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hoof care

7K views 27 replies 11 participants last post by  nldiaz66 
#1 ·
what is the best thing to use on cracked hoofs,I am using a hoof condition now,any suggests on what works the best or what ya'll have used..... thanks, Nancy
 
#2 ·
Do you have pics you can post?

"Cracked hooves" is a pretty general statement. The type of cracks, location of them, vertical or horizontal, severity of them, and the reasons why the cracks are there, are varied; treatments will also be varied.

Diet and how often the hooves are trimmed will be the first question folks will ask, so again, if you have pictures, they will best tell the story to get the most accurate answer :)
 
#3 ·
My tb's hooves used to be really dry and cracked so I started him on the hoof supplement Horseshoer's Secret and also started massaging Corona into his coronary band and it has made a world of differences. My horse's cracks have almost dissapeared and the overall health of his hooves are much better.
 
#4 ·
Have to agree with Walk... really hard to tell without more descriptions.

However, if it's a vertical crack and you have a rasp, just rasp a notch at the top of the crack and it'll stop it from continuing up the foot.

Any natural hoof supplement or moisturizer will help to give more flexibility and strength to the hoof.
 
#5 ·
a good balanced trim and good diet are the best thing.. IMO

very little is accomplished with **** you put on their feet besides to make them shiney and look pretty for a bit :shock: if the trim is not right nothing you do will STOP the crack and/or chipping
 
#6 ·
I will get pics tomorrow. they are chipping and cracking, I was told because of the dry sand. I have been putting hooflex on it.His hoofs were trimmed about 4 weeks ago, usually done every eight weeks, the farrier said because they don't grow fast.
 
#8 ·
nldiaz66 said:
I will get pics tomorrow. they are chipping and cracking, I was told because of the dry sand. I have been putting hooflex on it.His hoofs were trimmed about 4 weeks ago, usually done every eight weeks, the farrier said because they don't grow fast.
The pictures help a lot :)

Here are my thoughts - much of which is based on the fact that I have been trimming off and on for 49 years and took my horses hooves back full time last year because they now need to be barefoot and I was becoming unhappy with my shoer's work anyway :)

1. While his hooves don't need "nipped" all that often, my thought is that he should be rasped (filed) down once a month until your weather cools down. I know that's probably a huge expense.

2. I am so sorry to say this, but that is not a good trim job if what we are looking at is only 4 weeks old --- dry weather and sand or not. I lived in SoCal's low desert for five years. All my horses had was a one acre sand paddock to live in that entire time.

Two of my three horses were barefoot that entire five years and their hooves never looked like that even after six weeks.

2.1 The toe crack is from the ground UP and needs immediate attention before it gets worse. It could be from a poor trim job and fungus could be compounding the healing issue.

What can be done until the farrier gets back out is to treat that toe track with a fungacide. There are many things on the market.

Since I now have four horses to care for, I use what works the best and is the cheapest for any sort of fungal-looking issues on the soles or hoof walls:

3 parts water
1 part white vinegar
1 part clorox

I keep it in a spray bottle at the barn. I use empty (well-washed) 409 or Fantastic bottles because they are made for chemicals and will hold up much longer than those cute spray bottles one buys in the tack shop or in WalMart.

As to topical hoof treatment in your sandy environment:

When I lived in SoCal and the temps could get up over 100 in late summer and early-to-mid-fall, regular hoof dressings rolled off their hooves like water.

The only thing that worked was Mollimentum. It is a hoof grease and I used a cheap 2" paint brush from WalMart to put it on.

http://www.tuttles.com/

Tuttles has been in the horse care business since the late 1800's and I can say the Mollimentum works.

Last year my area of Middle Tennessee was beyond the "exceptional drought" status. My pasture was threadbare. I dug out the Mollimentum and used it 2-3 times per week, depending which horse.

While a good trim and good diet are essential, when you live in the dry and sandy conditions you live in, a little topical help is needed this time of year. But from what I can see, your horse's hooves don't look all that dried out :D

Those are just my thoughts on how I would proceed. Others may have different and better ideas :)

Again, I am so sorry to say this, but the main flaw I see is the farrier because those hooves should not be in that condition if those hooves were trimmed only four weeks ago :(
 
#9 ·
to me they just look like they possibly need a trim. How long ago did she get her hooves trimmed?
Some horses, when their hooves become too long for confort, will actually chip their hooves themselves to keep them at the right length

I don't use any type of supplements or conditioners for my horse's feet. I don't believe they do much good.

A good diet, proper and regular hoof trimming by a GOOD farrier, and excersize will keep a horse's hoof in good condition.

