Hoof Supplements

I am needing some advice on hoof supplements. We just got a new horse and her feet are horrible (dry, cracked). My vet said we needed to get her on a supplement. The one he recommended was Platinum but it is very expensive. I'm just wondering if there is an alternative that won't put me in the poor house. Any advice would be wonderful.

Thanks!

Hoofshoers secret its really good and it onlt cost lke $18 :)

No offense to your vet, but I'd get a farrier involved and see what he things. My vet said I'd need to put shoes on my horse, Sonny, because his soles were really sensitive and the rocks would cause him to be lame...well his hooves are so hard that the farrier has trouble trimming them hehe. A vet's job is mainly to look at health, and such...where as a farrier is 100% on hooves...and I'd personally perfer to get their advise since they specialize in that

Definitely ask a farrier for their input....a hoof supplement, IMHO, isn't worth the money at all.

Cracked hooves usually mean they are too long...which will ONLY be solved by getting them trimmed...not hoof supplement will solve that

As for dry...there's an easy solution....take the hose and when filling up the water bucket spray the ground around the water bucket...so the horse HAS to get his feet wet when getting a drink. The water and mud will condiiton the hooves making them more moisturized and not get dry.
It's worked for many people...My friend swears by that.

If you want to go to the route of supplements....Hoofshoers Secret is supposed to be really good...and also added some BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds) to the horses diet is also supposed to be great for their hooves and coat (though I haven't tried either)

Thanks for the advice. She is actually getting shod on Tuesday and I will ask his opinion because I agree he does know more about feet, I just wanted to maybe get her going on a supplement. I'll try the water thing though!

A supplement won't hurt and the horseshoers secret is the one my barefoot trimmer uses(I think).. A good trim and good nutrition is what will make the most difference tho. Soaking them won't hurt either, but don't overdo it.

I use TSC's hoof supplement. It has a wide array of vitamins/minerals in it - - and I also add MSM.

One word of advice, though - - if you want to see results from a hoof supplement, feed as directed and expect it to take a while (since the ingredients are working from the inside out ;) )

Good luck!

Since you're in Salt Lake area, I'm not sure what kind of spring you've had. If ti's been super wet, like it has here, soaking isn't goint to help.

After your farrier takes the excess length (usuall causes most of the cracks-too much growth) and you still think they are too dry....and it's not super wet in your area, soaking might help some.

I recommend Horseshoer's Secret, I see some good results with it-and a bonus is a lovely hair coat... for a supplement.

Resist the urge to put moisturizers on the hooves. At best, they don't work, and they can actually lead to more cracks (the oils in them trap moisture in the tiny cracks, but don't breathe, allowing yeast/fungus to set in, which create more weakness in the surface!)

You might find though, that after a good trim, the hooves aren't as bad as you think.

My guy has terrible feet. I use a combination of Source micro-nutrients and also a biotin supplement. I used to use HB15, which I like, but had a hard time getting it, so I tried Focus HF, which is good, too.
I also use Keratex hoof Hardener which you paint on the hoof, but you cannot get any on the frog or the skin of the horse. IT is very good stuff, tho.

Since I have been using all of the above, my horse can hold a shoe for 7-8 weeks, which is a great improvement, since he used to lose them at 4 weeks b/c they were so shelly and brittle.

A supplement that has plenty of A, D and E will help. And also a good mineral block available at all times, if you're not doing that already.

No one uses hoof alive? Horse shoers secret is good, but I found hoof alive to be even better. I use it on my own feet, and I put it on cuts and bed sores and my finger nails. It's like magic!