It's About The Horse

carefreegirl · Member Joined: 01 Feb 2009 Posts: 822

No x-rays have been taken recently, he did have some x-rays taken of his LH clear back when it was abscessed, so it has been more then a year since x-rays.

His soundness seems fine, actually, even though his feet do not look awesome, he seems to be okay. He is actually sound enough that I can go for a two mile ride along the side of the road and he does not show any gimpiness during the ride, or by the end, or the next day, and he is not gimpy in his pasture either.

Here is a video, so you can see his movement,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rojwIglzsKU
taken the same day as the last pics, and the last time I trimmed and was taken after I trimmed, since then we have been doing some pole/small jump work, and his back strength has improved, and so he is moving even better now then he was in that video

I know his hoof form could improve but he seems pretty okay with the feet he has now, and they definitely are better then they use to be.

Thanks for any helpful or kind thoughts though, and Bit thanks for your concern.

Newfman · Member Joined: 03 Feb 2009 Posts: 510 Location: Maine

You may find it helpful to draw his heels back a bit, it could help to get his toes shortened up. Can you post the old x-ray?

Just a thought.
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carefreegirl · Member Joined: 01 Feb 2009 Posts: 822

ok, been a long time since I posted on here, but then again, I haven't been doing Bently's feet, my brother has...

Anyway here is an update on Bently's feet, His bottom three/fourths or so of growth is from when he was in Idaho; Moved down to Cali in early may so top part of growth is from being in Cali; You can see a redish area on his LF and below that is when he was in Idaho, and above that is when he was in Cali. New growth is looking stronger to me.

He is now in a dirt paddock and is fed alfalfa hay in the morning and grass hay in the evenings, he has access to a salt block and a mineral block, and I give him a multi-vit/mineral supplement pretty regularly, In Idaho he was on pasture with alfalfa grass hay in the winter, no supplements other then access to salt/mineral block, he also lost a lot of weight this winter, and I had to put some back on him, though I think he is in a good weight now.

Pics and trimming took place on 06/21/2011

Front feet view

LF Front view

LF Side view

LF Bottom view

His right front had a crack almost to the top when he came down, it is now growing out, though a big chunk of it came out partially at the bottom, and so I helped it finish. I'm trying to decide whether or not to bring the rest of the foot back to that point as well in the front, but think I need to leave him some protection.

RF front view

RF side view

RF bottom view

Hind feet view

LH Front view

LH Side view

LH Bottom view

RH front view

RH side view

RH Bottom view

Bently duded up for trimming, flies were really bad that day

Bently Right side after trimming

Bently being cute

Mandy'sMarty · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 11:37 pm Post subject:

Bently may not be getting the minerals he needs to grow strong, healthy feet. I suspect that he is deficient in calcium and zinc. Too much alfalfa in his diet can inhibit calcium absorption. Many pasture blocks and supplements contain only non-organic minerals that are largely indigestible.

Consider the diet information found at these links:

http://www.thehorseshoof.com/art_judy_hooves.html

http://www.allofgodscreatures.com/news.htm

http://www.horsethink.com/Articles/feedingthree.htm
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misstux · Member Joined: 27 Feb 2009 Posts: 948

Strider and I also live in California. Strider is on a grass hay only diet and gets California Trace, which was developed by Sally Hugg. She bought a bunch of grass hay from lots of places, had it tested and made a mineral supplement for the average values. He's doing really well on it. Just in case you want to check into it.

carefreegirl · Member Joined: 01 Feb 2009 Posts: 822

I'll certainly look into what you guys have said, But as I said, his new growth looks much better then his old growth, and he is now getting a min/vit supplement which he was not before, he was only on pasture before with alfalfa/grass mix hay in the winter and with a mineral block available sometimes.

Right now (since the beginning of May) He has had access to a plain salt block, and a mineral block. He is fed Alfalfa in the morning, and Grass in the evening. (He was fed alfalfa both meals to help him gain back his weight, until about two or so weeks ago, though)

He is fed some pellets after every workout/ride, I don't feed it when I don't go out there, but he gets it almost every day.
In his Pellets he gets Mega-Mag, which is a mineral/vitamin supplement for horses that are fed alfalfa. If you want to look at it, it is found here:

http://www.smartpakequine.com/megamag-1815p.aspx?cm_vc=Search

Also he gets Some Safe Choice from Nutrena ( http://www.nutrenaworld.com/nutre...ucts/horses/safe-choice/index.jsp ) Though I'm having to switch to Triple crown Low Starch as I can't find Safe Choice where I am at, he is about half way switched over to Triple Crown from Safe Choice now ( http://www.triplecrownfeed.com/fe...e-feed-formula-lowstarchhorsefeed ),

And in the Triple Crown/Safe Choice I have some Stay Strong Minerals from ADM ( http://www.admani.com/allianceequ...Metabolic%20Mineral%20Pellets.htm ) Mixed in as well, he didn't care for the stay strong minerals by themselves, so had to add Safe Choice (now triple crown) to them for him to eat them, will probably phase out the Stay Stong once it is gone, but have to use it up while I got it.

So in other words I have some Triple Crown/Safe Choice mixed in with some Stay Strong Minerals, and put about two cups (up to four cups if we had an extra hard workout day, which we rarely do) of that mixture in with his Mega Mag. He loves this and eats it right up, his coat is very shiny, and he is alert and seems happy. I am thinking of adding Smart Hoof Pellets or Smart Hoof Ultra Pellets in, but have not done so yet, I'm thinking the biotin and omegas found in those products might help for that last bit of improvement for his feet.

Others have advised me and/or I have read to avoid, or minimize Iron, and increase zinc, and copper in his diet, and to avoid molasses, and oats, which I have tried to do with my feed choices.

carefreegirl · Member Joined: 01 Feb 2009 Posts: 822

just wanted to update on what he is being fed, And I'll try to remember to take a camera out next time I trim.

He gets a pound of Low Starch from Triple Crown that has about a handful of Stay Strong Minerals in it along with an ounce of Mega Mag. He gets half an ounce of garlic powder (to help deter flies) and two tablespoons of Canola Oil for omega 3's. He has a Salt Block and a Mineral Block available to him. He gets Alfalfa hay in the morning and grass in the evening, I would switch him to all grass, but I'm having a hard time getting him to gain the last little bit of weight that I want him to, which is weird cause he use to be chubby, so keeping him on alfalfa for the extra calories. I think perhaps the place I have him boarded at are not feeding him enough hay, I have had to ask a couple of times to make sure he got 2 flakes morning and night (while I was there and they had only given him one flake), but he still seems like he is hungry. He needs about 21 pounds of hay a day and I don't think he has been getting it. Oh and he gets psyllium for a week out of every month.