My Horse Won't Hold a Shoe
Horseback Magazine—Pete Ramey #1 3-10-2013
Q: “My horse’s hoof walls are very brittle, with
multiple splits and sometimes they seem to peel apart in thin layers. We have
tried shoes with clips, epoxy repairs and glue-ons, but the walls usually won’t
hold a shoe for more than a month. My farrier suggested we pull her shoes for a
while, but my horse is too lame to ride when she throws a shoe. Is there any
help for us? Are some horses just born with such bad feet that there is no hope
for them?”
A: Yes, some horses are just born with feet that cannot do their job. The good news is that such horses are so rare I have only seen a half-dozen in my entire career (spanning thousands of horses in 8 countries and most US states). What is, instead, very common are horses that have not had the opportunity to develop their hooves to their individual genetic potential. It is easy to blame a horse for having bad feet, but usually more accurate to blame ourselves—and more productive, too. When faced with hoof problems (or to prevent them), think of all the factors that can affect hoof quality and soundness. Try to optimize each factor and you can almost always improve hoof quality and performance. Here are some of the basics:
Nutrition
Although the subject of equine
nutrition is complex, a majority of hoof problems and weaknesses are caused
either by mineral deficiencies or by excess sugars in the diet—focusing on those
two items can reap major benefits. Wall quality, frog quality and sole quality
can usually be improved by finding ways to cut some of the sugar from the
horse’s diet. Some time on green grass can be replaced with time in a dirt
paddock eating hay, some of the grains can be replaced with higher-fiber feeds,
and sweet treats (including apples and carrots) can be eliminated. It is also
important to understand that you can almost never meet a horse’s basic
nutritional needs by throwing a mineral block out in the pasture and giving a
daily scoop of feed. Concentrated mineral supplements are important and
generally make a huge difference.
To take it to the next level,
hire an equine nutritionist (often worth their weight in cut-diamonds) to design
a correct diet around your individual pasture and hay situation, or learn to do
it yourself by studying the nutrition chapters in my book Care and
Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot . Everyone’s hay and grass is different. In
my home area, I have tested the hay and grass, and found that there is almost no
copper or zinc present. So in my area, I only use supplements that are providing
the full NRC (National Research
Council) values of those two nutrients and the changes to hooves are dramatic.
The soil, and thus the nutrients in grass, varies from place-to-place. You have
to test your own forage to maximize your horse’s nutrition,
because excess or imbalance can cause
problems as well. This will not only help the hooves; the same nutrients
needed for optimal hoof growth are also responsible for general health,
performance, immunity and recovery—every aspect of the horse’s life, really.
Environment
Most horse owners already know
that urine and manure can be destructive to the hoof walls, sole and
frogs—routine barn and paddock cleanup is a must. An equally-important factor is
the terrain the horse lives on. Horses that live on soft footing tend to develop
soft hooves. This is a natural adaptation that helps horses maintain their own
hooves in the wild, but does not do us any favors if we wish to produce hooves
that perform well on hard terrain and with our added weight. Draining wet areas,
adding fine gravel to high-traffic areas, and fencing horses out of those mushy
areas can really help the hooves.
Cracked and flared hoof walls
make shoeing difficult, rob performance and create a constant danger of more
serious problems. These worries can usually be eliminated with improved
nutrition, trimming and environment. Photo courtesy of P. Ramey,
Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot, Hoof
Rehab Publishing, 2011.
Frog Health
Most horse owners recognize
that a wide, healthy frog is a good thing—an indication of a healthy foot. Fewer
horse owners realize that a sick frog can literally
cause the rest of the foot to be unhealthy or even to be destroyed
completely. If you have ever seen a horse with a deep central sulcus infection,
think of how careful you have to be when picking out the resulting deep cleft in
the center of the frog. The horse will flinch at the slightest scrape with the
hoof pick, and may react violently if you try to insert the hoof pick inside the
cleft. Now imagine how painful it would be moving over terrain impacting the
ground heel-first as horses are supposed to. These horses usually compensate by shortening their stride
and landing toe-first. This movement pattern over-stresses the laminae
(connection of hoof wall to bone), leading to wall flares and thin soles at the
toe. In my experience, most horses that have trouble holding a shoe are
impacting the ground toe-first—it is a big deal.
