thoroughbreds rubbish hooves?

The only solution is to feed a proper nutritional diet. As you have learned, all the topical chemicals and moisturizers and conditioners on the planet will not help, just cause more damage. Also, damage is done with shoes. A shod horse will never have feet as healthy and strong as they could be. You did not elaborate on your horse's condition so it is impossible to give a correct answer, but I will try to be reasonable.

You can try supplementation on top of an excellent diet but the best one is Focus HF. I will also say that there are limiting factors even to this product. With a poor diet, nothing will help. If the horse wears shoes and is stuck living in a box, he will not heal. It takes movement/stimulation and good living conditions, consistent and proper trimming to improve hoof tissue. You can feet biotin by the bucket and if this horse has a poor diet or is limited in proper amino acids, the biotin is useless. Lysine is a limiting amino acid necessary for protein metabolism and without lysine, almost all processes are lacking and impossible, regardless of what supplement you use. I have found Farrier's Formula to be garbage. A horse was given that for 2 years and there was no change, but other limiting factors. Providing nutrition for a horse and his feet is difficult and involved and too much to get into other than the brief overview I have stated (from scientific research, not just an opinion).

There are a lot of causes of the problems we see in the TB feet, but 99.9% of the cause is from human intervention. Putting racing plates on babies will destroy their quality of the feet, as we continue to see. Again, there are a lot of factors at play here.

Be prepared to give it a year to see improvement. You have to get the nutrition correct and the exercise and housing. It is a multi-faceted program, not just one or two changes. And you have to wait it out and work on it. If someone tells you they saw results from this change or that product in a few weeks or even 2-3 months, they are not being truthful. It is just not physically possible. You have to grow off the old, poor quality tissue and that means growing it out from the coronary band to the ground - 8-12 months. No quick fixes here. Good luck.

The Hoof Heal is damaging and putting it on daily is a factor in the quality of her feet. Taking the shoes off is a good idea but it takes time for the hooves to recover from a lifetime of shoe abuse. It makes perfect sense that something that has repeated perforations through it is going to be weak and will break and chip. It appears he has so much damage that he can't hold a shoe and quarter clips are the absolute worst as they tear the hoof wall all to pieces, as you have attested. Nutrition is the number factor in quality hoof tissue. But if her feet are so damaged, it will take 8-12 months to see improvement. The same would be true of a hoof supplement (should have lysine, methonnine, copper, zinc, biotin as minimal ingredients. A horse getting adequate forage will have adequate lysine. Lysine is necessary as it is the limiting amino acid. Without lysine, she cannot absorb anything else.) If you get boots, I would not recommend Old Macs. I bought a pair and they would spin on my horse's feet. There was just no way to fit them well. EasyBoot Epics or Glove with a gaiter are the best, in my opinion. The Glove is much easier to put on and off. Sizing should be taken immediately after a proper trim. Hopefully, the frogs and sole are not being trimmed. Since the horse is so tender, the frog and sole should be left alone even if there is exfoliating material on the sole. The horse needs this from what you described. Take care with the wrapping as horses sweat through their soles or if the cotton and vet wrap get wet, it is holding moisture next to the sole all the time and will make the tissues more and more soft. I have a hard keeper TB as well, so I know what you are dealing with but he has done very well barefoot. Hopefully, the hooves will come around in time. Be patient.

First of all I would like to correct your statement about "rubbish hooves." Not all thoroughbreds have weak hooves. Scientists estimate it would take millions of years to breed a trait like hoof strength out of a population and horses have only been domesticated for about 10,000 years. It is true. however, that natural selection doesn't play a big role with breeding anymore since our horses no longer have to care for themselves. Because of this certain bloodlines can carry a trait such as weak hooves, and because of selective breeding in the racing industry, traits like hoof quality is ignored and traits like speed are favored.

Moving on, there are not really a lot of "professional products" that will help your horse. Moat of those consist of a bunch of chemicals, and usually they do more harm than good by drying out the hoof. You want stronger hooves? Pull the shoes. Shoes are extremely detrimental not only to the health of the hoof and legs, but also to the horse's overall well being. Yes, your horse will be sore for a while, but it pays of in the long run with healthier hooves and and statistically, barefoot horses stay sounder longer. For more information, check out my website, http://naturalhorsekeeping.webs.com/ and if you still want to read more, go to the "Resources" tab.

*EDIT* If you would like to use a supplement, go with a simple Biotin one without added chemicals, etc. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds are also great for overall health. I have also had friends who have use Farrier's Formula and been pleased with the results.

Farrier's Formula. It isn't a quick fix, it takes about 6 months to see the results. But it is a long term solution and well worth it.

Safflower Oil. You should be able to get it in any supermarket or grocery store.