Hoof picking

What do you think of Hairy Backs?

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every day, plus we have a gravel yard which means bits of gravel get stuck in the hooves, and if hoof rubbish gets into the gravel i'd only have to rake it out again
 
Generally i do it before riding/working them, i also have a bad back at the mo and it's not too bad with my boy who holds his own weight but my sis's cob likes to lean and i only just manage them all before i can't straighten up again! Getting it looked at today though finally!
 
Having been very lucky in finding progressive farriers the answer is never. Was told by my previous farrier in England at least 15 years ago to never pick the feet out and now over here I have the most wonderful farrier who also told me exactly the same thing. None of my horses in this time have ever had thrush or any of those feet conditions which some farriers claim to be caused by over-zealous owners.

My horses are all barefoot here and 2 were in England - the horse in England who had shoes on had his feet VERY LIGHTLY picked out when ridden - never did I gouge and used to cringe watching others doing this....and they wondered why their horses feet contracted allsorts.
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Tia, quick Q. Do you think then that barefoot horses ought NOT to have their feet picked out everyday? My horse is barefoot at the moment and I am treating him as I would if he were shod, i.e. picking out morning and night. I try to be gentle, but do you think its better for unshod feet to be left alone?
 
It's each to their own, and to a degree it would depend on what type of soil your horse lives on....ie. stony ground etc.

I used to pick out my barefoot horses feet every day just like others, but then my farrier went to some clinic in the States well over a decade ago and the question arose about owners picking their horses feet out and the incidence of feet troubles arising. His conclusion was that if people do pick out their horses feet then they should not scratch away at the sole and purely to remove stones; never to bother with dirt as this compacts and seals the sole from invading bugs. Barefoot horses, he said, should not have their feet picked out, only stones being removed.

My farrier over here is of the same trail of thought.

Just one little ditty - we now have 37 horses here; all barefoot and only one who had been getting thrush on a regular basis - this was the only horse on the farm to get thrush and was the only horse to have it's feet picked out daily. Farrier told him a few months ago to stop picking; thrush cleared up and hasn't been back.
 
I have a mixture of shod and unshod. 4 at home and a bad back.

I pick out if theer are obviously stones and rubbish in the feet.

I believe that leaving wet mud packed in the foot when bringing in to a nice dry stable allows the hoof to dry out gradually and helps to maintain it's health. None of mine get thrush and the one with really cracked bad feet has improved with this too.

I also believe in feeding for hoof health and not painting stuff on the hoof.
 
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I also believe in feeding for hoof health and not painting stuff on the hoof.

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Oh me too!
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Hummm - thanks Tia. Thats really interesting. I have noticed that since he's been barefoot his feet look better and the frog clefts are not as deep as they were when he was shod, hence his feet in general don't attract so much gunk anyway. I have just been removing stones when necessary and not digging away. He's in at night and out on good draining soil.
 
I would also say that it depends on where the horse is living. If its satbled and effectively walking in its own pee and poo then its more important to pick them out.
 
I would say in that situation it is more important to NOT pick them out, to be honest. Why would you want the pee and poo to be touching your horses soles? Surely you would want the soles protected?
 
Well thats what I mean. I would pick them out if they were full of pee and poo only...
I'm a non picker outer...my farrier does them
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Agree with Honeypots! Earth packed into the horses foot can actually help support the foot and doesn't usually cause too many problems, whereas a stabled horse's feet can get packed with manure. Each horse has to be treated as an individual though - one of ours came to us with a touch of thrush and has always been prone to it when the weather is wet, so I make sure her feet are done regularly and sprayed with pine tar.
 
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