Solo has classic dry thoroughbred feet and I've been battling a toe crack that I can put my finger in since I got him 7 years ago.  With my new farrier we'd had it healing (finally) without it stretching farther up  thanks to my farrier setting his shoe in front of the toe so his toe is protected.

 It was working out great until this heat.  Most of my friends are having the same problem and they've all started using hoof conditioners.  My problem is that Solo spooks at strong smells (this is also the reason why we struggle with hot forging) my usually laid back, doesn't bat an eye when he meets a bear on trail rides, completely shuts down when it comes to strong smells.

 This translates to hoof conditioners, I've tried hoof flex and couldn't even get within 20 feet of him once he caught wind of the stuff.  I had some luck with Hoof Flex (it took a while and a good battle but I eventually got it on him) but it took so long to dry that all we accomplished was getting his hooves a nice coating of sand.

I keep my horses outside year round in a run in shed so I'm really limited in my resources, I don't have cross ties (not that I would tie a horse that was so seriously spooked) and I'm also doing this all by myself.

Has anyone had success with hoof conditioners that also dry quickly so that wind doesn't blow sand all over his hooves, and doesn't smell strongly?  I plan on putting him on a hoof supplement, but I need to get something going so we don't lose everything we've accomplished.

 We're actually working on that currently, and I plan to continue to work with him on this.  The problem is that his feet are in desperate need of a conditioner so while we're working on the fear of smells I also need to do something about his feet as soon as possible.

 i empathize with your problem.  my horse's issue is flyspray, any kind of spray actually.  he can't take even the tiniest spritz of anything.

we desensitize every year starting at square 1.  by the end of summer, he can brace himself and tolerate getting sprayed, but, by next spring, he's forgetten and we start over.

re, hoof conditioner.  my farrier has got me using a hoof packing called forshners.  it's like tar and you pack it into the bottom of the hoof.  i don't use shoes though and i am not figuring out how to make it stay in the hoof for any length of time.  with shoes though it would probably work.

but, again, it probably smells too bad for your horse, if he's that sensitive.

a thought.  what if horse was snacking in a feed bag on her nose.  maybe that would reduce her sense of smell and her concern cuz she's snacking favorite treats.  smelling carrots and oats not pine tar.

 As flighty as Star can be, I always expected to have a blow up when I tried to use fly spray on her, or spray her with the hose.  She stood like a trouper 

I like your idea of a feed bag to get the horse's attention and mask the smell of hoof dressing.  It might just work.

Hmm, I'll have to give that a try, I don't know if Solo's ever even worn a feedbag so it'll be interesting.  Plus it gives me a reason to use the pattern I have to make my own feedbag

Or maybe simply stick a bucket of nice smelly sweetfeed in front of him while you're putting the hoof dressing on. 

Oh, and as for hoof conditioners that dry quickly and don't make sand stick to their feet -- I'd be interested to hear what others have to say because everything I have ever used just attracts dust, sand and grit. 

 I'm going to come from a slightly different perspective. I suspect that the shoe itself and the trim under it...for that shoe is a big part of the problem. Trim not balanced for the horse, breakover long and other torque on the hoof. Frogs atrophying because they have been lifted off the ground and not being used. As the frog atrophies, the heels contract and fold inward creating deep cracks and harbouring thrush deep within the foot. (there should be no central sulcis crack running up between the heel bulbs, it should only be a mere thumbprint depression on top of the frog.)

A horse should land heel first, just like you, and the heels expand outward when it does. Shoes don't allow this. The hoof cannot pump blood if this action is diminished. A horse has 5 hearts. The one in his chest and one in each foot. The heart in his chest will be working much harder without the ones in his feet working properly. The horse also has an arch to his foot right in front of the heels will be barred from use by the steel shoe as well. Mechanism is gone as the arch is filled with excess hoof and plugged up..like you trying to walk in cement shoes. So, shoes greatly diminish circulation and blood flow is food, growth, disease prevention and good hoof health..the float in a foal's movement that your horse used to have.

