Hardening up hooves?

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FlyingSkye

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Hi,

My little Connie has just gone barefoot, which other than being sore on gravel she seems to be taking fairly well, considering her feet were quite soft after never really being without shoes. I was just wondering if anyone had any hoof stuff they'd recommend to harden them up or keep them in a good condition?
Thanks :)
 
Mostly its about diet and feeding them from the inside, although if the soles are a bit tender try Keratex painted on daily for a week or so then twice a week.
Low sugar diet, good mineral balancer and maybe some biotin and good protein
 
Has she been dna tested for HWSS? If you don't know, it's a genetic defect in connemaras leading to soft and splitting feet.
 
Anyone planning to use Keratex hoof hardener might like to know that it works predominantly because it's 8% formaldehyde. If you know a sheep farmer, you can get sheep foot dip which is 35% formaldehyde. If you beg a litre of that and add three more lites of water, you'll have four litres of 'keratex' for a fraction of the cost. Don't make it all at once, it turns into vinegar if it's too old.
 
ycbm said:
Has she been dna tested for HWSS? If you don't know, it's a genetic defect in connemaras leading to soft and splitting feet.
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She's only just had shoes off after having all four on for the whole time she's been in work (as far as I'm aware) so I'm hoping that they will harden up as she gets used to being barefoot, but if not I will look into it :)
 
By the way, please stay away from products that contain formaldehyde. Yea they garden the horn but they also make it brittle and it has been studies that it does actually damage the hoof.
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Can you point us to those please?

You are a professional trimmer wildathoof, forum rules don't allow you advertise your services and it would be a shame to be banned.

I'd be very interested to see a study of a Connie with HWSS if you have one?
 
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Have you considered hoof-boots to start with - one of the best ways to harden feet is for the pony to use them correctly - it will take a bit of time; it's just like hardening tendons/muscles etc by fittening programs.
 
catkin said:
Have you considered hoof-boots to start with - one of the best ways to harden feet is for the pony to use them correctly - it will take a bit of time; it's just like hardening tendons/muscles etc by fittening programs.
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Am looking into it, have just bought the pony a new saddle and her bridle is on its last legs as well as not fitting her at all, so I need to get that sorted but they are on the list 😅
 
isn't formaldehyde the chemical they use to preserve dead bodies? I vaguely remember people kicking off because it had been used in nail polish and eyelash glue and its linked to cancer?! even if it works its probably not a nice chemical to be playing with!!
 
Miss_Dior said:
isn't formaldehyde the chemical they use to preserve dead bodies? I vaguely remember people kicking off because it had been used in nail polish and eyelash glue and its linked to cancer?! even if it works its probably not a nice chemical to be playing with!!
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If you use most substances in big enough quantities or inappropriate applications they would be far from safe. I am happy to use formaldehyde on my horse's soles because it has helped hugely. I wouldn't however use it around his mucous membranes or feed it to him - common sense really does have to prevail.
 
Miss_Dior said:
isn't formaldehyde the chemical they use to preserve dead bodies? I vaguely remember people kicking off because it had been used in nail polish and eyelash glue and its linked to cancer?! even if it works its probably not a nice chemical to be playing with!!
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Yes! And water is fatal if you drink too much of it. And arsenic and nuclear radiation have health benefits at low doses.

Hooves are dead. And thick. Formaldehyde does help horses with soft feet. Keratex would have been sued from one end of the country to the other by now of it caused any identifiable problems. The product has been sold for about thirty years now.

It's only the price that concerns me. It's a heck of a lot of money for a few pence worth of formaldehyde!
 
smellsofhorse said:
Hoof health h comes from diet.
So low starch and sugar and as much hay as she wants.
Movement encourages growth but obviously if she's is sore take it steady.
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Yes, she's in half the time to avoid the extra sugar when it frosts and has as much has as she wants, but have had to make it a bit harder for her to reach as she will try and swallow it down as fast as she can! She's ridden at least 5 times a week at the moment, with a majority of it walk/trot hacks as I feel so guilty pushing her if she has sore feet!
 
FlyingSkye said:
So would I, am feeling slightly paranoid about it at the moment, although her feet are nothing like some of the photos I've seen!!
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The DNA test on hair roots is about thirty quid. There are a couple of UK labs that do them if you Google it.
 
ycbm said:
The DNA test on hair roots is about thirty quid. There are a couple of UK labs that do them if you Google it.
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Ah ok, her sire has quite a good reputation, so if anything I think it would be on her dam's side. Once I have recovered from the cost of a full new set of tack I will look into it! :)
 
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FlyingSkye said:
Ah ok, her sire has quite a good reputation, so if anything I think it would be on her dam's side. Once I have recovered from the cost of a full new set of tack I will look into it! :)
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I think it needs two copies of the gene, I'm not sure. But if so both parents would have to have it. I believe, though, that there are some reputable breeders still knowingly using horses with it, so it might still be worth a check, especially if you ever intend to breed from her.
 
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