Hoof question..?

Question

My horse has a sole half the size of a normal horse. We do endurance, which means lots of rough terrain and not many allowed supplements or drugs. Because of his thin sole, he is often sore, and while it's not anything that effects him much during the rides, it does give us a high chance of being pulled.

Is there anyway to improve this, or will we just have to live with it? How can I convince the vets that his slight soreness is usual and doesn't effect him while out on the trail?

Answer 1

I would talk to your farrier and/or try these boots:

http://www.easycareinc.com/

They are expensive but in the long run probably cheaper than shoes.

Answer 2

have you tried packing his hooves? u said his soles were causing him soreness so when you pack the hooves you pack around and over the frog. you can buy special packing formula. i know epona makes one. this would just protect the frog from all of the hard terrain endurance throws at you two. good luck! hope u dont get pulled!

p.s. dont go shoeless. puts too much strain on the hooves. if he was a pony i would say go for it. but its like us. do you go tromping through rough terrain for hours with no shoes and some1 on your back without being sore later?

Answer 3

Have you tried epona shoes?

http://www.eponashoe.com/

They do wonders with my navicular horse and I have friends who use them on horses which have foundered and say the same thing!  So, don't see why they wouldn't help your horse's soles.

Answer 4

If your horse is wearing shoes I would talk to your farrier. I had a horse similar to the one your talking about, I slowly increased the size of his sole by not taking as much hoof offf or the side to make it wider. But the best thing might be to lay him off for a little while, and try some supplements. Hope this helps! Barefoot is ok but for horses that get worked hard and alot then it has worked out better for us to use shoes. It gives them better traction, and keeps them fairly sound.

Answer 5

Given his thin soles he probably needs to be shod at the moment.

The best thing I would suggest is biotin suppliment - it's completly natural so I think it is probably allowed although you should check this I'm not sure on the rules for endurance. The other thing to do is get something called cornucrescine - this is an ointment that you rub into the coronary band and it stimulates hoof growth (it is also great for growing your own nails). These two combined are brilliant for encouraging hoof growth and should help thicken up the sole.

As for the vets, maybe a letter from your normal vet or farier explaining.

Answer 6

Your farrier needs to cooperate to allow the sole to thicken and improve.  Google wild horse hoof studies and barefoot trimming....I think it might help you to decide what to do next.

Answer 7

I have three horses that I keep barefoot and I trim myself.  I do the "wild horse trim" you refer to and have had good results.

www.hoofrehab.com is pete ramey's website.  he has a lot of articles on the site as well as a page of links that will give you more info.  he has an excellent book out on the subject as does Jaime Jackson.  Both are extremely informative and address the form and function of the horses foot.  They are a must have, even if you don't opt to keep your horse barefoot.

The single most important thing you can do for your horse is educate yourself about hoofcare.  You will be able to make more informed decisions about his hoofcare, and you will learn how to tell if your farrier is doing his/her job or not.

in a horse with a thin sole, you have to allow the sole to build thickness and density, and it will build natural concavity.  a lot of folks like to use the natural balance shoe with pads and impression material to accomplish this.  this is what I did before I pulled my horses' shoes, and I have not had any problems.

The thing with the wild horse trim, is tht you have to maintain the feet.  this means trimming every 4-6 weeks.  since there is not a significant amount of growth over this short time, most of this work is done just with a little light rasping.  this way, the horse's foot is not making any significant, suddent changes, like you often see with the folks that go 8-10 weeks between farrier visits.  All 3 of my horses: a draft, a 1/2 draft, and a QH have done well with this.

gene ovnicick has a site ref these shoes www.hopeforsoundness.com