So its been so cold and snowy here :-( and I am having the hardest time getting the ice balls out of my horses front hoofs. I fell in the driveway and bruised my tailbone so my strength is not up to par but I need some tricks for getting these big ice hoofs clean. ALSO, the horse in the avatar is new only been with us for about 3 weeks and he is very resistant to pick up his back hoofs...... but he will. When he does should I give him a treat. Never had a problem with my other guys picking up hoofs....so I am new to this problem.
Thanks
Trying to stay warm
Lizz
I use Vaseline on my horses hooves. It helps keep them from building up and what does build up is easy to get out then with a pick.
As for the other horse..I don't like to use treats always as a reward because it can make them nippy. Not always..but it can.. So, if it were me as soon as he picked it up I'd release it gently and praise him a lot to let him know that that was the right thing to do. Itch him in his favorite spot and tell him good boy!
Good advise, I'm going to try the Pam
As far as treats, I would for sure give lots of pets and "good boys" for picking up the rears. I don't give cookies for picking up feet just love :wink:
Vaseline really works- it's a charm! I've never tried the PAM though...hmm, that sounds like a good idea. When I go out to the barn today (later, since it's still bad weather, she's prolly still in the barn) I will check Daytona's feet!
I've had better results with Vaseline than I have with Pam. With Vaseline, it lasts at least 2 days before the snow starts building up again, with Pam, I had to do it AT LEAST twice a day everyday for it to become effective. Maybe it's different in our region where it rarely gets above zero during the winter and average around 5 feet of snow haha
I wonder if it would work on hard pack limestone. We have lots of limestone here (the stuff thats in concrete) sometimes they get a hard enough pack it will bend and break a hoof pick.
Crisco? Hmm, that may work, maybe I'll give that a try if I have this problem...it does have the same kind of consistency as PAM or Vaseline, greasy stuff.
Crisco would probably be the cheapest. I better not use the butter flavor or my barn cats will be following the horses around trying to lick it off :lol:
W-D-40 Works good too. It conditions the hoof as well and keeps moisture in.
For the back feet I would pick them up then put them down right away. Then just gradually increase the time until he is comfortable. You could could give him a good rub on the neck or butt for praise. I wouldn't recomemd treats especially with geldings and stallions.
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