Hoof cracks and hoof products

[Scarlett 001]

Skeeter's feet are now being attended to regularly by the farrier, so we should see improvement soon enough (his hoof care had been downright shabby for several years and he had lots of cracks). I am just wondering if the hoof products (conditioners and such) can make any difference in helping prevent further cracking etc., or if it is better to just let time and the work of the farrier do their thing??? Is the cracking likely just due to poor hoof care, or could he also have brittle hooves? (he is a tb)

[Bay Mare]

Saff has a crack right up the front wall of her hoof. The farrier did bog all about it apart from hold it together with a shoe. When I went to take the shoes off to go barefoot he sent me a message saying "to watch that crack".

My trainer looked at her feet when the shoe came off and said that there was no wonder that her hoove had a crack in it, the medial/lateral balance was way off, there was tons of flare and the hoof had no 'option' but to crack.

Since taking her shoes off (about 6 weeks now) the crack, amazingly, hasn't cracked further and has started to grow out .... the moral of the story is to check that he's not just whacking shoes on and to make sure that he trims the foot correctly even if a shoe is going to be put on.

I'm also using Naf Hoof Moist at the moment as her hooves are quite dry (on recommendation from our EP).

[Moomin]

Is your horse barefoot or not? We just got a new farrier who told me not to worry about the cracks in Moo's feet - she's barefoot - as this is how they naturally trim themselves in the wild. In fact he said he'd be more concerned if there weren't bits coming off!! She only gets cracks in the summer when she grows a lot of foot. He also said there's no need to put anything on them at all - just to leave nature to do what it does and get her trimmed regularly.

[Showjumper]

Dolly's feet are very dry this year (crazy weather we've been having) and are more prone to cracking than usual. She's getting her feet trimmed every 5 weeks instead of her normal 8, and I've just started using Cornucresine Hoof Moisturiser which seems to be working.

[can't_decide]

just did a year of this . . . and Poppy has hooves now, which is nice! At stages i used: farrier's formula - still feeding it, has done really good long term work on the hooves and makes her coat look gorgeous!, NAF Hoof moist - didn't seem to do a lot but that's perhaps because her hooves were too bad, i know some people who swear by it for dry hooves, Stockhom tar - stinks like hell and is very messy but at times held her hoof together, and the shoe onto the hoof, as well as controlling the moisture levels, and a straight biotin supplement - cheaper than FF but not nearly as good.

My farrier has often implied that he is willing to slay anyone who trots tb hooves on roads; they are apparently much more likely to be brittle. However, things like poor hoof care and a bad diet can also drastically affect hoof quality. I would do the most that you can to promote good hoof health: time and the farrier will do their thing but there is no harm in helping them out with supplements, treatments etc.

[saldec]

Hi,
I have a TB aswell, she has brittle & cracked hoofs. TBs are known for this.
This is what my vet told me:
Most products that are applied to horses hooves are a bit of a waste of time, apart from 'hoof distenfectant' made by Lifedata.
Most poor quality hooves, respond best to a hoof supplement & the best is called 'Formula 4 Feet' which is widely available. This is by far the best supplement.
The hoof grows so slowly (5mm/month)that it takes some time to be effective, so it must be used for a minimum of 9 months for the best results.

I hope this helps you.

[Just.Jump]

Don't bother wasting your mony on creams and oils to put on his feet, in the long run they end up ruining feet, whether the effect is visable or not. They often seal the hoof from taking in any more moisture, and cracks are often only caused because the hoof is brittle.

If Skeeter is fed in his stall or is garanteed to come inside for at least 10 minutes a day, then this is the best thing you can ever do for a horse- stand them in water. That's ALL you have to do, for at least 10 minutes per day. Often at natural horse boarding places, you'll see that they feed outside on the ground and have outdoor water stalls, where the horse is standing in the water and eating off of a low-to-the-ground feeder. This is part of the reason why wild horses have such excellent hooves so much of the time- they go to lakes for drinking and cooling off alot and in this process they will have their hooves fully submerged for fairly long periods of time in a day, and in winter their obviously in snow that melts because of body heat.

Creams and the like often don't do anything but take a chunk out of your wallet and waste your time applying them. When you think of it honestly, how is a littel cream ro oil going to penetrate all the way through a hoof wall? and the main purpose of creams and oils in general is to soften tissue. You do not want to soften hooves, you want to strengthen them. :cool: If you have to, stand him in buckets.

"It is not water that is harmful to the health of the hooves, but the lack of it."—A Lifetime of Soundness

In Nature, horses do not seek out oil sources to coat their hooves with, therefore they have no need for grease coatings on their hooves. In Conventional Boarding, hooves are often painted with all sorts of topicals, often in a vain attempt to strengthen, improve, or even moisturize the hoof. In Natural Boarding, we rely on the moisture of daily soaking—though in very dry climates the application of natural hoof dressings to seal in that soaking moisture may be useful.

Check this out, you may find it interesting or a pile of garbage. :p
http://www.thenakedhoof.com.au/html/article-WhatIsNaturalBoarding.htm

[swerve]

I really like using the waterbased hoof dressings, and I've heard the 'oils' seal moisture out and keep the hoof from breathing naturally. Another dressing for cracks and such that I've been told about is horse-fat, but I've always been too afraid to try it. I mean, ew! Painting his 'relatives' onto his hooves? And I've heard it smells pretty funky anyway :rolleyes:

[Kira657]

Dolly's feet are very dry this year (crazy weather we've been having) and are more prone to cracking than usual. She's getting her feet trimmed every 5 weeks instead of her normal 8, and I've just started using Cornucresine Hoof Moisturiser which seems to be working.

That stuff is a godsend! my horse had a crack down the front of her foot and by rubbing it into the coronet band once a day it makes the hoof grow back and you can actually see where its repairing itself.

[Showjumper]

I had the farrier out this morning and he commented on how her feet were looking better today than last time he came out. I mentioned the Cornucresine Hoof Moisturiser to him, and he said it was good stuff and to carry on :)

[No_Angel]

Ive used Cornucresine which is good, but also I got this stuff called hoof beat. I got given it free from the tackshop I used to work at ( he ordered on for someone but got a box and couldt sell it) and its been really good. Murphy had a massive crack across his foot- dont know how he did it, but it was almost filled in within 2 days

[Big Ears]

i am lucky that both my cobs have good feet and they are very strong.

my farrier said never use anything on feet just feed well and use good feed supplements. even Rosie the laminitic has grown very good horn.

tb feet can be very poor, but you will probably find they improve with better nutrition.

[Susie xx]

Just.Jump has seen some of Dr.Strasser's research.I agree to differ, horses need dry not wet conditions. My skin and nails are not stronger and able to retain moisture from soaking in the bath but from the water I drink. Horses will often put their front feet into water quite naturally when drinking from a river or pond. Even on hot days there is usually sufficient dew in the early morning to dampen a hoof. Moisture is not really absorbed from the outside unless saturated, the hoof wall is designed to repel water and allow excess to evaporate, like a breathable NZ rug. Simon Earle racing now have a sea water filled horse walker. This mimics the Camargue horses who walk through drying salt sea water, their hooves are conditioned by the hard rock beneath their feet, no sloppy UK mud to contend with.
It depends whether cracks are starting from ground level and travelling up or from the hairline and travelling down as to how they are best addressed, or if there are cracks indicating White Line Disease which may need an iodine/betadyne or Milton sterilising to kill bacteria, or a strong sea salt soaking, hopefully can be treated without invasive hacking half the hoof wall off.
http://www.barefoothorse.com/ and all links and articles may offer some guidance.
Susie xx