 I'd never heard of extending the breakover further forward to protect a toe. The problem is the length of the toe itself being too long. Its like you wearing a clown's shoe. Big toe out front, gets in the way of a heel first landing, changes the timing of the step, as he lifts the hoof early to avoid breaking over that toe and to get it free of the ground before the hind hoof hits it. The hoof shape should be a circle, not the oval shape of a toe way out there. There is tremendous torque at the toe on breakover and a shoe way out there even moreso has the effect of bending your fingernail back and walking on it. Imagine the discomfort...understand the crack. Know that its been a long time since the crack started and his feet being properly balanced, taking the torque off and allowing the crack to heal and grow down and out.The problem has always been the trim under that shoe to start with, the shoe just locking it all in and getting worse with the next 6 weeks of growth.

The shoe also lifts the hoof off the ground. His sole is like the sole of your running shoe...also taken off the ground. Instead of feeling the support of the ground thru the sole, the hoof is air borne and hanging on top of the shoe, directly on the white line, which is the attachment of hoof to bone itself. The sole wants the ground, so it fills the shoe with false sole trying to reach it. The bars get excessive because they are not being properly worn. They become prominant to the frog as it atrophies and heels narrow and the whole back of the foot weakens along with the ability to be a heart. Then there's the impact protection of steel, (none), plus the heat on steel (lots) plus the cost. Add it all together and you're going down the road to navicular disease.

Enough about shoes, though.  Just trying to give you some food for thought and how shoes affect the hoof. My main beef is not entirely on the shoe, though, but the trim on the hoof that's been done for that shoe. The key difference is that trim is for the shoe, not for the horse. Take that shoe off and the effect would be the same until he gets a good balanced trim and time to work it and get his ducks in order. 

I would never advocate the lengthening of breakover with the shoe in order to protect the toe. This pulls tendons and is a move completely in the wrong direction. I would have dismissed the farrier right there.  The toe is built to take the torque of breakover, but when imbalance puts it in the brunt like that, cracks start to happen. The torque is on the hoof itself and even the shoe is not preventing or helping it at this point. 

Dry is good. Dry is a strong hoof. The hoof has its own waxes and oils that hold onto moisture and can spit it out as needed and quite quickly too. Any gunk added to the foot only traps disease and promotes it, and plugs up the horse's own ability to monitor it himself....literally suffocating the hoof. All the horse needs is to stand in water a few minutes every day, just like a wild horse, and things like letting the water trough overflow to the ground around it a bit is all it takes..even for hard dry ground. The crack is a symptom of imbalance in the trim...a toe way out there, loss of circulation and nutrition getting to the hoof. The wall weakens because it is starved and whole back of the foot narrowed and frog atrophied, weakening the whole back of the hoof.

Nutrition is also important. Trace minerals particularily. Its copper and zinc that are star players in the connective tissue and hoof health, not to mention giving him the original coat color he was born with. (sun bleaching is proof of copper deficiency) Iron is real baddie. When storage capacity has been reached, it goes running thru the blood like rust. Iron is in everything and 10x more available in water. Most all IR horses are already iron overloaded. It plugs up the intake valves and won't let copper and zinc be absorbed, making them deficient. California Trace Minerals is a good one with adequate amounts of copper and zinc with no iron added. 

Anyway, just some food for thought. I've tried to speak for the horse, cause its his foot and he is the one who has to wear it and perform for you. The trim should be for the horse, not the shoe. You are the only one who truly loves him and can advocate for him....knowledge is power for that advocation. May nobody put you asunder. Hope this helps....

I would love to get Solo barefoot as I see how much my QH loves it and how well her feet are plus she tends to keep everything trim.

Unfortunately it is just not feesible for Solo and would quite frankly be cruel.  The only time we're ever able to have Solo barefoot is when there is snow on the ground to act as a cushion, otherwise he comes up dead lame, his feet turn to pieces, he stocks up from standing under the shed on the sand that isn't frozen solid or on the rubber mat I pulled out of my trailer for him, and abcesses.

This past winter was a perfect example of what happens when Solo's on hard ground without shoes.  He really struggled since we had no snow and he was wearing his sole so heavily our vet recommended we put him back in shoes to give his feet a break.

I'm working on bringing his feet back into the proper shape, developing a better angle, and reducing his excessive flaring and reducing the length of the his toe.  However we have to take it slow and make small changes as anytime we make large changes he becomes lame for 2-3 days.

I'll try to get some pictures for you to see what he's working with, but I'm working on getting a different farrier out since the farrier I was using was supposed to come last Thursday, never showed and has not returned a single call since then.

