Toughening up hooves

shayla · 07-16-2008, 05:20 PM

I have 1 Arabian and 4 Paso Finos.

Right now, just the Arab and 2 of the Paso Finos are rideable.

They're pasture kept.

Of the 2 Paso Finos, 1 is a mare and the other a gelding.

The mare is round, and a little bit overweight. The gelding is INCREDIBLY round and VERY overweight.

We rode them on Sunday out of their pasture and down the road, which is hard packed dirt with some gravel if you leave the tire worn part of the road.

Both horses came back with chips and were tender footed.

I gave them Monday and Tuesday off.

Tacked the mare up today and didn't ride down the road far as she was stumbling and I could tell her feet were still hurting.

Tacked the gelding up, and while he was a little ouchy, he wasn't as bad as the mare.

I'm looking for ideas to toughen their feet up.

I've put them on a hoof suppliment (Master's Hoof Blend) which helped our Peruvian Paso who had FLAT as a pancake feet when we got him (he actually has great feet now according to my farrier).

What else can I do for them?

I don't want to shoe them. The mare can be witchy and I don't want her blasting the other horses with iron shod feet.

I will be talking with my farrier when next he comes out (first week of August), but I'm wondering if there's anything else to do to toughen them up.

Ideas? Input?

I thought about hoof boots, but the cost of them is a bit prohibitive, and I don't think the other half'd go for it, but I'm going to mention it after talking with the farrier and getting as many ideas as I can.

**beth55051** · 07-16-2008, 06:48 PM

Try riding them for whatever distance down the road they are comfortable with and see if they will build up calouses/tolerance on their soles. Building up the distance as they grow more comfortable.

Otherwise others have suggested venice turpentine painted on the soles.

2manypets · 07-16-2008, 07:45 PM

Venice Turpentine. it works great!

BarnBum · 07-16-2008, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2manypets

Venice Turpentine. it works great!

Agree.

Carri · 07-16-2008, 08:23 PM

Yep, venis turpentine! It is a pain, sticky, smells bad, and don't spill it on anything, but it works great!

lelo2006 · 07-16-2008, 09:54 PM

I heard of someone putting crushed gravel around the feeding area and watering area that way they get a used to and toughen up there feet. WORK is the #1 way to get any horse's hooves hard and comfortable with what they are riding on. Just slowly every day take them out for maybe a 5 minute ride over the hard area. Keep it up and then extend the time. The more circulation a horse gets to it's hooves the harder and more tolerant they become.

cook1745 · 07-16-2008, 09:55 PM

Venice turpintine

annem · 07-17-2008, 12:12 AM

Also Kaopectate. I think I may have spelt it wrong. It is a green liquid that you paint onto the bottom of their hoofs.

annem · 07-17-2008, 12:13 AM

I think it is called Kopper tec.

PeggySue · 07-25-2008, 12:27 PM

I had great luck with durasol

cheap little bottle last forever it seems and easy to use without making a mess

AngelPA · 07-25-2008, 12:44 PM

Venice Turpintine.... awesome! This is the frist year I took the shoes off my mare, and my farrier recommended this product. Works wonderfuly, and toughens them up fairly quickly.

libbytn · 07-25-2008, 08:02 PM

Where do you buy the turpentine?

thunderbaby703 · 07-25-2008, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by annem

I think it is called Kopper tec.

Koppertox.

thunderbaby703 · 07-25-2008, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by libbytn

Where do you buy the turpentine?

TSC or Horsetown. I'm sure you can order from Jeffer's also. There is also something else. But it's probally more $$ than venice turpentine. It's keratex hoof hardener.

apps4me · 07-25-2008, 08:34 PM

Does the Venice turpentine make the hoof more durable or the foot less sensitive? My sister's Appy wears her hooves down to nubs in the pasture during the summer. She is barefoot from late fall to late spring. When the hoof starts wearing faster than its growing, we put the shoes on, fronts only. We use Easy Boots on trail rides until she has shoes.

thunderbaby703 · 07-25-2008, 08:38 PM

I think (as I've never used it before) that the vernice turpentine makes them less sensitive. The keratex hoof hardener makes them more durable from what I've seen.

apps4me · 07-25-2008, 08:55 PM

Thanks, thats what I suspected about the Venice turpentine.

annem · 07-25-2008, 10:13 PM

O.K., I'm a little confused. It could be in the interpretation.

