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Lynn Seitz
Member
Username: Lynnie
Post Number: 4
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, Jun 13, 2006 - 11:22 am: |   |
My mare is 8 years old (15.3, approx. 1250-1300 lbs), and suffered a bout of laminitis as a 4 year old. No re-occurrences, but she has always had poor quality front feet. Abcesses a couple of times a year, poor growth, and weak, flaky walls. After years of being on a high biotin, high methionine supplemented diet (which seemed to make no difference in the quality of her hoof walls, and had to be given by oral dose syringe as she would not eat the stuff)plus HorseGuard, I put her on a product called Nu-Foot Pellets after a great deal of research and consultation. She's been on the product for a year now, with only one lost shoe and one minor abcess the whole time. Her white line issues have cleared up and the vet & shoer both say her feet look great now. My concern is the fact that the mare is now pregnant (60 days along now) and I don't know what effect, if any, the high level of iodine (15 mg. per daily serving) may have on the foal. The manufacturer claims it will have no harmful effects on the foal, but I still worry. See farrierscience.com/charts/htm for complete product information. Do you believe I should remove this from my mare's diet while she is in foal? If so, replace with what to keep her feet in good shape? I should also mention that the mare gets one scoop of Thyro-L daily, and has been on this for about three years. I would like to add that I am by no means "wed" to the Nu-Foot product, but it seems to be the only thing that has made some improvement in the quality of her hoof walls. As far as nutrition goes, she's on an overgrazed pastured during the day, and receives timothy hay once a day (twice daily in the winter months) plus a small amount of good quality alfalfa. |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 15870
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 14, 2006 - 7:50 am: | |
Hello Lynn,
I too am concerned about this dosage of iodine depending on the size of your mare this is getting awfully close to a toxic dose and is many times the amount required for good health. For more on this see: Care for Horses » Nutrition » Minerals and Nutrition. If you post the ingredient and your dosage rate we can review what might be done.
DrO |
Lynn Seitz
Member
Username: Lynnie
Post Number: 5
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, Jun 15, 2006 - 7:45 pm: | |
Dr. O,
I had been feeding the Nu-Foot pellet formula, at the recommended dose of 2 oz. per day. I've attached a comparison chart from the manufacturer for your review. Hope this provides you with the information you requested.
Thanks,
Lynn |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 15888
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Friday, Jun 16, 2006 - 10:42 am: | |
Lynn I am afraid the document misaligns the tables in my Word program. Could you list the ingredients. I just need the Nu-Foot not the comparisions.
DrO |
Lynn Seitz
Member
Username: Lynnie
Post Number: 6
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 21, 2006 - 7:09 pm: | |
Dr. O,
Sorry the prior attachment did not work out. I've scanned in the label off the bucket, and attached it as a PDF. Hopefully, this will improve things. Let me know what your thoughts are. I've taken the mare off the Nu-Foot and will not resume while she's in foal. However, I'd like to know if this poses a risk to her, pregnant or not. If it is your recommendation that I permanently discontinue use of this product, do you have a replacement suggestion? Like I said before, I have battled weak, shelly/brittle walls on the feet of this mare for years. Thanks for your words of wisdom. |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 15930
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - 9:01 am: | |
The 2 ingredients that are likely to be helping the feet are the methionine and biotin and these are at suboptimal levels, for recommended dosages see Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Hoof » Poor Horn Quality: problems with the wall and soles. You could then take the recommended dosages and find a product at your local equine supply store without all the iodine.
DrO |
Nu Foot product comparison chart
Nu-Foot Product Label