 Have you tried boots with pads for Solo? The pad not only cushions, but has a give and release action that promotes concavity and cuts tranistion time in half. It would also make trimming more confident and avoid risk of abscesses in the meantime. The pad will also fill the space between long heels and frog and exercise the frog to build and strengthen while it waits for the heels to come down. You can do all kinds of things with pads for comfort, depending on the situation.

No, it isn't good that he was standing around like that in pain. Its all about the bone...trimming the capsule to get it tight to bone and preserving that bone at all costs. That's what the pad "under" the hoof does...supports from below...against the biggie of them all....his descending weight, not hanging thru the middle of a shoe off the ground or bare and standing on the bone either. Not good. Any bone elsewhere in the body, when aggravated will create a periosteal reaction that rebuilds and repairs bone, but not P3. It doesn't have a peristeum, but a corium instead.  It can't react like this because of the hard hoof capsule. The pain would kill the horse, so God was kind. But it means that any bone changes to P3, will be permanent destruction. Its all about the protecting that bone at all costs. This can be achieved with boots and so much more. 

I don't know much about Solo, how old, if he's an ideal weight, how much he works, what he eats, how he spends his days. It does sound though, like he has more pathology to get rid of and has a longer path into the sunshine. He just has bigger hump to get over than the mare. It doesn't mean he can't arrive, either, though. A good set up trim, boots for comfort and development and lots of movement to put it all together so he can get his own ducks in order....with every step he takes thereafter. He just needs some help with transition.  

The pics would help a lot....worth a 1000 words, actually.  If you get a chance, post them. I hate to sound positive when you're not as much, but I've seen some pretty amazing things happen too, so I have faith. I've been too amazed not to have faith. There's no help for me, I guess. 

 It's funny you suggested boots, I thought the same thing, unfortunately Solo wasn't as thrilled.  You can't put anything on his legs or feet when he's by himself as he spends the entire day working to get them off.  The monster can even get the pull on bell boots off.

Solo's a 20 year old OTTB who got shuffled around through 12 owners before I got him 7 (will be 8 Feb. 14th) years ago with some owners only keeping him a few months before getting rid of him.

Right now we're doing a little hunter/jumper (nothing over 2' 3") and we're taking monthly dressage lessons with an "R" level judge to increase his suppleness and flexibility.  We do a lot of trail riding which includes paved and dirt roads and very rough hard ground (there is a lot of ledge where we live).  When we're on the trail I always let him have his head and pick the path that he prefers the most so he's almost always on the softest part of the trail.

As for living situation he's living the life.  He lives outside year round with a run in shed which he loves and we haul in a load of sand 2x a year (partly because it washes out when it rains).  I always make sure Solo gets 12 hours on pasture and work him in the morning and the evening (mornings are just in-hand).  The pasture he has access to is grass and covers 20+acres.  He has the option to go into the woods if he would like as well to get out of the sun and for the most part when he goes between pastures and woods he uses the openings in the stone walls though sometimes he will jump them or walk over them like his QH companion and the cows do.  When they're outside they have access to 2 trace mineral blocks that are for cows and horses.

When the horses are in their pen with the shed (sand lot) they have 2 other mineral blocks (one is a large Sweetlick and the other is a carrot flavored block).  In the evening they get free choice hay (usually I just take 1/2 a bale of hay and divide it between the two horses and then take any left overs out to the pasture and it's there free choice for the horses and cows if they want it).  As for grain I feed Blue Seal and in the morning Solo gets 1/2 a regular sized coffee can (I can't remember the wt. off the top of my head, but I have it in the barn) of Hunter (  http://www.blueseal.com/equine/productpages/10_Hunter.pdf ) and then in the evening he's getting 1/2 a regular sized coffee can (again I have the wt. in the barn, just not off the top of my head) of Sentinel Senior ( http://www.sentinelfeed.com/pdfs/blueseal_sellsheet_SR.pdf ) and then in the evening he's also getting his joint supplement (Rapid Flex).

At 20 years old, comfort is more important than good hoof form. His happiness and not freaking out at weird smells and equipment affects his happiness and your safety. If he is sound, then he does not need boots. Boots are also not needed for cracks either. Its good that he's moving around 24/7 and keeping on top of thrush is a biggie, as it can sore overnight. Movement is everything to promote development and he has that...also good for the stiffness of arthritis. A brief visit of feet into water is all he needs to maintain moisture. A good balanced trim that is stayed on top of is also great for everything...thrush, development and hoof strength and cracking and chipping and flow of every system in his body.The barefoot trim really addresses all of this moreso than a pasture trim.