If one makes the hoof less sensitive and the other product makes it more durable, isn't that basically the same thing in the end, just a different way of looking at it?

My horse has extremely good feet (he's a Morgan) but since comming to B.C. and doing the type of trails we are doing here, his feet appear to be a little sensitive. I have been using the Koppertox which I believe is helping but it is a bit too soon to tell. So should I be using this or something else? Is this making his hoof more durable or less sensitive?

crittermom · 07-25-2008, 10:26 PM

Maybe I'm way off here, but I have always been told not to walk my horse on gravel due to the little rocks working their way up into the hoof and causing an abscess. I try to keep rocks out of my pasture, therefore I would not recommend lining anything with gravel. Somebody that knows more than me, feel free to contradict.

fishing_trex · 07-26-2008, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crittermom

Maybe I'm way off here, but I have always been told not to walk my horse on gravel due to the little rocks working their way up into the hoof and causing an abscess. I try to keep rocks out of my pasture, therefore I would not recommend lining anything with gravel. Somebody that knows more than me, feel free to contradict.

A horse with good hooves should be able to walk on gravel, no problem. If you think about it, how could a piece of gravel work its way, against gravitational forces, up the hoof? I supposed it could if there was an abscess already (if a piece of gravel got into an abscess hole and was pushed up by the abscess as that is what an abscess tends to do). IMHO, this is most likely a myth, perhaps propagated by the fact that some people call abscesses "gravels", as they believed them to be caused by small pieces of gravel.

Today, many folks actuall recommend pea gravel be added to paddocks as it stimulates blood flow to the frog, strengthening the entire hoof.

I believe Venice turpentine is actually a drawing agent. It is advertised to draw infections from frogs and soles. So it can really make things dry. If used as a hoof hardener, it should only be used on the sole (not the frogs or heels). It hardens/toughens the sole, making the horse less sensitive (less pain and stinging).

I have a friend who uses iodine on her gelding's soles -- it has done a good job of toughening them as well. But it is also a drying agent.

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07-16-2008, 05:20 PM
shayla Coming two Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wichita, Ks Posts: 1,717	Toughening up hooves I have 1 Arabian and 4 Paso Finos. Right now, just the Arab and 2 of the Paso Finos are rideable. They're pasture kept. Of the 2 Paso Finos, 1 is a mare and the other a gelding. The mare is round, and a little bit overweight. The gelding is INCREDIBLY round and VERY overweight. We rode them on Sunday out of their pasture and down the road, which is hard packed dirt with some gravel if you leave the tire worn part of the road. Both horses came back with chips and were tender footed. I gave them Monday and Tuesday off. Tacked the mare up today and didn't ride down the road far as she was stumbling and I could tell her feet were still hurting. Tacked the gelding up, and while he was a little ouchy, he wasn't as bad as the mare. I'm looking for ideas to toughen their feet up. I've put them on a hoof suppliment (Master's Hoof Blend) which helped our Peruvian Paso who had FLAT as a pancake feet when we got him (he actually has great feet now according to my farrier). What else can I do for them? I don't want to shoe them. The mare can be witchy and I don't want her blasting the other horses with iron shod feet. I will be talking with my farrier when next he comes out (first week of August), but I'm wondering if there's anything else to do to toughen them up. Ideas? Input? I thought about hoof boots, but the cost of them is a bit prohibitive, and I don't think the other half'd go for it, but I'm going to mention it after talking with the farrier and getting as many ideas as I can. __________________ "Oftentime, the notion of "Following one's heart" is used as an excuse to avoid doing what is best because it's to hard or to complicated." ~David Hopkins

07-16-2008, 06:48 PM
beth55051 Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: East Central Minnesota Posts: 4,738	Try riding them for whatever distance down the road they are comfortable with and see if they will build up calouses/tolerance on their soles. Building up the distance as they grow more comfortable. Otherwise others have suggested venice turpentine painted on the soles. __________________ Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.