To fix or prevent weakness or
infection in the back of the foot, use the dietary and environmental advice
already discussed. It is also very important to treat deep sulcus infections
diligently—do not stop treating until you can see the entire frog i.e., there is
no deep “crack” in the center, and no excess sensitivity. Most importantly, you
have to put the frog and underlying tissues to work—overprotection leads to
further weakness and increased sensitivity. Riding in hoof boots with padded
insoles usually helps build strength in the frog area, and often eliminates the
toe-first landing syndrome as well.
Same foot, one-year duration.
When deep central sulcus infections are present in the frog, the horse cannot
impact on the back of the foot. This can cause horses to throw shoes, wear the
toes excessively, and predispose them to injuries to the foot and throughout the
lower limbs. Diligent treatment by the horse owner cleared up this problem,
creating a safer, happier situation for the horse. Photos courtesy of P. Ramey,
Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot, Hoof
Rehab Publishing, 2011.
Hoof Boots
While most farriers would
agree that a temporary barefoot period—while being routinely trimmed— can
greatly improve hoof quality and function, this step is often eliminated because
it interferes with the owner’s riding needs. Hoof boots are the great compromise
that can allow the horse to benefit from barefoot turnout, while allowing the
owner to carry on with their riding program. Riding in boots with padded insoles
does a great job of developing the frog and internal foot as well—the more you
ride, the more the foot tends to improve. Hoof boot development has come a long
way in recent years. I tend to heat-fit the new Easyboot Glove, which is as
light and almost as compact as a common horseshoe, with no buckles to interfere
with movement.
The Microscopic Enemies
Fungi and bacteria are always
at work feasting on your horse’s hooves. Their destruction contributes to cracks
and tiny fissures in the walls, separation of the laminae, sensitivity and
weakness in the frog, and can infect the coronet, soles and bars as well. The
dietary and environmental factors already mentioned help remove some of these
microbes from the horse and/or strengthen the hooves, giving them resistance.
Antifungal/antibacterial soaks can be very beneficial as well, particularly if
damage is already deep enough that you cannot see to the bottom of cracks and
fissures. Many products and home remedies will work—here are my basic
requirements for an acceptable soaking solution:
1)
Kills
both bacteria and fungi.
2)
Does not harm living
tissue (I half-jokingly tell clients they should be able to apply it to their
own most-tender-parts, or it is
probably not appropriate to put into a separation or deep sulcus on their
horse’s foot).
3)
Is not oily or greasy (such solutions
may seal fungi into an anaerobic environment, increasing the destruction).
Routine Hoof Care
Routine trimming, at six-week
(or less) intervals, is very important to overall hoof quality. When a hoof
becomes overgrown, the laminae tend to separate and the walls tend to become
shelly and split—weakness develops from the inside-out. I believe that this is
just another adaptation that would allow the hoof to self-maintain (break away
in chunks) if it became overgrown in the wild. The flip-side of this is that
when the hooves are constantly maintained at a
correct length, they tend to get
tougher, thicker and stronger from the inside-out. Allowing your farrier to
place the horse on a routine, automatic schedule year-round will yield a
much-better hoof than if you call and schedule the farrier when it “looks like”
the hooves need care. Remember that the new hoof growth produced during the
“off-season” is what you will be competing on when it makes it to ground-level
six months later.
You Are in Control
The most important thing you
can understand is that hooves can be cultivated like a plant. You cannot stop
hooves from constantly changing, but you
can control whether this change is good or bad. Yes, every horse is bound by
its individual genetic potential, but very few horses have had the chance to
grow their best-possible hoof—whether your horse was blessed with nice feet or
not, there is almost always room for improvement. It is worth the time, effort
and money to do everything you can do develop the best hooves your horse can
grow. The horse will not only perform better, but will also be less likely to
become injured or fall victim to career-ending hoof disease—and in the end, you
will probably spend less money on vet bills and specialty shoeing. Prevention is
cheaper than cure and is a better deal for the horse as well.