Dirt packed hooves

[prancingpony]

Okay a little background. My horses all have great feet. They are not dry, brittle and rarely chip. I overflow their water tubs ever day so that their feet have moisture. They are in a HUGE drylot, mostly sand and I drag the lot about once per week. They are on a regular trimming routine but I hardly ever clean their feet and they are usually packed with dirt when I do. I have heard that this is actually good for their feet and seems to be working great so far. It is a natural way for the foot structures to have support and realize that many people probably don't do this. Right now none of my horses are used for riding except for an occasional leadline ride with my 7 yr old daughter aboard.
My question is, once I have Teddie in riding training next year should I be cleaning her hooves beforehand and after or will this make her feet more open to bruising. Or will this help her feet toughen up? What do you all think.

[SpotsNGlory]

I always clean hoofs before and after riding to take out any debris that may have packed into the foot while the horse was in the stall or turned out- it always good to make sure the horse more comfortable when jogging/cantering, or galloping.

Also, leaving debris[dirt,poop etc] in the foot can cause Thrush/Founder issues, which is not too fast/easy to cure, esp Founder which can result in the one of the worst scenario's for you, Euthanasia. So pick pick pick and clean.

If I were you, I'd pick everyday - usually during the morning and afternoon hours when they come back into the barn or are ready for turn-out, so you can remove any debris in their foot from out in the pasture/stall, or after your child's riding lesson.

Prevention is the key to avoiding problems later on.

[taelesean]

I have been told by a couple of very experienced horsepeople that there are two reasons why to pick your horse's feet regularily.

1. It reinforces the horses training to give it's feet to people - not only important for the farrier, but even more important if there is an issue the vet needs to take care of.

2 It reinforces the human habit of checking feet often, especially if the horse is shod (shoes need to be checked for tightness, wear and fit at least every few days) - of course, it's hard to inspect a hoof that is packed full of dirt.

[Crookedblaze]

I always clean my horses feet because I check for rocks, we ride on a lot of gravel roads. I also think that it is good to atleast check their feet every once in a while. Rocket's feet pack, too, and my farrier has told me that is is good to have packed dirt in their feet as long as you check for stuff occasionally.

[sundancer maiden]

I ride on rocky roads, and for that reason I leave the dirt packed in to keep the rocks out. After the ride I will clean the feet to make sure no rocks got in and to check for any problems.
We have some sharp little rocks and some pretty good sized ones. I do believe that some stone bruising has been avoided. We have a few real sandy roads, I wish they all were!!

[dreamcleaner]

Having no experience with thrush (knock on wood), I can only comment on what I've been told. What makes sense and what I will try.

I was told by a farrier when it is wet and muddy, (God knows we've had a few seasons of that), NOT cleaning them out is better. Which, yes, surprised me. Reason being, the mud is packed in, the layer closer to the hoof will dry out and actually acts as a barrier to the all the wet and mud. By cleaning routinely then we are actually exposing the frog etc even more to the wet, bacterial forces that are insidiously waiting to get at their feet.

And when Riley had bruising (from stones), if I had to move him across the gravel driveway I would pack the sore foot with the dirt to act as a cushion. In a weird way the dirt acted as a cushion and he showed not the slightest tenderness when protected that way. Don't get me wrong, I do clean out their feet, but I am not as gung ho as I had been of doing it daily, and when muddy a few times a day. Just my thoughts, and I've not 'yet' had a problem in that regard. (other than the non existent white line)

[horselady]

I agree with dreamcleaner on this one.
I have a lot of pasture horses and I do not clean their feet everyday. the mud that dries acts as a barrier for stones and dampness.
Now the horses that are in their stalls over night , that is another situation, so they get theirs done all the time before getting turned out.

[walkerfarms]

Horses are turned out 24/7 and rarely get thier feet picked and we don't have any problems!!!

[Lady_MCSE]

That's an interesting question, and I think I'm leaning more toward being curious about what other people have to say than offering real advice of my own.

I was taught to pick before and after riding.

I do like the idea of picking out at least once a week - as others have stated, for the horse to keep used to being asked for its foot, and just to make sure nothing's in there that shouldn't be.

I've also done a fair amount of reading about natural horse hoof trimming methods. One of the things I have heard\read in several places is the concept of the hoof wall being full of tiny blood vessels. When the horse puts weight down on the hoof, it squashes out a little (the dryer the hoof, the less flex and squash). That process of squashing down a little actually aids in blood flow. Think of how a plunger works - the squash down effect helps draw water, or in this case blood, back up into the leg.

The squash-effect is one of the main reasons that natural hoof trimmers dislike shoes so much; you're putting an iron harness around the hoof such that the squashing effect can't occur anymore. I had one farrier tell me that when she is trying to convince an owner to pull shoes, she will bring a point-and-shoot thermometer with her. She'll take a reading on the hoof before pulling the shoes, and then a reading a few weeks later. The hoof is always warmer without shoes, because there is more bloodflow throughout the hoof.

So, now that you posed the question about dirt being in that cavity, my first thought was that it prevents the squash effect, so it must be bad. It also means the horse must be putting more weight on the sole than the wall, or at least even weight on both.

