Hoof care question

[rodeo51]

What is a good product to use to help put mosture back into a horses hoof?

[TashGaia]

I like Rain Maker.

[winterlakesfarm]

Not much actually works except actual moisture. A tried and true method is to make and keep mud around the water trough. If you want to try a topical, read labels. My farrier says stay away from anything with petroleum based ingredients. I have a product I use that is okay- I will read the label in the morning and post what it is. But honestly nothing works like moist ground!

[rodeo51]

Yay...we got mosture...it's raining!

[Buena]

My trimmer recommends RainMaker, and other farriers have as well. This time of year, soaking for a good week wouldn't even be enough!

[cutiepiepmu]

i personally have not had much luck with any product you use like rainmaker - because, like the lotion we put on our hands - as soon s it is damp or in the dust - it comes right off.

For my horses I use Keretex on the outside of the hoof 2-4 days a week(avoid coronet band) and then use Forshners hoof pack stuffed into the bottom of the hoof and deep into the grooves along the frog. I use about a golf ball size amounts. Pack it in tight - noneed to bandage. Once the oils soak into the hoof, the packing drops out. GREAT product imo.

Sara

[hooti4me]

Personally my trimmer never recommends any hoof care moisture products... she thinks they are a waste of ones money. Instead leave a mud hole by the water trough, or irrigate pasture. I don't leave a mud hole by my water trough, as the water is in the stalls, instead I have irrigated pastures. But if you didn't have any irrigated pastures, I'd be soaking hooves instead of putting different products on their hooves, even taking the hose and really soaking hooves helps. My trimmers always comments on my horse's hooves being perfect.

[winterlakesfarm]

Mine says all topicals are a waste too.......

[cutiepiepmu]

I agree on the topicals - although Keratex is different altogether. It is like a breathable nail polish that has keratin fibers in it that bind the foot together. I DO like the forshners as well because of way it works. but the paint on products i haven't had much luck with either.

I also personally don't do the mud hole thing. Have youe ver worked with your hands in the mud? It is great while it is wet - but as soon as it starts to dry it sucks every ounce of moisture in your hands out and leaves them totally chaffed. Does the same thing on feet IMO.

Sara

[hooti4me]

I wonder what horses did years and years without horse care products? Wild horses stand in the mud all the time. I totally believe in the more 'natural' approach with horses. I've watched my horses, and every time they get buggy, or it rains they roll in the mud/dirt/sand...etc. Their bodies are never chaffed. I've never had a problem with chaffed legs in the mud.. (but I of course wouldn't leave the mud on their legs long term) Mud/dirt/sand...etc is a protectant from different elements, and totally believe mud on the feet do the saem thing. We're not talking you have to make a sink hole, 5 feet deep... simply let your water trough over flow, and when they come get a drink they will stand in it, for afew minutes, adn move on... end of story.
One doesn't have to waste money on tropicals and this and that.. simple more natural things work better.
I used to use all that junk, and would religious put it on my horse's feet daily, and the farrier would still gribe about my horse's hard feet, and this farrier also recommended over flowing the water trough too. I quit using all that stuff, and haven't had any issues since.

Sara- we might just have to disagree to disagree on this subject.. Whats your product of choice for thrush??

[trillium]

Horses in the wild have their feet dry out in the summer because that aids the natural chipping that occurs to keep their feet trimmed. Hooves do not chip if they are too soft.

I remember reading about the water around the horse trough many, many, many (I am not giving away my age, am I?) years ago. In one of the first horse care books I ever read when I got my first horse. Another hint for hoof care I remember was to have a small concret pad at the entrance to their stall. It is like a file and helps keep the hooves worn off.

[fototropic]

I've heard and read from multiple natural hoof care gurus and regular farriers that it is good for hooves to be dry; that the mud does dry them out. If the wall is too hard from being dry to cut with nippers, you can stand them in a wet area to soften up the wall and make it easier to trim. I think this also makes it more permeable to bacteria. One of the issues with domestic horse feet is that they are on soft, often wet ground that circumvents the normal wear process. I believe that the areas the wild horses live in now are pretty dry, keeping the hoof dry with plenty of hard, rocky ground to break off the edges as the hoof grows.

As for the water trough, I am constantly trying to drain the area around it to get rid of the mud. The same thing happens to my hands, if I've been in mud, I have to slather them in lotion before they crack.

Pam

[zebradreams07]

I can attest to that with my mustang. His feet were trimmed by the BLM when he was brought in; but I've been waiting until he is comfortable enough with his feet being handled for the farrier. He's been in a sand round pen for over a month, and a dry pasture for the last few weeks. His feet are long, but they're chipping around the edges with no cracks, and he walks fine over rocks. All the farrier will need to do is take the edges off and he is good to go, even on my rocky ground. Winter may be a different story.

[cutiepiepmu]

I do think that the "domestic" horses have had issues bred in over time - more so than mustangs and horses thousands of years ago. Those horses had natural selection to eliminate the weak foot out. This is definately an area where mustangs are a step above

I agree hootie - we might disagree a bit here I do think that keeping the horses feet dry is important - but there is also a pointof being so dry that the hoof becomes extremely brittle and cracks to the point of causing issues. IMO wild horses wouldn't choose western washington to live - if you look at all the major herds, they are in dry climates that have heavy snow loaded winters and hot, dry summers. The rain and alot of the dirt/ground in western washington can wreck a horses feet. I actually went through the whole relm of issues when I first moved my horses from s.eastern oregon up here. I had NEVER had a hoof problem - then, within 2 months of being up here I had my first case of white line and my first issue with thrush!

as for thrush, I have thoughts on different things - For serious thrush- the kind that causes the frog to bleed and break open- I generally will put the horse on an oral antifungal and treat the foot with topical alternating iodine and kopertox/thrush out. For light thrush, I do a dilute solution of bleach water - which clears things up quickly without too much drying.

I also think that you have to point out too about mud - alot depends on the TYPE of soil you have too. A more clay based soil may be a tad more drying than a heavily sand soil.

Lastly - want to point out that diet can be a HUGE factor in feet. What you feed can greatly affect hoof quality, hoof moisture, and overall hoof and coat health.

[hooti4me]

I totally agree, that you do want the hooves more on the dry side, then the soft side. there is many variables you have to consider on having an equal balance. (soil, weather, your horse's condition, feeding...etc the list goes on)
I totally understand alot of you, not being able to make mud at the water trough, when you have to deal with MUD on a regular basis. I don't do the water trough thing, as my trough is in the stalls.

Sara- I love your knowledge, adn your ideas! I think a person could learn alot from you.

My eyes opened to whole nother side of horse care, afew years ago. When my friend insisted I put shoes on my horse, before coming to her place, 'because of the rocks' I thought in my mind no way. I started reading everything I could get my hands on about barefoot trimming, and natural lifestyle for horses. (I certainly don't go overboard, but do what I can, with what I have) It opened my eyes WIDE open. I've totally changed on how I keep my horses.. down to trimming, to feeding, to out 24/7, no stalls (but they have access to, and only go in, to stay out of the sun), to worming...e.tc. I really can't believe the changes in my horses, and in myself.

Sara- you make an excellent point about soil.. We have sand soil, and really come to think of it, you can't really make mud from it. Thanks for the discussion Sara and others. I think its great, we can all get ideas out, and learn something from each other.