Dry hooves ??

[SaddleTrail]

My mini stud's feet are so dry that when I was checking them and pushed on the frog the tip of it broke off! Just like a fingernail would if it was chipped.

Should I start standing him in a pool of water, or is there a different way of keeping them in better shape? I am also going to start trimming him my self since he is so easy to handle.

I will be keeping the same shape, just a bit off and a slight rasping.

Any advice about his dry feet I would love to hear about please. He is on a dry lot which I can't change but I can let him stand in a pool of water if that will help any at all?

Thank you for any and all help ~S~

 

[Little Bits]

I don't think having him stand in water will help. You need to add moisture to the hoof.

The best thing I find for dry hoof is to use hooflex by asorbine hoof dressing. I like the paste because it seems like the shavings suck the oily kind off the hoof. The paste seems to last longer on the hoof. It only takes a few days of greasing then they soften right up. you should only need to do them every few day afterward.

 

[kaykay]

We always run the water troughs over during dry hot weather so that the horses have to step into moisture to get a drink. Hard hooves are usually caused by hot dry weather or can be caused by standing in shavings for long periods. We only put shavings in the back of the stall (this also teaches them to go in one spot) But we have dirt stalls so it works well. Shavings can suck the moisture right out of hooves.

 

[Annabellarose]

What do you feed him? The best way to improve the condition of a horse's hooves is through proper feeding. There are quite a few good hoof supplements on the market. Manna Pro makes something called Sho-Hoof and it is not expensive (especially if you are just feeding it to one Miniature Horse) and you can usually find it on the shelf at Tractor Supply (I don't know if you have Tractor Supply in your area?). I try to feed my horses a vitamin and mineral balanced diet and I also "supplement" with ground flaxseed, flaxseed almost always improves the hair and hoof quality of a horse.

 

[krissy3]

I agree with the shaving sucking moisture out of hooves....I dont agree with a creme on the hoof. horses are suppose to sweat from the bottom of their hoof, this is where the moisture goes in and comes out , if you have an oil based product on the hoof , its will be a barrier not letting moisture in or out ... not good for the horse . Best thing is to make a mud area for them to stand in once a day. In front of the water troff like someone else suggested is an excellent idea. Change the bedding to straw , if its OK with you that your horse eats it in the night. Ask your farrier too if there is a water based product that he thinks is OK he will tell you , but most farriers dont like a lot of goo on the hoof.

 

[Katiean]

My horses feet were so dry and hard this year. I had to stand them in water for 30 mins. before I started the trim and had to be returned to the water a couple of times while I was trimming to maintain the softness. I finally got someone to come out and trim for me

 

[SaddleTrail]

Thank you very much for the advice and tips.

I am willing to try anything to keep him in good health. I was just worried about his feet being so dry.

He is in a dry lot which is the red clay stuff and I hate it.

I will soak his feet and see how well that does first and if not will ask the farrier and see what he says. I may be over reactive but have never had the top point of a frog just break off like that.

He is not lame, shows no sign of pain etc.

 

[Mona]

I have also heard about the running the water trough/pail over to allow a lot of water to run onto the ground around it. That way when they go to drink, their feet will get some moisture at least. This must be done on a regular basis though.

A friend of mine is/was just going through the same thing with her two horses, and she bought some "Rainmaker" (by Farnam) and applied it well to the frogs, soles and hoof walls, and after just one application she was AMAZED at the difference it had already made! She is going to start applying it regularily until winter, just to help maintain some moisture in their feet.

 

[wildoak]

I've overrun water troughs in the past too when feet were hard and dry, but recently read an article that suggests that is not good for hooves after all. Something I get via email, probably from The Horse if you want to google it.

The best way I've found to good hoof health isn't a quick fix, but it's with a feed supplement like Farriers Formula (or similar product). The sole is made to slough off periodically too, so it's possible what you are seeing is a natural part of the process.

I have my QH on a supplement called Four Hooves - it's an herbal product recommended by the holistic vet here and so far seems to be helping him. His problem was the opposite, soft soles, but would think this is good for overall hoof health.

Jan

 

[Katiean]

My horses are on this dry sandy gravely stuff that grinds heals down real bad. It is kind of like a giant sand paper. however when you apply water the ground isn't half bad. But, with the dry year we have had all of my horses feet are rock hard. I have tried stuff to put on their hooves. Water works better.

 

[MiLo Minis]

Standing your horse in water or mud is NOT good for their feet. Horses soles are made to be tough and leathery if they are in good condition. Just as soaking your leather in water is not good for it neither is soaking their feet. Putting products on the outside of their feet is like shutting the barn door after the horse has left. The only place that you can put a product that will help slightly is at the top of the hoof or coronet where there is active growth. A much better solution is to keep your horse fit and healthy with proper nutrition and exercise to promote circulation. Good hoof health starts from the inside and grows out. In a healthy hoof the frog will self trim and bits will fall off from time to time. As long as you are left with a well shaped tough rubbery frog your horse is fine. If the frog is small, dry and shrivelled or soft, punky and misshapen then your horse is in trouble as there is not enough circulation in his feet to keep them healthy or they have been improperly trimmed preventing good circulation and hoof health. Pictures of his well cleaned hoof bottom would be helpful here.