07-16-2008, 07:45 PM
2manypets Halter broke Join Date: May 2008 Location: alabama Posts: 132	Venice Turpentine. it works great!

07-16-2008, 08:23 PM
Carri Bombproof Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Alpharetta, Georgia Posts: 10,086	Yep, venis turpentine! It is a pain, sticky, smells bad, and don't spill it on anything, but it works great! __________________

07-16-2008, 09:54 PM
lelo2006 Yearling Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Edmonton, Alberta Posts: 874	I heard of someone putting crushed gravel around the feeding area and watering area that way they get a used to and toughen up there feet. WORK is the #1 way to get any horse's hooves hard and comfortable with what they are riding on. Just slowly every day take them out for maybe a 5 minute ride over the hard area. Keep it up and then extend the time. The more circulation a horse gets to it's hooves the harder and more tolerant they become. __________________ I love the smell of horse's in the morning. WRERS: Edmonton Based Horse Rescue. www.albertahorserescue.com

07-16-2008, 09:55 PM
cook1745 Greenbroke Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 3,524	Venice turpintine __________________ Home of my sweet girl Cinnamon. Not fancy but she is mine!!!

07-17-2008, 12:12 AM
annem Coming two Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Parksville, B.C. Canada Posts: 1,684	Also Kaopectate. I think I may have spelt it wrong. It is a green liquid that you paint onto the bottom of their hoofs. __________________ Anne

07-17-2008, 12:13 AM
annem Coming two Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Parksville, B.C. Canada Posts: 1,684	I think it is called Kopper tec. __________________ Anne

07-25-2008, 12:27 PM
PeggySue Yearling Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Dennison, Illinois Posts: 570	I had great luck with durasol cheap little bottle last forever it seems and easy to use without making a mess

07-25-2008, 12:44 PM
AngelPA Weanling Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: PA Posts: 381	Venice Turpintine.... awesome! This is the frist year I took the shoes off my mare, and my farrier recommended this product. Works wonderfuly, and toughens them up fairly quickly.

07-25-2008, 08:02 PM
libbytn Weanling Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Atoka, Tn Posts: 353	Where do you buy the turpentine?

07-25-2008, 08:34 PM
apps4me Newborn Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maine Posts: 47	Does the Venice turpentine make the hoof more durable or the foot less sensitive? My sister's Appy wears her hooves down to nubs in the pasture during the summer. She is barefoot from late fall to late spring. When the hoof starts wearing faster than its growing, we put the shoes on, fronts only. We use Easy Boots on trail rides until she has shoes. __________________ Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~ unknown

07-25-2008, 08:38 PM
thunderbaby703 Started Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Georgia Posts: 2,910	I think (as I've never used it before) that the vernice turpentine makes them less sensitive. The keratex hoof hardener makes them more durable from what I've seen. __________________ "Never miss a good chance to shut up." -Will Rogers

07-25-2008, 08:55 PM
apps4me Newborn Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maine Posts: 47	Thanks, thats what I suspected about the Venice turpentine. __________________ Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~ unknown

07-25-2008, 10:13 PM
annem Coming two Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Parksville, B.C. Canada Posts: 1,684	O.K., I'm a little confused. It could be in the interpretation. If one makes the hoof less sensitive and the other product makes it more durable, isn't that basically the same thing in the end, just a different way of looking at it? My horse has extremely good feet (he's a Morgan) but since comming to B.C. and doing the type of trails we are doing here, his feet appear to be a little sensitive. I have been using the Koppertox which I believe is helping but it is a bit too soon to tell. So should I be using this or something else? Is this making his hoof more durable or less sensitive? __________________ Anne

07-25-2008, 10:26 PM
crittermom Started Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 2,516	Maybe I'm way off here, but I have always been told not to walk my horse on gravel due to the little rocks working their way up into the hoof and causing an abscess. I try to keep rocks out of my pasture, therefore I would not recommend lining anything with gravel. Somebody that knows more than me, feel free to contradict. __________________ Peace!! I wish the people of the world could get along as well as the animals in my backyard.