My horse has thin soles

Question

and I have to be careful where I ride her, nowhere stoney or too rough. She hasn't got particulary good feet and I have tried her with pads but her horn breaks off and she loses her shoes more easily. Has anyone got any ideas how to make her soles harder?

Answer 1

There are LOADS of products that you can use to help your horses soles become harder...

My favorite product is "rain maker"

http://www.statelinetack.com/itemdy00.as...

You can buy it there.

It is a conditioner.. which makes horses hooves harder.

I have a young horse who had never had her hooves touched until we got her... she has many cracks, and we have been working on them very hard to get her up to parr.

Working in the arena with out shoes (or if your horse has thin soles) then its not a big deal. your horse shouldn't be in any pain...

but if you're trail riding and etc... then you should try applying rain maker to the horses soles and outer wall every day after picking her hooves...

also remember to let the rain maker dry before putting her away!

Another choice is to buy feed that helps the hooves.

http://www.horse.com/Farriers-Magic-Hoof...

Good Luck!

Answer 2

How about trying epona shoes?

They use them on navicular and foundered horses so I don't see why they couldn't be helpful for you mare.

http://www.eponashoe.com

Answer 3

White pine tar turpentine for about 3 days in a row. Make sure your farrier isn't paring off too much when he trims. You may need to re think her diet as well if her hoof wall is that brittle and use a good hoof dressing. You can also invest in some EZ Boots , you can use them with or without shoes , or some Old Macs

Answer 4

Try biotin supplements.  There are several on the market and they all have pretty much the same ingredients.  The biotin helps build hoof strength and will hopefully help her keep shoes on later.  It may take a month or more to notice any real difference, but it really does work.

Answer 5

special shoes? talk to a ferrier, they'll know alot more about horse hooves. they're paid to know and went to school for it.

edit: you're right, you dont need to ever talk to a ferrier for help when the people on yahoo answers know more then the people who want to school for it. what ever was i thinking? silly me.

try pads for the soles, my horse had hoof problems and he had corrective shoeing and pads on his feet, that will do the trick.

*rolls her eyes*

Answer 6

have u tried formalin? or its also called formaldahyde. u can get it from a good chemists over the counter. I had the same problem with one of my horses and my farrier recommended it. u water it down 10 parts water to 1 part formalin and paint it on their soles once a day. It creates a hard crust that protects their soles and when the farrier next comes they pare it off and underneath is good hard sole. Just be very careful only to use it on her soles as it will dry up the horn if used on the rest of her foot.

check with your farrier first tho he will have bound to have seen this problem before and its important to get his opinion on this

and be careful to say to the chemist why u need it because i got a funny look when i bought some - they use it to preserve dead animals lol

Answer 7

My first question would be "how do you know they are thin?".  You mention thin soles, poor quality horn, soft soles, and generally poor quality feet.  How is her environment?  clean?  wet?  does she go from dry to wet a lot?  How long has she been without shoes?  After pulling shoes (presuming she has worn them a long time), it can take a full year for her feet to recover.  What kind of terrain does she live on?  Does she have pasture or does she live in a box?  How often does she get exercise?  All of these things are important factors.  If she truly has thin and soft soles, the best you can do is keep her feet as dry as possible and make sure the trim is proper.  There is no topical that will improve sole quality.  Please do not ever put formaldehyde on your horse's feet - very harmful.  Things like durasole and iodine are not harmless either and venice turpentine and pine tar are terrible.   The best thing is to make sure she has a proper barefoot trim and time.  You describe feet that have been very damaged by wearing shoes.  It will take time for her feet to heal.  You now know that "biotin doesn't work" and this is the case with most supplements.  The only benefit is to the manufacturer.  The reason you should not ride her in sand is that it is essentially "ground glass" and will be harmful to her delicate feet, especially the soles.  I wouldn't be concerned about the possibility of a drying effect.  Your horse's feet can never be too dry or too hard.  Brittle hooves are due to damage from shoeing and/or too much moisture.  If she is sound enough, get some boots for her until her feet heal.  I like Easyboot Epics with the gator.  Just make sure they fit well and roll the toe for a better breakover (they do make a new boot with a more natural toe but I have not seen it in person yet).  With proper trimming and booting and exercise and decent nutrition, most horses show good improvement within 3-4 months.   It is difficult to make a determination or judgement with such limited information.   Be patient.  I hope you are able to help your horse.  From what you describe, shoes are not the answer.  The trim is the key.  The latest research states that even with navicular or laminitic horses, they should NOT have shoes.  And it is just my opinion, but there is no such thing as "corrective shoeing".  What is important is "rehabilitative trimming".  I wish you the very best with your horse.    

Answer 8

Don't use formalin or formaldehyde. They are preservatives. We used them in Anatomy, they are used to preserve dead animals. Ew. The chemicals harden up the walls, but they basically choke off the air supply to the hoof and make them really dry and brittle, because they can't get any moisture.

Use Biotin supplements.

You could even just get her hoof boots so you can go to those rockier places.

Answer 9

well i have been a horse breeder for the last 25 years and to the best of my knowledge, the best thing you can do, it put leather boots on the horse, they are both functional and stylish.....haha just kidding, you should give the horse a one a day vitamin supplement through the nose, worked for my cat!

Answer 10

Ultimately supplements can only do so much, and some horses simply need shoes and other aid. In terms of some other things to try you can spray her soles with a bottle filled with durasole/iodine and water. There are also other commercial products for topical application, however these do not work to improve the hoof quality.

I would also make sure her diet is balanced with E and Selenium. A good multivitamin can be as helpful as biotin for a horse who is deficient in certain vitamins or minerals.

In regards to her feet, you can ask your farrier about pour in pads, or try using boots when riding on rougher surfaces.

Best of luck!