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Q
: I have an 18-year-old thoroughbred who I have just recently bought for eventing. We have problems with her hooves crumbling and she gets shod every four weeks. I was told that this is a TB trait and that most get this issue. Is there any treatment that you recommend that could help?
I have had another farrier tell me about zinc but I am not sure where I should get it from or what form it would be in. I was also told that feeding bran is not a good option for a horse with bad feet. Is there any way that I can help this?
Crumbly, via email
A
: Thanks for your question. As you’ve just found, thoroughbreds are more likely to have crumbly feet than some of the other breeds.
With horses who have a particular problem with poor quality horn, we find it very important to maintain a consistent hoofcare regime.
Without a level of care, it is possible for the problem to escalate. The crumbly feet may encourage us to shoe more often as the nails/shoes become loose. The increased frequency of shoeing can mean more nail holes in the hoof and result in further crumbling and deterioration in the quality of horn. It’s vital to employ a skilled farrier to avoid this viscous circle as best you can. Finding the most appropriate time period between shoeing is important to allow a sufficient amount of growth to justify re-shoeing but in time before the hooves crumble too much. Four to five week shoeing intervals are not uncommon for thoroughbreds with particularly poor quality hooves.
Getting the shoeing correct is one of the most important factors when dealing with the problem. The other is a suitably balanced diet. The majority of horses’ hooves will do just fine with a balanced diet without specific attention to supplementing. Most of the recommended feeding regimes will provide everything required for suitable hoof growth in horses. However, in certain cases, a specific hoof supplement can make a significant improvement to the quality of the hooves. Some of the most effective hoof supplements will contain all the necessary ingredients to promote improved horn development in suitable quantities.
Yes, I understand that feeding bran is not the best for foot growth too although I take the nutritionists’ advice on this only and haven’t made any observations myself to back up the claim. My understanding is that bran reduces the efficacy of certain nutrients including some of those in hoof formulas.
If you have the shoeing and the diet in check then those are by far the most important elements. Other things to observe are the environmental conditions (particularly wet or dry conditions may have an impact) and the work your horse is doing. Constant concussion on hard surfaces (tar-sealed roads for example) may damage the horn tubules and encourage crumbling and the break-down of the hoof quality.
Good luck, keeping up the regime year round will give your horse every chance of success.
Abcess blues
I have a two-year-old stationbred filly which I got as a yearling in January 2008. About a month after I had her she got a fright in the paddock and attempted to jump a fence into my driveway, luckily only taking the top wire with her and removing hair not skin! However, she did end up with a large stone bruise in her near fore which I figured she got when she landed on the hard driveway.
A while after, the abscess burst out at the coronet; it was quite a large one compared to what I have seen before. I was expecting her to be sound after this; however, she is still not 100% and it has now been 15 months! She has definitely improved – it is only just noticeable when she goes for a lazy trot in the paddock. When she’s prancing around you would never know! I am starting to get worried though, as I want to have her broken-in next year and am hoping she will be okay by then.
I want to teach her to lunge but don’t want to make the problem worse.
I have asked my farrier to check her foot a number of times and he says he can’t see any reason for her lameness... should I be concerned or do you think she will eventually come right?
Any advice as to what I should do from here would be greatly appreciated. I realise that without an examination it is probably difficult to be able to say what it could be, but should I get her x-rayed?
Bridgette, Ngaruawahia
A
Sorry to hear about the problem with your filly, Bridgette. It must be very frustrating to have a horse who you’re keen to do things with but is still lame.
Sometimes abscesses can cause lameness for prolonged periods even after the visible signs appear to have cleared up (the pus has drained, the heat gone and the digital pulse returned to normal, for example). However, if your filly has been unsound for 15 months then I’d most certainly be seeking the advice and assistance of an equine vet. It may be that there has been some damage to sensitive structures caused by the abscess or that there is another reason for the lameness that is not directly related to the abscess.
As you suggest, x-rays may be something that your vet considers. Being able to see what is going on inside may throw up some answers.
I hope you can get to the bottom of the problem soon.
Who’s best?
My friend uses a different farrier than me. We share a friendly joke every six weeks because she says her farrier is better than mine. Her argument is that the farrier she uses charges $30 per shoeing more (“so is $30 better”), makes the shoes by hand and has shiny tools. My argument is that my farrier actually turns up when he says he will, doesn’t swear in front of my daughter and the shoes stay on for 12 weeks. I told my friend I was going to write into NZ Horse & Pony and we’re both looking forward to your opinion.
Sally, Waikato
A
: Firstly, I hope my answer doesn’t come between your friendship! What every horse owner should be looking for is a farrier with an exceptional standard of work who is reliable and has professional ethics.
Making the shoes by hand is a very useful skill to have especially when the farrier needs to make a shoe for a particular condition. However, the majority of farriers use machine-made shoes and nowdays, they are of a consistently high standard, and most of the time will do the job just as well if not better than a handmade one.
Professionalism is something that an increasing number of horse owners are expecting from their farriers, and so they should! We all lead busy lives and some attention to timekeeping is appreciated.
The importance of appropriate language around clients, and in particular children, should be self-explanatory.
Surely a farrier who has shiny tools suggests a level of pride in his daily work? If that’s the case then it has to be a good thing in my opinion.
There are not many horses who I would recommend for the shoes to stay on for 12 weeks at a time. It’s a misconception that the longer the shoes stay on, the better the farrier must be! Once the feet look like they need shoeing (or trimming) then it’s already overdue. In these cases, some amount of corrective work is necessary just to get the feet back to how they should be.
I’m not sure one farrier is particularly “better” than another. The important thing when selecting a farrier is that they are suitable for you, your horse and that you have confidence in their workmanship and service and that you have established a level of trust. Perhaps your farrier is best for you and your friend’s is best for her?
