Im leasing a new mare and she showed up about a week ago. She has pretty bad feet. She only has shoes up front and is barefoot behind. She needs her feet done again but im afraid that if we pulled her shoes there would be nothing to re nail into. Her owner said she was done not to long ago,but from the look of her feet, they did a pretty terrible job. Does anyone recommend a hoof supplement to help her hoof become healthier? My farrier is scheduled to come out sometime next week to do another horse so I will have him take a look at Annie. I'll try to post pictures of her feet  tomorrow when I go out. Thanks in advance.

Any indication the mare may have been previously shod on all four?

My first inclination about a horse with no history that shows up shod only in the front would be there's a therapeutic reason involved. Or... the horse is known to kick. A lot.

Pics would be good to see. Mini-founder or "worry" lines in a hoof can sometimes tell a health history, too. Booselier and NHwomanfarrier are sure to have some good advice for you..

As for hoof supplement, I've had great success with HorseShoer's Secret feed supplement. ~FH

A hoof supplement will take a while to make a difference. The new growth could benefit from it, but it will take up to a whole year for the entire hoof to show the improved quality, as it has to grow from the hairline down, and that's IF the hoof supplement would be needed. However, it won't hurt to give it and if you don't notice a difference in the hoof growth just under the hairline in 60-90 days, then you probably don't need it and can discontinue it. Bonus to hoof supps is that they can really help the hair coat (skin/hair/hoof is all made of the same type of cells) Personally, I like Horseshoer's Secret  as it's got a pretty good balance of some other nutrients  besides just biotin to boost hoof quality, it's also highly palatable to the horses and it's not super expensive.

 I look forward to seeing pics. Can't really give advice without seeing what's going on with the hooves.

 To add onto what FH had to say about the lack of shoes in the back, it could just be that farrier didn't feel it necessary to shoe all around, or the owners didn't want to pay for it, etc.

 FH and Boosiler, Thanks for the info. I came down with a horrible cold this weekend and haven't been out to the barn at all. I'll go out tomorrow or Wed and get pics. Im sure her feet arn't the worst, but i've always taken the time to keep an eye on my horses feet and make sure everything is okay. I think part of the reason her feet look so bad is she has basically done nothing for a while. Still no excuse to neglect hoof care. It looks as if the farrier just slapped those shoes on and did nothing else to help the mare out. The mares older and seems like she hasn't been shod behind in quite some time. Thanks for the hoof supplement advice! Wouldn't hurt to give that a try. She has an aweful coat so im sure she would benifit from anything that could help.

Although Horseshoer's Secret is definitely a top hoof supplement, a cost comparison will reveal that Farrier's Formula (another excellent hoof supplement) actually has more of the "good stuff" for less money. Depending on where you purchase it of course.

I believe that regular work done by a reputable professional who is knowledgeable and can recognize any changes that she might need, especially because she is older, will find your mares hooves in better condition relatively quickly. It will take some time but again as long as she receives excellent care on your farrier's part then things should progress nicely for the both of you.

Here are the pictures of Annie's feet. She's seventeen and it's normal for her to be stocked up behind. Usually goes away after i've worked her. I know they arn't TERRIBLE but I'd like them to look a little better. Im also most likely going to have her shod on all four feet. I think that would make her a bit more comfortable. Any suggestions or comments would be welcome.

left hind

Right Hind

Right Front

Right front

 Left Front

Biotin, of course is of benefit for the hooves.  I also like the results of Hoof Heal...I use it when my boy's hooves seem to get a bit dry and brittle, and the stuff seems to work wonders.  I used it on him when he was on a dry lot, and he never got chips, cracks or splits in his feet when he was having that applied. At first I did it daily, then once his feet looked good, I put it on every other day, or as needed. 

Oh dear...

No I suppose they are not terrible, but they are not good either. The first thing I can tell you is to ask the farrier to actually try shaping the shoe to the hoof. It really looks as though this was another case of pull the shoe out of the box and slap it on. You can see that by the amount of shoe hanging out all around the outside of the hoof wall. Now there is the situation where the hoof wall is so thin that your only option is to hang the shoe branches out there so that the nails travel properly, and if that is the case then a narrower webbed shoe would be appropriate. It shouldn't, however, be that way at the toe. With the shoe so far ahead of the actual hoof wall at the toe you are moving the horses break-over point farther forward thus putting greater stress on the supportive structures of the hoof leg and back. You should in fact do the opposite and set the shoe back especially for an older horse to help ease the break over.

If your horse happens to catch that shoe on anything and incidentally rip it off a great part of that already weak hoof wall will crumble with it. I would also ask your farrier to use the smallest size nail that he/she can safely get away with and try very hard to get away from those old nail holes, and maybe use less nails. In place of less nails a side clipped shoe would be adequate support to reduce the shearing effect on those nails. Additionally although it can be difficult to see from pics it looks as though she could drop a shoe size.

