very weak hooves

iluvgypsy

iluvgypsy

Gypsy is ** bestest
Dec 16, 2005
47
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0
Western Australia,
hi, My 4 yr old thoroughbred has VERY weak hooves, i can not keep shoes on him for a long period of time because it rips right through his hoof!! i was wondering if anyone knows of anything that would strenghten them up but idont have much money to spend!!!
~thank you~
 
All 3 of my TB mares have really weak feet, I think it's a breed thing, I know it's not much help now but I have left them go barefoot since I got them 4yrs ago - I don't ride them as they are broodmares but they still have the weight of a foal to carry so thier feet have to be good, but it has certainly improved thier feet enormously, they used to be really foot sore after I first got them and took off thier shoes and had to walk at a snails pace on hard ground, after 6mnths they started to walk better and the shape of thier feet is now almost perfect and they only need filing occasionaly. If I were you I would buy some of those boa boot type shoes, I know they are expensive but they last a long time and the horse can go barefoot in the field, all you would need to do is get the horses feet trimmed every 8 wks or so, so it works out cheaper in the long run than trying to keep shoes on. Also make sure the horse has a good quality feed so that new hoof growth is as strong as it can be and hopefully over time they will improve naturally, unfortunatly there is no instant fix.:)
 
hi

i dnt actually no of anything in particular which mite help, but possibly next time you have your farrier out to trim your horse's hooves you could ask if they no anything which you could get to possible put on them that mite help to strengthen them
 
The best product i have found to use is 'KERATEX HOOD HARDENER'.
It strengthens, hardens & protects hooves.

I have a TB mare & at present she is unshod & the keratex has done wonders to help her hooves.
I would highly recommend it.
 
The one surefire way to improve hoof quality is to do away with the shoes, as others have pointed out, it makes a great deal of difference to the quality of hoof that the horse grows. If your horse is still fairly happy when the shoes have come off, then this might actually be quite easy to manage. You can always work your horse in hoof boots.
 
Your local feed merchant should be able to help you, linseed will improve the quality of hooves and coat and supply a slow-burn energy to your horse (I'm a big fan, can you tell?:) ) Bear in mind changes in feed/ care will work but it will take time.
You say your horses feet were bad when he was unshod, but were his feet being proffessionally trimmed? This will be crucial if you want to go down the barefoot route, you must get a farrier who knows how to do proper barefoot trimming. With a TB- well frankly you've got bad foot genes there, but bear in mind in UK we've had Saucy Night the barefoot racehorse winning races after failing to show when shod!
Good luck
Hackedoff
 
You really need to get all round advice as TB feet are notorious for being a bit difficult to get on an even keel. Speak to the farrier and maybe the vet too, it sometimes takes team work to sort a problem like that. It all depends upon why her feet are so bad.
 
yea going barefoot would be good plus theres products in powder form you can give them through feed that im guessing has lots of calcium and iron in it to streghthen the hoof. I buy the stuff you paint on, it looks good plus keeps the hooves dry in winter and moisturised in summer. Are your horses hooves too soft or too brittle?
 
hacked off -how much linseed oil would you give per day? thanks in advance
edited to say-another weak footed tb owner here
 
Hi iluvgypsy

Have you tried the stuff K is using on Bobby? I am using it on Frits as the sand is having a terrible effect on his feet.

The linseed is good and you can get it from Budget:)
 
My tb mare has the same problem but you will need, as others have said, to speak to a well qualified farrier. Mine really knows his stuff and a year later her feet are doing much better and she can now go 5 weeks with shoes instead of one or two.

It does depend on whether her feet are brittle or soft on what you use which is where you farrier comes in. I was using hoof oil on mine and he told me to stop as it was making them worse as she has soft weak hooves.

I now use cornucrescine everyday and also turn her out in over-reach boots to protect the growing part of her hooves. Also if they do have soft hooves over use of water also makes them worse.

Hope this helps a little bit.
 
I have always fed my TBxID farriers formula. After speaking to various people who said it didn't do any good, I decided to stop feeding. Within a few months my farrier had noticed less hoof growth and my mare had lost 2 shoes. Fortunately her feet had not started cracking or splitting but I started feeding it again and have had no problems since.
Years ago(about 15) my highland mare had bad feet, always cracking. My farrier at the time(an ancient old guy) recommended I feed her limestone flour and I did and it seemed to help. You can find out about it if you do a google search! It was certainly a lot less expensive than farriers formula.
 
my horse is a tb and he used to have very weak hooves. then i took off his shoes because he couldent hold them on for very long and was always loosing them, the shoes seemed to make the hooves weaker. he was fine with no shoes on exept for when the farrier cut them too short :mad: his hoves are now hardening up and looking alot better i have been feeding him dolomite (lime stone powder), biton, vitagram (a vitamen and mineral supplement with seeweed) and i have been applying hoof ointment to his hooves and his hoves have improved alot they are alor harder and dont crack, and he gets a trim every 5 to 6 weeks. hope i have helped a bit :)
 
i'd suggest speaking to your farrier first and foremost, they will know exactly what to do.... my friends tb has very poor feet and she alterante between keratex hoof hardener and moisturiser.... although you shouldn't mess wround with these hardener and so on unless on advice from your farrier.
good luck
 
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