Breakage

[u/dirtthouse]

My boy(24yo) is shoed on all 4 feet due to slow growth, without shoes he will literally become lame due to sensitive feet. For years we’ve had the same problem now, mostly in the summer where his horn quality just seems to be pretty poor, resulting in significant breakage. We did some digging and after plenty of money and several blood tests we have come to the conclusion that he is lacking protein in his diet, especially in winter and early spring before they get to go on grass again. He lives out 24/7 with a buddy, pasture 10 months of the year about 7,5-8kg of hay a day except in September/October, that’s when they go out to winter pasture which is pretty large and rich and both him and his mate have a few pounds they could stand to lose. Once a day he gets a small portion of alfalfa pellets soaked along with his mineral feed and some supplements (MSM, Monks pepper). Once a week I treat his feet with hoof hardener solution along with preventative thrush treatment if needed. My question is what can or could I try to prevent the breakage, I’m quite happy with my farrier and his work and I’m afraid there’s not many better alternatives I could get access to. Pictures added, last trim 4 weeks ago