As he gets older, his ability to aborb nutrition is decreased and more is needed to insure that he gets what is needed. The salt and mineral blocks were made for cows and good for a complimentary increase, but do not even begin to deliver what is needed.  Block were made for rough cow tongues, not horses. For a horse to even begin to get what he needs from a block, he would have to make one of the small stall blocks sitting in holders completely disappear in one week. He wouldn't have a tongue left.

The Blue Seal I'm not fan of. When you buy a bagged feed like this (or two) what you get is high iron that plugs up the intake valves and deletes any absorption of copper and zinc. Iron is a baddie. It is in everything, hay, left by machinery, 10x more available in water. One feeding from such a bag can double a daily dose of iron, really deleting the absorption of copper and zinc. If you have any sunbleaching going on with his coat, know that this is a copper deficiency and that the iron is blocking its absorption. I've seen several times where a vet will see brown tipped manes etc. and declare anemia and give an iron shot to the horse....when it is iron overload already killing copper and the other traces. The only time there is concern for anemia is if the horse has been bleeding copiously  and I have turned a horse from bay to jet black in the summer sun in 3 months with proper copper added and keeping the iron low, so it has a chance.

Why I don't like the Blue Seal:

a) the first 8 ingredients...all grain. Provides enough sugar to create a glucose rise one hour after feeding it. This is happening 2x/day and grain fed meals like this will be destined to create and IR horse. Add an older horse, and he is already at risk for this, as well as Cushings. Treat him like he is IR and you won't go there. 

b) Rice bran is really sweet. Soy messes up the thyroid and I don't reccommend it in any form. Processed flax has lost its Omegas. Minerals in sulfer form defy absorption and they chelated some of it, which is not necessary as the horse has his own chelation system. So, it looks like they've added a mineral that's unabsorbable and then chelated some of it and the outcome of how much the horse is actually benefitting from is way up in the air. 

c) Iron. Not on the label. They are hiding it....be sure. Phone them and ask them what the iron content is in both these feeds and you may find out, or you may not, or you may get told you're a stupid female, or what you don't know won't hurt you, cause we're the experts. I've been thru the whole nine yards looking for missing information on feed labels and have gotten all these responses. So, if iron is not on the label, they're hiding it. Iron is one of first things that are treated by balancing the diet of an already IR horse. The feet have failed and iron has killed the copper's ability to strengthen connective tissue. The ingredient list however, gives me lots of clues of the iron that is in that bag that they're not telling me about.  The only iron that is required, is in his hay already and no more needs to be added from anywhere else.

d) there is no designation for NSC, which is starch and sugar. Hiding it again. It should be 10% and not higher. Phone them and ask them that one too. Some bags can go as high as 22%! Good for a horse using it in high performance, but a retired guy.....right towards IR. Check out Triple Crown for a lower NSC.

e) It irks me that it has been touted as a guaranteed analysis. Then you see that there are min. and max. of the same ingredient together on the values. Every batch is NOT checked for its nutritional value and you could be getting any amount of either of these at any given time. Where's the guarantee in that??? In this bag, you will never find consistant delivery for balanced nutrition.This bag's analysis is typical of so many feeds I've seen.

High fat is another bone of contention with me, as it has no nutritional value whatsoever and the horse has no requirement for fat whatsoever. They still don't get it. Fat is fat and nothing else. You may as well load it into a needle and inject it under his skin and call them fatty pads and know that these pads house inflammatory cytokines that will rush to damage a hoof at the first sign of stress. Within three months, it can change a horse's energy source from glucose-derived to fat derived and energy is limited with fat. When the horse exhausts that energy, he can no longer pull energy from glucose to compensate any more. If you supplement some thing like that, you kill the horse's system that he was meant to operate on. eg. If you have a horse on a high Vit. C, then the ability of the horse to manufacture his own vitamin C is impaired and lost. The key is adequate amounts and balanced delivery.

Check out California Trace;

 http://www.californiatrace.com/ingredients.html

You'll notice the copper and zinc values are 3x more than the Blue Seal and there's NO iron it, which means the horse will actually be benefitting from the copper and zinc in it. The values of copper and zinc are also balanced to each other as well, which means optimal absorption. It also has adequate amounts of selenium, biotin, iodine and methionine, which is another good one for feet. Especially Lysine, which if is not present in the protein chain, protein goes wasted as well.  You'll cover a lot of basic needs well with this one. Here's your hoof supplement.

