbled' away when there was no shoe to keep it there. I don't think hoof hardener is helpful or beneficial.

I'm a hoof care practitioner & as a rule I think shoeless is best, not just for backs. But there are many factors aside from competence & frequency of hoofcare, that effect the health & strength of a horse's feet. Therefore it's a good idea to do your research and educate yourself so you can go into it with your eyes open. hoofrehab.com is one of many good sites to start with.
 
Charlie has white feet, when I put shoes on him last week, there was nothing soft or crumbly about them. White feet are not weaker, not at all.

Got any photos of the feet?

Shoeing more often for weak feet is not the answer, the fewer changed of shoe the better.

I'd start off by giving a good feed balancer designed for feet. but you are going to have to keep it up for a year before you see any real changes. There are no quick fixes for feet.
 
My mare has soft feet and not long ago we took her back shoes off but her hoofs all crumbled!

When you say crumbled - you mean chipped? Changed shape? Became chalky? Which parts of the hoof crumbled?


Now we put hoof hardener on her feet.

Not necessarily helpful as can dry out the hoof and make it weaker inside (less elastic) .



She has white feet you see and ive heard that white feet are like soft.

Not true!


Our farrier said we need to get her shod more often. Do you think we should leave 4 shoes on. But we go on the road. My ponies only got 2 shoes on you see.

You current farrier, I presume is the one who took her back shoes off? Why did you take them off in the first place? How has your horse been managed since. It might well be easier for you to keep her shod all round, but it's probably possible to keep at least the backs off with a bit of work.



Anyone got any ideas?

What feed does your horse get? What grazing is she on/how much turnout? What exercise does she get?
 
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Wally said:
Shoeing more often for weak feet is not the answer, the fewer changed of shoe the better.
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Wally, seeing it's from you I think I misunderstood, but the above sounds like you're saying leave the shoes on for as long as possible between resets? If that's the case I very much disagree. Hoof wall overgrowing is a big thing that needs to be kept in check with shoes, as they protect the walls from 'self trimming'. Every horse is different, but I think 6 weeks is generally as long as is good for most.
 
padderpaws said:
adding Biotin to the food everyday works well for crumbly hoofs i find.
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Yep, sure does, IF this nutrient is in short supply & others are well balanced. Biotin is one essential ingredient for hooves, but if horses have adequate green pick they're likely to get enough in their diet. However, nutrients need to be well balanced and there are plenty of others, such as zinc, copper, magnesium, etc that are likely to be deficient and are just as vital for hoof health. That's why I believe a *good* complete supplement is the best.
 
A good alround supplement is essential , in my opinion for healthy hooves. Both of my horses are fed a Lo-Cal balancer(all year round), and my ArabX (with very crumbley, weak hooves, that never held shoes on for more than 4 weeks), is now Barefoot in the backs , but she become too sore to leave shoes off the fronts. Front shoes now stay on for their due time , and there is always a good bit to trim off - Hooray, success at last!!!! BUT, it has taken nearly 1 year. There is no "Quick Fix", I'm afraid . Preservere, and the rewards will be great in the long term.
 
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