how do you stop horses feet getting balled up with snow (early i know)

StormyMoments

StormyMoments

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i usually dont have to worry about this but all the other horses are turned out in the snow (barefoot) and taz has a full set of shoes on and he has dinner plates for feet and just collects it until hes on stilts :o even if i put vasaline around the shoe it does it

i cant keep him in as he climbs doors when on his own so he has to be turned out (other people not so willing to keep horses in because of mine) understandibly but they are talking about leaving out all day which really is a no no for me as taz will definatly get balled up - could leave him out for a couple hours but he will have to come in where as everyone else just leaves theres out :(

poor taz will be missing out!
 
I tend to use vaseline but it doesn't really work that well, as I put them out for the whole day with hay. My shod tb ends up with big balls of ice in his feet also. Have to wait for them to defrost as it's impossible to pick it all out! Will be interested to see what others do too!
 
In the Fatherland they put a rubber ring (or better a metal ring with rubber cover) tightly on the inside of the shoe (using special pliers). It pushes the snow out with every step. Works brilliantly.
 
LARD ! (TREX, the vegetable alternative would also do the job)
You can either melt it and paint it on with a hoof oil brush (that gets it well into the thin gap between the shoe and hoof), it starts to set pretty quickly on the hoof but just be careful it isn't too hot. If you can't melt it, just plaster it on with your hands. Press it well in where the shoe and hoof meet, stuff it well into the clefts and all over the sole. Start buying some in now and get a couple of blocks each week so that you're prepared if we wake up one morning to an unexpected whiteout (like last year).
If we don't get that much snow, you can always melt it and mix in some wild bird seed. A lot of birds died last winter during the extreme weather. Lard "birdcake" helps them to survive even just overnight when the temperatures plummet ;).
 
LittleWildOne said:
If we don't get that much snow, you can always melt it and mix in some wild bird seed. A lot of birds died last winter during the extreme weather. Lard "birdcake" helps them to survive even just overnight when the temperatures plummet ;).
Click to expand...

Do it anyway! :D It costs pennies and is cheaper than the shop bought ones. Smear the lard/seed mix (they like peanut butter too) onto tree trunks, especially the rough barked trees.
 
bumblelion said:
I tend to use vaseline but it doesn't really work that well, as I put them out for the whole day with hay. My shod tb ends up with big balls of ice in his feet also. Have to wait for them to defrost as it's impossible to pick it all out! Will be interested to see what others do too!
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We use a small hammer to knock the lumps of ice loose - easier than trying to get it out with a hoofpick, still a pain to do though.
 
A little warning if you cant stop your horses feet balling up and they have to be out I would take off the shoes, we had a mare at our yard who was turned out in the snow just for a few hours as she too was climbing the walls being in for so long, her feet balled up she then went to have a wee trot and canter about to stretch her legs but when she tried to stop she couldnt due to her feet being balled and the snowy ground and went straight into an electric fence and become stuck in it consequently she had to be PTS due to her injuries, for what started off as a normal morning and the owner doing the best for her mare turned into a horrible end. Our yard now doesnt allow any horses out when there is risk of this and my horse may be climbing the walls but I would much rather have him safe! sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
 
My farrier puts snow pads on between the shoe and the sole of the foot. It has a rubber ring that pops the snow out of the foot. don't know where he gets them from but they're not that much more expensive and well worth it!:D
 
I think a lot depends on the it being the "wrong type of snow" some ice packs like the very devil, I would try barefoot if you are worried, but it is not something you should decide to do on the day, you need to prepare and manage diet and workload according to horses needs rather than your own.
Ligament strains are another potential problem as the horse is walking unnaturally,
 
http://www.stromsholm.co.uk/

They have snow rims and pads - but found if its not snowing the rims wear out quite fast!

snow-pad-front.jpg


Edited to say, this is one occasion where the barefooters are correct as the snow bonds to the steel of the shoe
 
Hi Jenna,

I found the Stromsholm website last night but I can't find them in their online catalogue. Have asked my farrier if he can get hold of them.

Next shoeing 14/11/11 - hope we don't get snow before then!
 
Afraid another vote for shoes off! Year before last both of ours were shod - for some reason vaslene in one worked, and just nothing could keep the other mare from getting stilts v quickly so we had to keep her in as it was just lethal to leave her turned out stood on such big stilts. Perhaps shape of hoof plays a part? Last winter both had shoes off and no problems at all, even with the 'on stilts/over sensitve/gets every prob going' one!!
 
My tb must be odd, never had any balling in his shoes all though the snow and we had snow on the ground for a solid 3 months. Never did anything to his shoes ether :confused:
 
Unfortunately I don't have the option of taking his shoes off as he wears his feet down so quickly - especially in moist conditions - and we are surrounded by roads. Really need something that's going to work with shoes on.

I am using a hoof hardening oil this year so I'm hoping the oil may stop it balling up too much?? :(
 
THIS ▼
DSCF4324.jpg

HONESTLY......it REALLY DOES WORK ;)
This block cost 69p from my local village shop. The vegetarian alternative - TREX would do the same.
I've been out hacking on a shod horse in deep snow. Myself and my friends all packed the soles of our horses hooves with lard before we went out. The snow just fell out of the horses hooves with no balling up at all. We were out for a couple of hours, 1 friend on an Arab, 1 on a TB, 1 on a cob and myself on an ID. NONE of these horses got any snow balled up during the 2 hour hack or when they were turned out to play in the snow on our return.
(Safer and healthier (lard is pure animal fat, Trex is pure vegetable fat) than WD40, that's petroleum and silicone based which could damage the horn by drying it out. It's a moisture dispersant so would prevent the hoof from absorbing moisture naturally. The lard/Trex would be absorbed and not damage the hoof wall/sole in any way). Any type of solid cooking fat would work, I imagine good old butter would work just as well ;)
 
Both of mine were bare last year and the tb still is and i will prob take the mares off, depends how much i compete her over the winter, if at all. The still get abit of stilts even without shoes but they dont build up to much and regularly fall out. I was going to try tights this year, cut the feet of some cheap pairs of tights and slip them on ;-) or old sock :-D
 
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