It looks as though she has a bit of under-run heels although again it is tough to see from the pics, so be sure that the farrier is trimming the heels to it's parameters (trim to the widest part of the frog). And also very important that he works on bringing those flares back into check, and eliminates the dished toe.

Hoof supplement looks like a good idea to me, and definitely a hoof dressing to soften things up, those are some pretty dry hard looking frogs and soles and splitting hooves. The nails should never cause the hoof to crack, if they are then there are other problems. Like the shoe not fitting...Oh and maybe trim the over grown frog back so it could be easier for her hooves to be cleaned.

Hope this info helps...I have to say though, don't let him/her shoe your horse if he/she cannot correct the issues with the non-fitted shoe. Just a suggestion...

Our mare is only shod in the front because she has really flat feet and can't walk well on gravel.  It works well having them on the front only and she does well on any surface now. Just a thought.

 From what I can tell in the pictures, her back feet don't look that bad -- I rather like them and would leave them bare unless she is visibly sensitive on them.  

Those cracks below the clinches are nasty, I wouldn't like them either, I see what you mean.  A supplement would definitely help ( besides the obvious farrier work needed) -- I had my guy on Super Bio-Zin, when I first got him, his shod front feet looked all awful and cracky like that.  Three months later, beautiful.  I also put Tuff Stuff on, it helped to prevent a lot of cracked around clinches that he experienced previously.  He's barefoot all around now, so null issue, but those two things made a big difference with some good farrier work.

Since you asked, I am going to risk offending a few people...that being said, I would consult a person who is knowledgeable about the barefoot trim.  Your mare would be useable, unshod while building a healthy foot (and maybe eliminate the hind leg swelling), then if you absolutely can't live without shoes on your horse, the farrier will have a healthy foot to work with..  The pictures show that the shoes on your mare have been there longer than you may think, in addition, the foot is underrun and it looks like the shoes were applied in a 'pull it back and rasp the toe' procedure to try and fix the underrun thing.  From the look of the hoof wall, there is a definite angle the hoof is trying to build and it is not the angle the foot is currently going to measure.  So, the best thing you can do for the long term soundness and useability of your mare is to consult a farrier who is also certified with the Association for Natural Hoof care.  Look at this websites first: barefoothorse.com and follow some of the links there.  It will be an exercise is developing your eye for hoof care.

Well, I do think a supplement wouldn' t hurt in her case. I can pick at the shoes all day long, but whether you decide to go barefoot or stay with shoes, she needs attention soon. NHFarrier covered what she needs if you go the shoe route pretty well.

 If you keep her hinds bare, she needs the bars shaved a little, they are just long enough to cuase some pressure and the wall just needs to be tidied up at this point. She has a lot of dead sole in both the fronts and hinds, but if you go bare, I'd not worry about removing it. It would help protect her soles right away and come out on it's own. The front feet have the quarters jammed upwards-look at the hairline how it bows upward instead of having a nice straight profile, so even if you do go with shoes, the quarters are too long and could be prone to flaring or cracking more. I would, of course, say to go bare   as I think her walls are suffeciently compromised to be prone to loosing her shoes at this point. Expect some chipping where those clinches are, everything below them is weaker now, but better to chip barefoot than to rip off a chunk with a shoe.  A good soaking in ACV and water might help with her dryness as well (and kill any bacteria/fungus lurking in those cracks waiting  to weaken the wall more). Works better than oily dressings, IME to condition the feet.

Her toes are flared, about halfway down you can see the diff. in angles of the wall(I believe that's been pointed out already) and removing the shoes and beveling the toe wills top that from becoming worse (and minimize the wall breakage at the cracks anways). The underslung heels would be better assessed without the shoe, may be better to leave them and scallop the quarters for now to allow that hairline to drop down to normal. Could tell better with the shoes pulled. If you were to shorten the heels right away, it could make her a little tender. Better to start conservatively with bringing the toe back, IMO. 

 Thanks everyone. I know that her feet need attention soon. My farrier is coming out Wednesday afternoon. I'll see what he suggests. So far she hasn't been sore or anything. The mare has been out of work the last year or two, so im sure she hasn't had the attention she needs. Im glad my instincts were right because I knew her feet looked like a train wreck. I trust my farrier and he is one of the better farrier's in my area. I'll let you all know what he says wednesday when  I see him. Thanks again for everyone's helpful suggestions. I really appreciate them! 

I would say that a good overall supplement would greatly benefit your mare.  I think when they are in good health all parts of the body will show it.  I have been using products from Blueridge Botanicals www.bluerb.com. They are redoing their website but if you call they can tell you about their supplements.  I use HP1 and my horses feet are great and he is barefoot!  I like their products because they are natural and not filled with artifcial ingredients, fillers or by-products. I also think if you have a good barefoot trimmer that your horses feet will greatly benefit as it helps the circulation in the feet so much more.