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BADLY cracking hooves!

7K views 37 replies 15 participants last post by  Black Beauty 94 
#1 ·
With all this horrible dry weather, my horse's hoof has been cracking badly. Cracks are too the top, and at the bottom of the hoof, there are pieces of hoof missing.

I have talked to my farrier, he didn't say much. He said it was because of the horribly dry rough ground at my barn (and around my area!) and then when they stamp off the millions of flies, there hoofes crack, and get dry.

He suggested feed, and dressing for his hoofes.

What is the best/most inexpensive way to treat it? (Home remedies would be great) ex-mud
Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I'd look at his diet and perhaps get him on a sooner-than-later trimming schedule (as in every 4-5 weeks instead of 5-7 weeks if you aren't doing that already.

Putting my horse, who was as bad as your horse sounds, on a hoof supplement helped his feet out immensely. He may be deficient in something as well, what does your horse eat on a daily basis?

If you feel brave, you can also take pictures of your horse's feet and post them on here.

Hope that helped. Hoof dressing.. doesn't really help IMOP. The issue is much deeper.
 
#3 ·
His diet is good, I wish the hay quality at the barn was better though.

That is a good idea- I will check into that. What did you give him for his feet? How often?

His diet is hay, and 10 acres of light grazing, 3 pounds of grain 3-4 days a week with a daily arthritis medicine, and of course water.

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
We are having the same problem here. Most of your horse's cracks are most likely the superficial kind that only affect the outside layer. Supplements are good, but they can take MONTHS to affect the hoof. But, they are pretty much your best bet to keep this from happening in the future.

For now I would avoid sand and gravel as much as you can. Also, and it sounds weird, I would avoid the hooves getting soaked/wet as this can actually exasperate the dryness... imagine how dry your hands are when they finally dry from doing dishes if you don't use lotion, etc. When you bathe your horse, the soap can also dry out hooves. You also want to avoid iodine, thrush remedies, salts, etc as these are also very drying.

Other than that I would use a good hoof conditioner about every 4-5 days like Horseshoers Secret, Rain Maker, etc. It may seem expensive at first but if you just put a nice layer on and only about once a week the can should last you most of the year. Make sure to put it on the sole, heel bulbs and coronet areas too..these are the areas that get the most damage when they dry out. If it's rainy out, or muddy I like to wait for the hoof to completely dry and then put a thick layer of Corona (ointment in the tube, not hoof stuff) on the soles, frog and outer hoof as it is a really nice mud/water barrier that is both moisturizing and prevents thrush, fungus and the hooves getting messed up from standing in the mud.
 
#11 ·
He is every 7 weeks, it varies. I call as soon as I need them done, and he comes. He just got them done 3 weeks ago, and I don't want them to be too short.
He is getting Nutrena Performance, but a 50 lb bag lasts 2 months almost, so not very much.
I am going back to the barn Monday!
 
#12 ·
Any particular reason why he only gets grain a few days a week? If a 50 lb bag (Nutrena Performance = Nutrena SafeChoice Perform?) is lasting you nearly two months he's not getting all the nutrients he needs, which could certainly contribute to the poor quality hooves.

Putting a horse on supplements can get pricey very quickly (many are easily $1/day) and may or may not actually be the right thing for your situation. I'm a much bigger fan of an all-around balanced diet, and then only adding supplements once basic nutrition has been met and a deficiency is still observed. Since you mention that the hay at your barn isn't the best this is even more important. I'd highly suggest you look into ration balancers, which are quite good for both your horse and your pocket book- the ration balancer I feed my horse is on the pricier side at $36 for a 50 lb bag, but since I only feed 1.25 lbs/day it's only $0.90/day and he doesn't need any additional supplements.
 
#13 ·
I have the same issues here. Its not due to lack of nutrients in their diet. Its because its so dry. My horses have sand cracks...or superficial cracks. They arent deep.

There are also a few chucks missing from the sides of the hoof.

Ive talked with my farrier. He said the best thing i can do for them is to overfill my water throughs. Lol. Really. So i overfill my water by 20 minutes or so everyday. The muddier the better apparently. Until we start getting some of that watery stuff that comes from the sky...whats that called again? I cant remember...its been so long...*sigh*
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#14 ·
I overfill my trough to. It helps. I have an old fashioned farrier. He does a great job. And he actually got me using used motor oil instead of conditioners. And i have noticed quite a difference with that to.
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#25 ·
Used motor oil is a carcinogenic to humans so I assume horse also. I am a mechanic so I am exposed to (and read the precautions everyday). I would not use that on my horse. I think that anyone who would suggest this is misinformed. Used motor oil contains vey high levels of contaminants and should not be used. I would rather use petroleum jelly or something similar. It is still really cheap but doesn't contain the toxins.please tell me wher you got this idea from because it is horrible!
 
#26 ·
Also, I would use something to repel flies, to lessen his stamping at flies. In the short term, that might help as much as anything else, since the flies are bad and that's why he's stamping, causing the cracks and chips to occur. There are organic fly sprays, chemicals (Tri-Tek and Endure work well for me) and feed-throughs. We use fly predators from Spalding which work really well, and lessen the need for fly spray, but your barn would have to make the investment and it takes about 30 days for them to take effect (due to the life cycle of the flies).
 
#27 · (Edited)
Here is an article that might help. The Horse | Hoof Dressings: What Studies Show

You have to join the site to read it, but it's free and it contains a lot of good information. One of the points that stood out for me was, hoof dressings have very little effect on good quality horn, but can further damage poor quality horn.

And I absolutely agree with hberrie. I would NEVER put motor oil, used or not, on my horse.

ETA: Here's an article about managing wet feet but it's worth a read if you're worried about dry feet too.
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=5695
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#28 ·
Thanks SO much-yes, I don't want to use motor oil
Here is an article that might help. The Horse | Hoof Dressings: What Studies Show

You have to join the site to read it, but it's free and it contains a lot of good information. One of the points that stood out for me was, hoof dressings have very little effect on good quality horn, but can further damage poor quality horn.

And I absolutely agree with hberrie. I would NEVER put motor oil, used or not, on my horse.

ETA: Here's an article about managing wet feet but it's worth a read if you're worried about dry feet too.
The Horse | Managing Wet Feet
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