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Hoof Dressing - Yay or Nay?

6K views 29 replies 15 participants last post by  Mintkitten 
#1 · (Edited)
I just purchased Fiebling's Hoof Dressing but now I'm not sure that I should've. I've been reading up on hoof dressing and apparently it's better to not use it. I was wondering how many members here use, or do not use, any type of hoof dressing. I don't want to send it back when it gets here and then regret it!
 
#2 ·
I use Farrier Barrier of Farrier's Fix hoof oil a couple times a week and when the ground starts to get to dry or goes from dry to muddy and back again within a couple days I use Keratex to increase my horse's hooves tougher...I don't use any actual "polish" on my horse's feet because getting the look of black/shiny hooves isn't very important to me.
 
#9 ·
Mustangs have the best feet on earth and no one goes around oiling them. Horses thrive when the ground is hard and dry and their feet are like rock. They have horrible feet when it is constantly wet and muddy.

Good healthy feet come from within -- not from some dressing that softens and weakens them.

Many years ago I let a farrier talk me into softening my horse's feet with Hooflex. Two or three bruised soles and a bleeding quarter crack and a deep toe crack (required repair and clips for a year) later, I fired the horse-shoer and gave away the nearly full gallon can of hooflex. It took less than 2 gallons of dressing to wreck them and took nearly 6 months for nature and dry footing to dry them out, harden them up and fix them.
 
#17 ·
I wouldn't bother to send it back- shiny hooves do look good in a show ring and it will last ages if you only use it on show days. Wouldn't bother 3 times a week. Once a week is 'reccomended' by my British Horse Society stage 1 book, but the bhs is all you must have a well turned out horse all the time, wear tweed all the time, alter your sturrips with your feet still in them ALWAYS etc.

I took it to mean once a month if I remember...

I got Alli some cornucressin to shut my mum up, mainly, after Alli pulled her shoe off and mum was convinced she had awful feet cz of this. Er, no mum, she actually has good feet for a tb, she just happened to pull that particular shoe!
 
#22 ·
Cornucressin - of I love the smell of that stuff - I could eat it!!!! Its actually pretty good if you do get a horse with poor feet - rubbed well into the coronet band where the hoof grows from
Healthy hooves come from what you feed not what you slap on them
OP - keep the stuff for shows
And Alli's owner - Tell me what is wrong with wearing a tweed jacket? I insist on wearing mine every time I ride - even when its 90F, looks really good with my tatty denim cut offs and dirty boots. I refuse to let the good old British side down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:lol:
 
#19 ·
My FIL was a corrective shoer and says not to put anything on a horses feet that will seal moisture in or out. And if a shoer claims you need to soften his feet then he needs to quit being lazy and sharpen his hoof knife ;) LOL.

I recently started using Keratex on two of my horses. It is not a moisturizer or a sealent. It is to harden hooves and allows them to breathe. I have seen improvement, well worth the money in my opinion. But if your horse isn't losing shoes, tenderfooted, or overly soft and crumbling, I wouldn't bother.
 
#20 ·
Skippy, a horse I trained for my barn, has VERY dry hooves, mane and tail. Anything that could be dry is! Hah. Her feet are crumbly, cracking, chipping etc. When I worked with her consistently I would put Pedocan on her feet religiously 3-4 times a week and let her sit for about 30 minutes so it had a chance to work its way in. Now that I don't ride her as often its been neglected and its back to the same old cracky, dry, flakey feet. =\ oh she is also on flax seed but it really doesn't help much.

The moisturizer definitely helps, but she needs it!! Other horses rarely EVER need it. It just all goes on how good your horses feet are.
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#23 ·
I agree with the point that if the hoof is healthy, leave it be. But if you are having problems, i would use it. We have a mare at the farm who is not getting any special feed and as a result her hooves are quite dry, she needs something. You can even use and type of conditioner too. Just something to add some moisture.
 
#26 ·
She is on one quart of triple crown low starch, gets 3 flakes of excellent quality 2nd cut hay and B+L solution and flax seed supplements. I know the grain also has added fats and flax as well.. we have other horses on flax and their manes have grown out to their shoulders.
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#25 ·
The farrier said Zeak's feet (A boarder) are weak, and to paint iodine on them, especially the fronts, daily. Why is this? He said he couldn't put shoes on because he has thin hoof walls...
 
#27 ·
Painting the sole of the hoof with iodine can help eliminate things like thrush but its very drying so I can't see it as something for the hoof wall - might even make it brittle if it dries out the natural moisture. Going barefoot can help strengthen hooves - made all the difference to a TB we bought that was in poor condition & his shoes fell off as fast as they were put on but feeding that horse with supplements like biotin to promote healthy growth would benefit him too and a calcium rich diet - sugar beet is very high in calcium
 
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