Has she had shoes on previously....a horse who gets their shoes pulled tend to get cracked hooves easier because the hoof is alot softer due to those shoes.
 
#11 ·
walkinthewalk: I didnt think it looked like a very good trim either, only after 4 weeks(aug.18, last trim) the one hoof you can see exactly where the farrier trimmed the hoof, and he did file it.
I have been putting hooflex on his hoofs, it is a hoof conditioner for cracks and a antifungul,once a day like it says to do.I will also call the farrier back out.maybe find a new one if thats possible.Does this like like fungus to you? His diet is the same as always, 3 qts. of grain in morning along with 2 flakes of coastol hay and 2 flakes at night, let out to pasture 24/7. he has also had sandclear once a day for the last 7 days,(he is done with that).I have also been lunging him about three times a week and other ground work,should I hold off on that til his hoofs look better? thanks for everyone advice. no Koda has never had shoes on.
 
#15 ·
Lots of folks seem to think that hoof dressings are not helpful but I say it depends on the horse and situation. I had a horse that had very bad feet that cracked often. Using hooflex or similar products does work in the right situation. I used it on her and her feet improved greatly. I also think hooflex helps combat thrush. I don't know if I am right but its worked for me.
 
#16 ·
nldiaz66 said:
walkinthewalk: I didnt think it looked like a very good trim either, only after 4 weeks(aug.18, last trim) the one hoof you can see exactly where the farrier trimmed the hoof, and he did file it.
I have been putting hooflex on his hoofs, it is a hoof conditioner for cracks and a antifungul,once a day like it says to do.I will also call the farrier back out.maybe find a new one if thats possible.Does this like like fungus to you? His diet is the same as always, 3 qts. of grain in morning along with 2 flakes of coastol hay and 2 flakes at night, let out to pasture 24/7. he has also had sandclear once a day for the last 7 days,(he is done with that).I have also been lunging him about three times a week and other ground work,should I hold off on that til his hoofs look better? thanks for everyone advice. no Koda has never had shoes on.
I spray hoof cracks and their soles with the water/vinegar/clorox mix I mentioned just as a preventative. If Hooflex is ok to use for fungal issues, I would continue to use it as a preventative.

IMHO, I don't think it would hurt to keep doing ground work, just keep an eye on the crack and if it gets bigger before you can get a farrier out, then quit working him.

I would turn him out in pasture for exercise, but I wouldn't ride him :)

Maybe others will have a better idea. It's easy for me to say what I would do because I am my horses' farrier and can fix a chip as soon as I see it. I tend to forget that the majority of folks are totally dependant on someone else for that sort of thing :oops:
 
#18 ·
nldiaz66 said:
what is the best thing to use on cracked hoofs,I am using a hoof condition now,any suggests on what works the best or what ya'll have used..... thanks, Nancy
Cracks? Ya, ok, but you have a lot of issues here. You need a new farrier. That is, as mentioned, an absolutely unacceptable trim job. Call around. See what you can find. You horse will end up in trouble if you remain with this guy/gal.

As for hoof health beyond the trim, I am in the group that doesn't agree that paint-ons work. What has already grown can not be fixed. You must deal with helping new growth. Biotin added to the diet is great for hooves and hair (both the same cellular structure/growth). Anti-fungal, as was mentioned and keeping them clean -- keep the mud out so thrust can't thrive.

I'm sorry, I'm on dialup and so only looked at one photo entirely, but it really did speak volumes!

P.S. I do my own horses hooves too, and have for years.
 
#19 ·
just want to say I have been playing phone tag with this new farrier,his name is Gary Patto, anyone know him? so no he hasn't made it out here yet and the old one still hasn't called me back, so he's out of the picture.
As far as feed the ingredients is this: crude protein min 12%, crude fat min 3%, crude fibermax 6.5% the first few ingredients is cracked corn, whole oats, molasses( cane )soybean meal,dehulled soybean meal,linseed meal.... koda gets 3 qts. a day in morning.
As far as his hoof one small piece that was cracked off to the side a little has broken off its maybe 1/4in. I am out of the hooflex so I will be going to tractor supply tomorrow to pick up something else.
we are not doing anymore ground work intil this gets better, don't want to chance it.


northernmama: Biotin is that pellets, that I add to his food, if I cant find that what else should I try? I am keeping them clean,once a day I wash his hoofs and pick them out, dry them off and apply hooflex, there is no mud around here, just dry sand, I live in florida. :)


Joe: I don't think they are amateurs at the feed store they have been in business for about 30 +yrs. thats all they do is make cattle and horse feed for all the local farms.
 