 

[Mona]

Standing your horse in water or mud is NOT good for their feet. Horses soles are made to be tough and leathery if they are in good condition. Just as soaking your leather in water is not good for it neither is soaking their feet. Putting products on the outside of their feet is like shutting the barn door after the horse has left. The only place that you can put a product that will help slightly is at the top of the hoof or coronet where there is active growth. A much better solution is to keep your horse fit and healthy with proper nutrition and exercise to promote circulation. Good hoof health starts from the inside and grows out. In a healthy hoof the frog will self trim and bits will fall off from time to time. As long as you are left with a well shaped tough rubbery frog your horse is fine. If the frog is small, dry and shrivelled or soft, punky and misshapen then your horse is in trouble as there is not enough circulation in his feet to keep them healthy or they have been improperly trimmed preventing good circulation and hoof health. Pictures of his well cleaned hoof bottom would be helpful here.

When I mentioned running the water trough over, no, there is nothing wrong with that. Sure, standing in mud 24/7 is not healthy, but walking through wet ground/water/mud is surely NOT harmful and the little bit of moisture DOES do the foot good. Yes, the "Rainmaker" I mentioned is also beneficial to be put around the coronet band for about an inch above the hoof to help absorb the moisture.

 

[Minimor]

Actually over the years I've read plenty of articles on how using mud around the water trough is a bad thing for horses hoofs. Reason being the hoof gets wet on the surface, and then dries out again right away--the brief time spent in the mud is actually worse for the hoof than if it stayed dry right through. I think maybe kind of like having your hands in water, then out in the dry, then in water again--they're going to end up dry and chapped very quickly in those circumstances.

 

[MiLo Minis]

Actually over the years I've read plenty of articles on how using mud around the water trough is a bad thing for horses hoofs. Reason being the hoof gets wet on the surface, and then dries out again right away--the brief time spent in the mud is actually worse for the hoof than if it stayed dry right through. I think maybe kind of like having your hands in water, then out in the dry, then in water again--they're going to end up dry and chapped very quickly in those circumstances.

Minimor is correct. This was an old cowboys fix and there has been research done that shows it to be a very bad idea. As I said earlier, the only way to fix unhealthy feet is good nutrition and exercise.

 

[ohmt]

If your horses frog broke off you need to get circulation to it NOW!

Step 1-his toes need to be cut shorter-this will help him use his heel more

Step 2-EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE!!!

Step 3-Evaluate his feeding--Cream is NOT good for the inside of the hoof-it can help if the wall is cracking but I would not suggest using cream or soaking his feet in water.

 

[MiLo Minis]

If your horses frog broke off you need to get circulation to it NOW!Step 1-his toes need to be cut shorter-this will help him use his heel more

Step 2-EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE!!!

Step 3-Evaluate his feeding--Cream is NOT good for the inside of the hoof-it can help if the wall is cracking but I would not suggest using cream or soaking his feet in water.

I don't think I would advise cutting his toes shorter unless I had seen his feet. There are plenty of reasons why circulation can be restricted in a hoof other than the toes are too long. Toes that are too long often put too much weight on the back of the foot or heel.

 

[SaddleTrail]

Such wonderful advice and help, thank you all so much!!!

I will try the rainmaker if I can find it.

I did my very first trim on him last night. How the heck farriers keep bent over like that is beyond me!!

I took just about half an inch off and rasped it till just smooth. When I cleaned his feet first, his frogs looked good, and I am going to assume it is part

of the natural sloughing off as was mentioned in the other posts. It makes total sense to me and actually looked like that is what happened.

I never knew how hard it was to use one hand to use on the nippers and one to hold. My hubby is useless in asking for help.

He cant breathe and he just let go of him. So told him to get lost that I would do it by my self heheheh

Took me an hour to do but did it alone.

 

[Peggy Hogan]

Thank you very much for the advice and tips. I am willing to try anything to keep him in good health. I was just worried about his feet being so dry.

He is in a dry lot which is the red clay stuff and I hate it.

I will soak his feet and see how well that does first and if not will ask the farrier and see what he says. I may be over reactive but have never had the top point of a frog just break off like that.

He is not lame, shows no sign of pain etc.

I've had horses slough their frogs. It's very dry here in CA right now and in fact, I had 2 horses slough a frog just this week. The natural hoof trimmer I use says it's a natural occurrence. If he's not off or sore I wouldn't worry about it. Someone posted about putting a bit of a mud trough in front of the watering areas and on occasion I've tried that. It does seem to help some.

Good luck trimming. I just started learning that too; now THERE is a real art form in my opinion...

 

[SaddleTrail]

I love the idea of being able to trim him my self rather then the farrier. Can save some money and learn allot!

But even for a mini, when your my age and have the back I do it is very very hard to do ehehhe/ Not whining just stating a fact.

Since they are both in the dry lot I spray it done once a day to help keep the dust down, so will spray it a bit more just to ease my mind a bit.

My sons car broke down on the way to work this morning, so out of bed at 6 am and have to take daughter in law to work at 2pm. Daughters truck broke down 2 days ago

and son hasnt had time to fix it, then his breaks down. So now he has my pickup at work which is 2 hours away. All my tools everything is in the back of my pickup ~sighs~

Kids, I know why I had them but dang sure getting tired of all this hauling them around!!

 

[Peggy Hogan]

I love the idea of being able to trim him my self rather then the farrier. Can save some money and learn allot!

But even for a mini, when your my age and have the back I do it is very very hard to do ehehhe/ Not whining just stating a fact.

I've trained my guys to stand tied while I sit on a cinder block and do their feet. It is JUST the right height to keep my back more comfortable....