Foot Trimming barefoot

[chunky monkey]

Or lack of it. I've had billy now 8 months but I haven't had to have his feet trimmed at all. Should I worry. He's still growing at 5. He's hacking a mixture of stoney tracks, road and grass. He is foot sore on the stoney tracks, but the farrier has suggested that i don't put shoes on at present. He's not splitting out on the toes but I do think he's a bit flat footed/down on the heels. To put boots on to hack I would have to remove all his feather, so want to avoid. He's filled out during the year. Does hoof growth vary due to age. Would hooves grow more once he stops growing. Could I feed something to help the foot growth.
My other horse has fronts on, and grows loads of hoof. He is 20. Backs self trim but need balancing.
They are on the same pasture, lots of grass, feed the same.

 

[MrC]

What is he being fed? The being foot sore sounds doer related, especially if he has been barefoot a while. Either he is self trimming or he isn't growing a lot of good due to one thing or another.

I start with diet when I'm unhappy with Kia's hooves. This has been the second year I've had to tweak his diet and right now he is ok nothing but grass and a carrot full of supplements daily as he's refusing feed but I need to get his vits into him. So they have access to salts? Or even a mineral block? Might be something simple he is lacking, usually magnesium and salt.

 

[orbvalley]

May I ask why the farrier has suggested not putting shoes on at present?

 

[chunky monkey]

He's never had shoes.
He's on a large field which I stripe graze. I give a fresh stripe of grass each day, which is long.
He was ok condition wise, when I brought him but lacking a little weight but it was December. He has certainly filled out but hasn't got any taller. He was feed hay till the grass came through in the spring.
He has been on a mug of mix ie cool mix. I vary each time I buy, to hope that he gets vits and mins. As some of these mixes can lack.
A mug of top spec balancer.
A mug of pure linseed.
A measure of linseed oil.

Just recently I brought a Himalayan salt lick to hang in his field, but I don't think he's using it.

 

[MrC]

From experience I would cut out the mixes. They are full of cereal, sugar and fillers and serve no real purpose IME.

I would cut this out and add something like speedibeet or fibre beer for a bit of taste. I'm unsure if you mean he is getting the balancer linseed and linseed oil everyday? Top spec balanced is also full of cereal and made my barefoot horse require shoes after on a month of use, he had been barefoot for 5 years in front and nearly twice as long behind. I would just get a powdered supplement and add so something easy to make like the above or even fast fibre, list of horses love that.

Personally I wouldn't shoe him as once you sort the diet out and remove all the sugar and cereal he is getting you may find he is much better.

 

[chunky monkey]

He's never had them, and I think it's more a case of if you can keep him barefoot a, it's cheaper and b, once you put them on its harder for them to go back to being barefoot if you do want to go back.
As he's not chipping I think he feels the feet are reasonably healthy. It more me worrying which is why I'm questioning other people's experiences.

 

[chunky monkey]

The linseed is not a balancer is pure linseed, most people seem to use it for helping the horse have a good coat. The linseed oil is the same thing, just the oil rather than the grain. I was using both but I've just used the oil up. Most people say the meal is better so I think i would stick with that.
I was recommended to feed the balancer by my vet as it's 'supposed' to contain all the vits and mins. I tried the equilibra balancer but chunky wouldn't eat it on its own so I brought mix to make it more palletable. The top spec is more expensive so I hoped that it would be overall better. I know from the sheep feed that i use, that they make these pellets up and they use all sorts, including the sweepings if the mill floor.
I did use some straight soaked sugar beet pellets but billy is already a turbo charged nutter so took him off it. But I do give to chunky but he's not fizzy at all on it.
Someone told me they only feed straights to there horses. I'm going to find out what straights. I think they use oats but I believe that can make them loopy.
What's the fast fibre made up of.

 

[orbvalley]

Ok here's my small knowledge - my now 19 year old retired PRE's barefoot hooves need trimming in hot weather max every 8weeks, he lives out on grass 24/7. When in work he was shod front and back and needed new ones every 6weeks due to the rapid growth of hoof. His diet was poor, his condition was poor, he was always very footy barefoot and couldn't canter hence the return to shoes.
I now own a 4year old Connemara. Her hooves don't ever seem to grow! She can go 12 weeks in hot weather with the same set of shoes on! Her condition is excellent , her diet is excellent. She was only shod front due to a small cavity in her white line which attracted grit and made her footy and caused an abcess.

I don't think its due to age I just think each are different and you have to work with what you've got. If you do lots f hacking on stoney ground that pares the hoof back to quickly maybe shoeing is the option.............?

