Hoof oils and dressings - to use or not to use?

mytwofriends

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I am always in a dilemma whether or not to use the above. My horses both have perfectly good feet - retired one is barefoot and younger boy is shod all round, and my farrier trims the oldie.

My farrier is old school and adamant any hoof dressing is unnecessary. I don't use anything on my boys, but as this will be the first winter they will be living out 24/7, I'm wondering if their hooves will suffer at all.

So - that's my long-winded dilemma. Would their hooves benefit from a good oiling every now and then? Or not?
 

JillA

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Not, especially when the ground is wet. Oils provide a barrier against moisture, and you need the hoof to be moist and flexible. There are some products which claim to be moisturisers but I am sceptical TBH. I have always found the best treatments for hooves are from the inside in feeding the right diet.
The only time I ever use oil is for appearance at shows etc
 

mytwofriends

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Thank you JillA, I feel the same way as you. Self-doubt creeps up when I listen to friends, read the glossy ads etc, however. It's certainly clever advertising but my gut feeling has always been to leave well alone and, like you said, feed well and appropriately.
 

Auslander

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My farrier is old school

That's not old-school - thats science! He may not know it, but what he says is exactly what the latest thinking is on the subject of maintaining moisture balance.

Their feet will change as the seasons do, and the ground gets wetter/drier/harder/softer, but if they are well fed, with the specific needs of their feet addressed through the diet, their feet should cope with the changes ok.

I'm as much of a sucker for clever marketing as anyone, but I buy products in the knowledge that they will make the feet look pretty and shiny, nothing more. I don't use anything regularly - just as a vanity thinkg if the horse is going somewhere. I tip my trough up to empty it in the summer so they stand in wet ground to drink, but thats all I do to address moisture balance from the outside, and I don't really think that does anything - but it makes me feel like I care!
 

mytwofriends

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Very true Auslander. I trust his opinion which is why I haven't been swayed by all the marketing ploys!

He explained to me about the hooves contracting and expanding and how the weather affects the hoof wall directly. He went as far as being fairly disparaging about hoof dressings, and that's when I wondered if it was just him being crusty old him!
 
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