Hoof to hard????

[rebel beck]

My farrier was out and told me my mares feet are to hard (what) Is that really a good thing or a bad thing? She is stalled during the day and out all night. She has mats in her stall with shavings and I apply hoof conditioner 3 times a week. Should I be doing something else? he had to spray something on her back feet to make them soft so he could trim. She does have shoes on year round.
When I purchased her last Sept. she had a large crack down the front of her front foot we always thought an abcess, it has since gone away. So until now we have had no hoof problems (knock on wood)

[Sirita_88]

I just had the same problem. My horse's hooves were too hard to trim. He needed some corrective shoeing (due to last farriers negligence) and my new farrier couldn't take off as much toe as he wanted.

He said the problem is horses that are kept out at night get dew, so they soften up. But the moment you stick them in the shavings, it sucks the moisture right out..

What kind of hoof dressing are you using? A terpentine will harden the hooves, which is counter-productive.

My new farrier also said that a hoof moisterizer/conditioner will not be absorbed through the hoof. He says the only place that it will help is to be put around the cornet band. But he believes it's not actually the stuff that you put on that helps soften the hoof, but messageing the coronet band. He reccomended to just use lotion and massage the coronet band.

Now, I still put a hoof moisturizer on, just in case. The farrier suggested that I soak his feet in epsom salt 3 days prior to him coming, that it would help soften the hooves a little.

If you want some really good results try Magic Cushion. Just apply to the sole as a pack and wrap w/ a diaper or thick cotton wrap. Then duck tape. Pack his/her hoof for 2-3 days. Those hooves will be so soft.

Besides hard hooves being hard to trim, it's bad to have hard feet because of impact. Every time the horse pounds the ground the hoof is supposed to expand to soften the blow. If the hooves are too hard it can acutally lead to a crack....

For reference this new farrier is a Journeyman who certifies other journeymen. His bottom price is $100 and goes up past $300 for a shoe job. I trust he knows what he is talking about. He is doing wonders for my horse, and works on high-dollar jumpers.

[Range]

I use a product from Anvil Brand that you can order online called Kevin Bacon Grease. It softens up the hooves nicely and can be used on the entire hoof, even the sole.

Never seems to be a happy medium, either too soft or too hard!

[rebel beck]

Thanks for all the info. I'm using Fieberings (spelling) comes in the can with the yellow label. Makes very much sense about the dew and the shavings. It also makes me think back to about 2 months ago when she came up lame not bad but just a touch now I'm thinking it's because he feet are hard.

[CatsTack]

It's a good thing that your horsey's feets are hard, but man sometimes they are too hard to trim! LOL

I tell folks to soak their horseys feets in plain old water for 30 minutes before our scheduled appointment. It helps tremendously.

[beth55051]

Originally Posted by CatsTack

It's a good thing that your horsey's feets are hard, but man sometimes they are too hard to trim! LOL

I tell folks to soak their horseys feets in plain old water for 30 minutes before our scheduled appointment. It helps tremendously.

That's what we have to do with Reno's hoovies before the farrier man comes out. Otherwise he has a hard time even beginning to get the nippers through his hooves.

You've never seen hard hooves until you've seen a mountain bred Mustang with walls that are over 1/2" thick and hard as granite. Never a need for shoes here, which is a good thing cause they get kinda spendy when you jump up to big horse sizes.

[EquineAlberta]

We have a tb gelding with too hard of hooves in the summer...last year we couldn't ride him because of it, so this year we put Epona Shoes on him with hoof packing underneath. His hooves have been great this year!

TO soften them for the farrier, packing with drillers mud is a cheap way to soften them.

Karen

[lelo2006]

Originally Posted by CatsTack

It's a good thing that your horsey's feets are hard, but man sometimes they are too hard to trim! LOL

I tell folks to soak their horseys feets in plain old water for 30 minutes before our scheduled appointment. It helps tremendously.

I've never heard of hard feet being a bad thing for a horse but for a farrier I can see how. My old gelding had feet like rocks and if you didn't keep up with them with just regular rasping, when you really had to knock down the hoof it was impossible unless you soaked him in water. We used to just take them down to the pond for a good old swim and it would soften them up right now.
I think your farrier might of just been compaining about the right now conditon for poor him having to try and cut tough hooves. But from a horse standpoint, hard hooves are generally a great thing.

[palomina_08]

hey well its agood thing the hoofs are hard, i sure know they can get pretty hard to trim!! what ive done is, wetting the dirty till you make mud, and tieing them for a couple of hours before farrier get to work on them!! it helps!!

[CatsTack]

Hard hooves are great to have! I was trimming a horse the other day and was laughin' cuz his feet were so hard. I had to sharpen my tools after each foot! LOL I loved it, though, no complainin' here.