#20 ·
Thanks for posting the info on your grain.

Having one seriously metabolic horse and one trying to head that way (serious hoof issues go along with that), my opinion is to lose that grain and find something without the oats & corn and especially without the molasses :)

I'll bet if you ask them for the NSC (non-structural carbohydrate) percentage, it will be thru the roof and totally unacceptable.

While much more $$ than what you are paying, there are feeds out there that are much healthier for the horse's entire system, both metabolically and structurally. And I have found I don't need to feed nearly as much of better quality feeds, so the money issues are almost a wash.

If you don't have too many options, at the very least I would consider switching to a pelleted & stabilized rice bran, and add a pelleted vitamin/mineral supplement to it.

Rice bran is 20% fat but it is healthy fat. My metabolic horse went from being an air fern to having difficulty holding his weight. He is out on pasture 12-14 hours/day, gets one flake of hay when he comes in at night and was only getting 8 ounces of pelleted rice bran 2X/day to maintain a good weight.

I say WAS because I can't get Equi-Jewel rice bran anymore, so had to switch him to Purina's new WellSolve L/S feed. So far so good.

Having spent this past year learning how bad a high NSC percent is in horse feeds, I tend to get preachy about "losing it".

I also raised a son who was "food sensitive" and tried to keep him on the Feingold diet in his youth. Until I learned he traded his banana in for a Ho-Ho on the school bus one day --- then I had to set his 10 year old bad self down and give him a serious talk :lol: :lol:

I don't mean to offend anyone and apologize if I have. Maybe others will have a better idea :)
 
#21 ·
We were having problems with your horses hooves cracking something terrible. We have turned to a barefoot trimmer & have had nothing but great results. It's deeper then just him trimming the hooves. The owners of the horse play an important role in the horse hoove care. Most of the horses have fungal issues and have began soaking our horses at 3 x a week with 1 oz lysol concentrate to a gallon of water. We bought soaking boots & would so them for 20 minutes. Soon we dropped down to 1 once a week and some of use have now gone to just the maintance of 1 x a month with that soak. Our horse's hooves are looking better & improving. The barefoot trimmer has told us that "working" your horse is important to keep the blood flow moving & makes blood move through the hoof. He urged us not to them to death but said that keeping the horses moving will help with the improvement & he has been nothing but right so far. We have also improved our diets for the horses & the hooves have been improving as promised! There right diet plays an important role in heathy hooves.
 
#22 ·
The diet is probably a bigger benifit then the barefoot trim... a healthy hoof comes from the inside ... a good balanced trim is a good balanced trim .. the barefoot part is a plus nothing different

Not all horses can go barefoot just like not all horses NEED shoes :D
 
#25 ·
The diet is probably a bigger benifit then the barefoot trim... a healthy hoof comes from the inside ... a good balanced trim is a good balanced trim .. the barefoot part is a plus nothing different

Not all horses can go barefoot just like not all horses NEED shoes :D
I agree I was not trying to "encourage" anyone towards a barefoot trimmer. I believe everyone does their own things they want to do & believe in for their horses. I was just trying to simply state my expreince with 'crack' hooves & problems this summer. TO EVERYONE: I am sorry if I came off as trying to "push" barefoot trimmers on you. I was agree with others in the fact that my trimmer said that "excersise" was good for them & that feed played an important role as well!
 
#23 ·
northernmama: Biotin is that pellets, that I add to his food, if I cant find that what else should I try? I am keeping them clean,once a day I wash his hoofs and pick them out, dry them off and apply hooflex, there is no mud around here, just dry sand, I live in florida.
Biotin can be had in different forms. Check with your local feed dealer or vet. Personally, I would not use hooflex. Rather, try to keep an area where they actively walk very wet for them. The moisture in mud will help more IMO. Maybe near the water trough? Or salt block? Or somewhere they have to walk to get to shelter.
 
#24 ·
I agree with everyone else: it's a really bad trim.

My horses had HORRIBLE cracks in summer (much worse than those you posted). Obviously the farrier did a very bad job twice. So I did 2 things: 1st I changed the farrier, 2nd I added biotin and fatty acids in the diet (in addition to the pellets). I looked at different products (like horses secrets whatever) and didn't like the idea much, because all of them have bunch of other vitamins/minerals in (and too many of them in addition to the pelleted food which has minerals/vitamins too) is NOT good. So I found the product called Vita-biotin (it's pure biotin, no extra vitamins/minerals) and started to add it in diet once a day plus I got the oil to provide the fatty acids (as biotin doesn't do much by itself) like wheat/soy oil. All that is sold in our local stores, so no need to do the internet shopping.
 
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