Sandridge Q&A ~ Hoof Care & Shoeing

HOOF CARE & SHOEING

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POOR HOOF QUALITY

MY 10 YEAR OLD APPENDIX QUARTER HORSE HAS HORRIBLE FEET. WHAT HOOF SUPPLEMENT DO YOU RECOMMEND?

With rare exceptions, I believe hoof quality is very much a reflection of the overall management of the horse - and because it takes so long for a "new hoof" to grow, that management is a long-term thing! A good blacksmith is essential in "recovering" poor hooves, and depending on the problem, your vet may be called on as well. Your job is to ensure the communication between everyone involved is as clear as possible!

Symptoms of poor hoof quality may include:

Dryness - resulting in splits, cracks, and chipping of the wall.
Soft feet, due to too much moisture in the hoof, can cause nails to pull out too easily, and make the sole susceptible to injury and abscesses.
Slow hoof wall growth; making it difficult to improve hoof balance, etc.
Foot soreness from, among other things, bruises.
Misshapen hoofs, including contracted heels or low heels.
Losing shoes - from any cause!

The management issues which can affect these symptoms include:

Feeding - a balanced diet should be discussed with your vet. Most boarding barns offer a decent feeding program, and it is often a simple matter to adjust it slightly if necessary. Overfeeding causes many problems, including those relating to the hooves!
Stabling - most horses spend most of their time in a stall, it has a great influence on hoof quality. A small stall forces a horse to stand in his urine and droppings more, and the more a horse can move around, the better. Bedding must be kept clean and dry, no matter what type is used. Shavings are a typically dry bed, but if not mucked-out regularly can be worse for hooves than well-maintained peat moss, which holds more moisture and is quite a labour-intensive bedding. One of the toughest things for hooves is a wet-then-dry routine (i.e., a show hunter is washed every day after work, soaking the hooves, and then put in an immaculate dry stall; or the pleasure horse who spends the day happily wondering in wet grass and mud, the nights in dry shavings); these scenarios can excessively weaken feet, so various hoof dressings may be helpful at times.
Turnout - the more a horse is on the move, the better, so daily turnout time is essential, and the bigger the area, the better. The footing in a paddock is worth considering; constant mud may lead to soft, mushy feet; sand is drying, and abrasive on unshod hooves; rocky (pebbly) ground will ultimately toughen hooves - if you can get past the bruises and chipping at first! Grass fields probably provide the most natural footing for a horse, but they can have sand, clay or stony bases added into the mix!
Exercise (let's face it - turnout is not necessarily exercise!) - regular exercise promotes both circulation within the hoof, and adaptation of the hoof to the stresses placed upon it. Just like muscles and bone, a hoof responds to appropriate conditioning - the worst thing you can do for many hoof problems is to leave the horse in the stable. Especially if the turnout facilities are less than ideal, a consistent exercise program should be adhered to.
Professional care - whether your horse is shod or not, he should have regular care from a good farrier. In some cases, this care must be as often as every 3 weeks, but more likely in the 4-6 week range for a competition horse, maybe 6-8 weeks for problem-free pleasure, breeding, or unshod animals. Almost all horses have a slow-growth period in late-fall/early winter, when they need less attention. People hoard good blacksmiths like gold - there is a reason! They can make the difference between a sound, happy horse, or a constant struggle justifying the bills against both you and your horse's enjoyment. You must find someone you have confidence in - respected horsemen, including your vet, are probably your best reference. Don't jump from blacksmith to blacksmith without cause, but be diplomatic if you must. If you are working on diseased, or severely problematic feet, your veterinarian should be involved, and hopefully will communicate well with your blacksmith - you need to do whatever is necessary to facilitate this.

Now what was your question, again?!!

Hoof products - they are divided into Feed Supplements, and Hoof Dressings.

Feed Supplements may be of significant value, depending on the cause of poor hooves, and are part of a total maintenance approach to better feet:

Biotin - the most well known supplement, may be easily added to the feed at a maintenance level of 15 mg/day (for a 1000 lb horse). There is already Biotin in some feeds, but as any excess is excreted in the urine it is safe to feed in larger doses. It also contributes to healthy haircoat and mane & tail. A couple of feed supplements for hooves include:

Herbs for Horses' HoofMaster, or Delta Labs' Hoof Power, which contain, among many other things, Methionine, Zinc, and Folic Acid, which have been shown to increase the effects of Biotin. I know that both of these supplements are well-researched, with high quality-control, making them more expensive than some products. Having used them on a variety of less than perfect feet over the years, I am convinced they can improve and/or maintain the hoof growth and quality for many horses.

Keep in mind that many, if not most, general vitamin/mineral feed supplements have Biotin and Methionine included - how much is the important factor.

Hoof Dressings - include tried-and-trusted products like Absorbine's Hooflex and Cornucrescine, or the newer hand-cream-like Rio-Vista Hoof Manicure or Absorbine Hoof-Quencher.

WINTER SHOEING

I NEED SOME ADVICE AS TO WHAT TYPE OF SHOEING IS BEST FOR MY HORSE TO COPE WITH ICE AND SNOW THIS WINTER. HE'S OUT WITH OTHER HORSES FOR PART OF THE DAY, I DO SOME TRAIL-RIDING AND TAKE LESSONS.

In this situation, I think your best bet is probably a regular winter shoe with fixed studs (or Borium) on the front hooves, and on the hind feet have either a summer shoe with screw-in studs (like eventers and jumpers use) that you can put in when you want to go out on the trail; or no shoes at all. Which you choose depends on whether the horse had hind shoes on in the summer and has been turned-out with the other horses with them on. If he has, then I would go with the screw-in studs option – they are left out of the shoe in the stable, arena, and for turn-out, (so there is no additional risk of hurting another horse in the paddock) yet the added grip of studs is available if you want to go for a hack. If he didn’t have shoes on behind in the summer, you’ll probably have to leave them off, or give up turn-out with other horses. If you have to leave the hind shoes off, you need to be very careful when it’s slippery, as your horse will have good grip in the front, but can have his hind legs slip out from under him, resulting in a fall and possible injury. Leaving all four shoes off is another option if your farrier feels his feet are in good enough condition – nature provides your horse with good traction unless it is icy. You may want to look into some of the various anti-snowball pads, or rim pads that are available to prevent the snow from balling-up under your horse’s feet. Spraying on PAM, or applying some grease can also help prevent this in some conditions.

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