thin soles

Question
QUESTION: hi Mr. meyers, i have a t/b 19yrs and i am looking for a suitable shoe or subsitute to use on him to save nails constantly being hammered into his feet, i have seen a liquid like tar that you pour on .do you have any other suggestions please, thankyou for your time.

ANSWER: HELLO SARAJANE...THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION...

If you get some of the equine trade magazines,Vettec sells to the farriers a pour in type pad that adhere's to the sole.

It is suppose to last weeks. Have not used it myself. The other product I've used of their's for years, Equi-Pak with shoes is
EXCELLENT.

I MIGHT bring up a thought to you. I'm sure if you've owned this horse for a long time you have experienced this with him.
Being 19 yrs. and a T/B he MAY need more as far as nutritional help.
Most T/B especially with age will have thin soles,weak walls and
require more amino acids in their diet. A good complete hoof supplement added to his grain everyday will change things dramatically.
Leaving him "barefoot" is fine...but a wall acrylic might be needed,
painted on once a week. Also...the terrain he has to travel in MUST also be considered. There is no need to try different things at his age and MAYBE wait weeks for his hooves and sole to toughen a bit
and he suffers that whole time??
That is not fair to him...

I shoe alot of thin walled horses because of genetics or just poor diet.I, like many others who work on problem horses handle this situation well. It is NOT easy...but good shoeing with proper nutritional help to an already good diet, always wins out!!

Thank You,
Best to You...
Joepaul Meyers,C.J.F.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thankyou so much for your time, stupidly i never thought too mention that i have only owned him for approx 3yrs prior to that he was used for racing and did very well i believe but of course only wearing  race plates which as we know are lighter, and are generally removed when back at the yard. would something similar to biotin omegea i.e outshine help we have fed him that along with other feeds for his age and to be honest i never gave his feet a thought as he had lost some condition i was more concerned with getting him covered again as it were. i really appreciate your time with the answer you have already put forward and look forward to my follow up , by the way i live mid-wales ground is rather wet and heavy and to leave shoes on him would be asking for a farrier to move in full time, but heyho cheers again. sarajane

Answer
HELLO...

Biotin is a B-vitamin and water soluble. He'll need a good combo of amino acids, including biotin.
I understand the expense...but outside of making SURE he's in good physical shape (it will affect his hooves)the wet conditions will ruin his hooves. Shoeing and a dry stall or manger will help greatly !! If you are not riding him for a period of time, then pull and trim and "maintain" a proper balance with his hooves, both
condition and farrier work.

Hope I've helped you...
Joepaul