 

[popularfurball]

Another vote for a diet change - pro earth or equimins supplement without iron, a sugar/cereal free base feed such as fast fibre and then the linseed - maybe a scoop of tumeric (anti inflammatory) if you have an Asian supermarket nearby

 

[Jessey]

I'd opt to switch to cereal free too, I use pro hoof, but whichever works for you if the farrier is checking balance and saying he's fine I wouldn't worry about the fact he doesn't need trimming, some horses keep their own feet very well when they are on varied terrain. Just to add too, lots of hoof boots can be used with feathery horses so if you wanted to go the boot route you probably can without having to trim him

 

[MrC]

Straights are just plain cereals so again not good for a barefoot diet.

Google Allen and page fast fibre, it is beet mixed with a few other things and a lot of barefoot good doer people recommend it. Soaks in three minutes.

I feed linseed, larger amounts in winter and maintenance dose in summer. I would try staying away from all Cereal and molasses feeds. Agrobs muesli is good as there is no cereal but he horses think they are getting something. You can mix powdered supplements with it then as water before you ride etc and then feed as its not a soaked feed but it's very palatable

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Agrobs muesli got the taste challenge cup from all the horses in our field and it's full of natural herbs and good things. But it's quite rough textured, so if you choose to feed it make sure it's well wetted - it gave Ziggy (greedy pony) choke.

 

[Jessey]

I use the agrobs weisencobs but was debating trying the musli next time to see if it helps encourage jess to eat her supplements as she's not so keen on them, it sounds like it might

 

[Kite_Rider]

Belle doesn't grow enough hoof for me to keep her barefoot, makes no difference what I feed her, her feet are hard as nails but just wear down too quickly, she's strip grazed all year round, supplemented with soaked hay and hay/straw mix, she gets a tiny handful of fast fibre, forgage plus winter balancer and a scoop of micronized linseed, I believe the linseed provides Omega 3? But I may be wrong. She looks and feel amazing.
She is a good doer and I have to limit her grass intake to prevent lammi and stop her getting fat.
I would definitely consider a diet change but just bear in mind that not all horses grow lots of hoof, no matter how healthy. Bit like us with hair and nail growth I guess.

 

[Gimp]

keeping horses barefoot is great and cheap and hassle free ! if its working that is. Posy has been bare all the time Ive had her, but she recently started feeling the new stony road. Got hoof boots and I didnt like them atall, so shes been shod on the fronts. I like to deal and treat with exactly what is in front of me, and its unfair to ask her to work if its making her uncomfortable. She was completely field sound and fine on general tarmac. Her feet started to deteriorate very quickly once that point had been reached just to bear in mind. However they are all different as KR says above.

 

[chunky monkey]

Just read the bag spec on fast fibre. It says for a 500kg horse. Light work 1-2 KGS, med work 3.5 - 3.75. if I opted for a 3kgs. A bag would only last one week. That seems alot quantity wise, considering the feeds I buy and give a bit of everything last me over a month currently. Although I don't give as much as the recommended daily rate. It's more a token ration. They have so much grass although goodness is starting to be lost now.
Cost wise I guess no diff as the top spec bag is almost £40 anyway.
Think I'll try a bag, still give the micronised linseed. Just wonder if it's going to be too plain. Not sure anyone round here does the museli.
Okay maybe I should shut up. Just thinking maybe some of the problem is I'm not feeding the recommended bag ration. To keep him healthy, but then if he's on lots of grass you should adjust accordingly. He might be pooping out the food with all the grass he gets and not absorbing the vits and mins.

 

[MrC]

I never feed the recommended amount on a bag of feed ever. I add a hoof sup which pretty much gives the vits and mins required. The fast fibre was recommended as something to put the vits and mins in. We are giving you alternatives to the high cereal diet you are on. In order to cut out the footy-ness you are experiencing you need to cut out the cereals and sugar so the current diet you are feeding needs an over haul.

I feed Kia a mixture of feeds but this winter I'm going right back to basics as his refusing to eat is pi$$ing me off frankly. So he is getting what is best for his feet and my pocket and if he doesn't eat he will go hungry as I'm sick of wasting money.

He will have his hoof supp, homemade joint sup and his linseed and probably the muesli, Unmolassed chaff and beet pulp.

 

[popularfurball]

Gosh mine would be whales if I fed them the ration! Again for us it is a carrier for supplements - a large handful is enough for mine

 

[Jessey]

Yeah I can't /don't feed at reccomended levels either, just a token to carry a more concentrated vit and min supplement