Hope this helps.....

 I'm not worried about the iron in my horses.  Neither one of them have bleached coats and I've had their blood run for a total health when we draw blood for coggins and their iron levels have always been fine.

The mineral blocks in the pasture are designed for cattle and horses, however the mineral blocks in their private turnout pen (where they spend the night) are specifically formulated for horses and are much softer than the ones we have for the cows.

I have to disagree with you on the Blue Seal front, I've done a lot of research of grains and feed companies that supply the area and Blue Seal is the best that I've found.  Plus it's the best compliment for the hay we grow in terms of balancing diets.

 The fat grains is to combat the winters the horses go through.  Living outside in a runin shed and not being blanketed the high fat grains prevents them from loosing condition in the winter as fat can easily be converted into glucose.  When I had them on a lower fat diet the two of them lost condition even though they had 24/7 access to high quality second crop hay.

 We'll just have to agree to disagree, but if things are working well for you, then that's a good thing. I'm sorry that you chose not to glean any information from my long posting, nor acknowledge compliments...was trying to help is all. Please forgive the try.

I don't research grains, I avoid them.

Fat is still fat and is not the same as fatty acids at all, so no on fat being converted to glucose..it replaces glucose.

I don't compare feed bags to other feed bags, I compare it to the NRC requirements of the horse. This is about the horse's nutrition, viable forms that can be absorbed and delivered in balance according to hay and pasture tests, no more, no less, no guessing. The only way to achieve balance.

The only place that can do a proper iron panel is Cornel. 

My horse is 26 and up in Canada. Even with a full winter coat, she is blanketed on the coldest nights on the same diet and she doesn't lose condition. She is out 24/7 with my barn being the run-in shed, with stalls eliminated and barn filled with pea gravel and pasture paradise system set up.  She has transitioned, rock crushing feet, no need for joint supplements, is the herd boss still and look/acts 15 years younger than she is. She has no other pathologies whatsoever. So, I must be doing things right as well. Good for me too., eh?

 I'm sorry you feel I didn't take anything from your long post.  I often have a response for everything, but lately I've been having issues with the computer and have been getting interupted so I usually forget what my response is and have limited time.

I did record your response with all your information into my horse binder that I keep.  I put in every piece of information I get and then once a month I try to go through and categorize everything.  Then what I do is when I run into an issue where what I'm doing isn't working I go through my binder and look for something else to try.  Since every horse is different I've found this works really well and I always have a resource.  This time around is simply the first horse I've had that I've really struggled with feet which is why I'm basically starting with nothing.

The info you gave might not be what's right for my two horses, however I may have another horse down the road that does have the issues with grain that you talked about in which case the info you gave me will get used.  However it might be 10 years down the road before I have something happen that I'll need it for.

 I had a new farrier come out who actually cut back the flare on Solo's feet and now his feet actually look like they should.  He also recommended I use Rain Maker for a moisturizer and applied some after he did Solo's feet and I've found it isn't very smelly and doesn't bother Solo at all.  I also had instructions for the first few days to spray iodine on Solo's soles to harden his sole for the first few days.  The Rain Maker still takes forever to dry, but the farrier ok'd wiping excess off with a towel as long as I left it on for about 5 minutes.  It's working pretty well, my only thing is I'm not a fan of how the directions say to apply as needed, and I'm not entirely sure how often I should be doing it or what I should be looking for in terms of signs of when it needs to be reapplied, or how the fact that I'm wiping off after 5 minutes changes this.

 I've got some pictures of Solo's feet before the trim (note his feet are past due in the pictures due to farrier drama), and I'm going to try to get some pictures of Solo's feet tomorrow morning (his feet were done on Monday the 13th).

Solo's feet before trim (sorry the quality isn't the greatest):

Front:

Rear (I apologize that Solo's not standing square and is resting his left hind he kept moving once I set him up (also the shadow on the right side of the picture is his front leg (sorry about that as well I was taking the pictures at around 9pm by myself with a pushy pony behind me looking for more food).  I outlined roughly where the toe crack is as it's hard to see with the light and the mud that kept smearing when I tried to clean it off.

I'm not sure where the pictures of his right hind went, but that is the most normal of the feet in terms of growth.