But then again, I like the comments others made about it being good about keeping out stones and mud. I do remember hearing that somewhere as well, like if you have a horse in a pasture\stall\drylot environment and want to go riding, leave in all the stuff that you know is stone-free so that stones can't get in. Then pick afterwards.

Then I think of wild horses, and can't imagine wild horses having too much dirt caked up inside their hooves - they move around too much. I would think. Don't know.

Long story short - I offer no advice, just "thinking out loud" ramblings . . .

[beth55051]

We rarely if ever clean our horses feet out. They're out on pasture most of the time only standing the the "dry" lot while begging for food. Rarely if ever stalled.

Never had a case of thrush on our place. Packing their feet with dirt and mud keeps the blood flowing and the hoof healthier. Keeps the structure firm and sound.

We do however clean our horses feet out when we're out camping and they have to stand in one spot all night, we also clean them out if we've been out riding down the road or elsewhere that they might pick up gravel or other not so good crap in their feet.

Our shod horses at home will get their feet picked up every so often to check their shoes but not necessarily cleaned out unless we see a potential problem.

[AlbertaGirl]

Originally Posted by beth55051

We rarely if ever clean our horses feet out. They're out on pasture most of the time only standing the the "dry" lot while begging for food. Rarely if ever stalled.

Never had a case of thrush on our place. Packing their feet with dirt and mud keeps the blood flowing and the hoof healthier. Keeps the structure firm and sound.

We do however clean our horses feet out when we're out camping and they have to stand in one spot all night, we also clean them out if we've been out riding down the road or elsewhere that they might pick up gravel or other not so good crap in their feet.

Our shod horses at home will get their feet picked up every so often to check their shoes but not necessarily cleaned out unless we see a potential problem.

Wow , I almost could've written the very same thing as Beth, other than we haven't taken our horses camping before! I always pick their feet out after every ride, but that's about it. I do make sure to handle the young horse's legs/feet more often though, and it seems to have paid off, as they're all good for the farrier!

A little off topic, but in the winter, I go out there with a hammer to use the backside of it to get the ice balls out of their feet, and do them all without a halter or rope.

[kshnooks]

I've heard from people who leave their horses hooves natural that dirt packs are beneficial as well. Same reasoning as everyone has expressed.

That said, I was "taught" to pick before and after every ride. However, these are school horses who are riding in sand arenas on a daily basis so I don't know if that makes a difference.

[beth55051]

A little off topic, but in the winter, I go out there with a hammer to use the backside of it to get the ice balls out of their feet, and do them all without a halter or rope.

Me, Too!!!

[prancingpony]

Thanks for all the info girls!!! I appreciate it!!

[Range]

This is an on-going controversy. For the most part, an unshod horse can "shed" the dirt and debris that gets in the hooves. A shod horse cannot.

The controversy is this - it's been thought that the pressure a pack puts on the sole is not beneficial for the horse and can damage the internal structures. The blood pumps through the foot from pressure on the frog, not the sole. If the entire region is covered by mud pack...

However, recent studies suggest that pressure on the sole is not a bad thing.

I know people think that not picking out the hooves protects them from the fungus that causes thrush. Thrush is an anaerobic fungus, meaning it grows best when there is no oxygen to the area. Mud pack would create an anaerobic environment and thrush can sure set up quickly - a day in my donkey's case.

Personally, I think mud packed in the foot looks uncomfortable, so I pick it out consistently. Of course, I also pick my horses' feet every day, sometimes twice a day.

[CatsTack]

Well, Range beat me to it! LOL

As Range said in recent studies it has been confirmed that the frog ain't the thing that's helping to pump the blood. It's actually the hoof capsule. The capsule upon landing gets bigger, making a vaccum (sp?) and sucking the blood in, then when it's 'in the air' it squishes the blood out cuz the capsule is not smaller.

I leave the dirt in, but do check and if needed clean the hoof after a ride. I encourage all my clients to do this, unless as Range said the horsey has thrush. If thrush is present I tell folks to clean at least once a day and treat it with some antibiotic creme (I've heard of some folks mixing in stuff for athlete's foot).

[annem]

This is a very interesting subject. I too, have been taught to clean before and after a ride and I do this religiously. Now, having read this, I see the benefits of leaving the dirt in before the ride for comfort providing there are no hidden stones in the dirt. I do believe that the dirt wouldn't stay in for long as the impaction of hitting the ground at a walk or what ever gait would encourage the dirt to fall out. I am talking about if you were on gravel or a hard surface other than grass or dirt.

[horsey-gal]

I pick my horses feet everyday. They are pretty much "self cleaning" they rarely have much dirt/mud in them.

[karenf]

I live in desert and rock land. I pick my horses feet about once a week to get the rocks out. Also. to help the farrier out, as I´m sure they would be terrible if not worked with fairly often. I don´t have mud, since it only rains once or twice a year here. Rocks can get very stuck and create lameness even in my barefoot horses.

[tuffsmom]

I pick my horses feet every day. Our horses are worked with everyday whether it is just to come in and get some special time or actual riding, they have to walk across the gravel.