iodine on horses feet

[sallyballybee]

someone told me that using iodine on horses feet toughens them up?? i'd never heard for it only ever used keratex on poppy......

 

[ThePony]

I wouldn't use the keratex hardener as it contains formaldehyde - preserves dead stuff and has been shown in studies to decalcify bones - argh!!!
I've used iodine for a bit of a manky frog, didn't notice any change to the toughness. Best thing for tough frogs is to keep thrush at bay (no trimming of it unless for a good reason) and give them plenty of work, with the attached horse fed a low sugar/starch diet!

 

[sallyballybee]

it was on advice from farrier that we use keratex not very often tho.

she's not got problems with thrush or anything i was just curious

 

[ThePony]

Do you mind me asking why the keratex was suggested?

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I am using Iodine on my mares feet at the moment.

to

a) help with abscess
b) keep the feet hard and kill infection like thrush

Its slightly stronger than sole paint.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I used to use Iodine on the TB's feet around 20+ yrs ago - this (am sure & so was farrier) did make them harder.

Small pot & paintbrush it on daily

 

[Littlelegs]

Not heard of anyone doing it for years, but I remember it being used for smelly or soft feet when I was younger, late 80's & early 90s.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

I've used iodine and eucalyptus oil on thrush before.

 

[sallyballybee]

Do you mind me asking why the keratex was suggested?

no not at all it was because she had just gone back to being barefoot to toughen up her soles. she still is sore on hard stoney ground even now so she wears cavello boots it was someone else who has barefoot horses and her horses feet are great and tough as nails! i'm sure it was her barefoot guy who suggested it to try and get hers out of boots and completely barefoot

 

[KSR]

I've been using iodine and eucalyptus poultices the last week then Epsom salt poultices to disinfect and harden an open wound on my horses sole at the instruction of my vet..

I've used sugardine in the past for thrush and hardening feet too..

 

[sallyballybee]

i might ask farrier if it would help pops soles then?

 

[VioletStripe]

I've only ever used it if my horse has had thrush - happened once due to muddy fields. Have also heard it works to harden soles if they're a bit soft xx

 

[Waltzing Matilda]

Milton liquid is fab for treating thrush and hardening up frog and sole. 1 part Milton to 10 parts water. Soak in bucket once a week, or spray/firm brush every 2-3 days. X

 

[sallyballybee]

So with iodine, would it be applied to the whole hoof? Incl frog?

 

[VioletStripe]

So with iodine, would it be applied to the whole hoof? Incl frog?

I'd just put it on the sole, including the sulcus of the frog. Wouldn't put it on the hoof wall on the outside, personally, don't see what that could do? xx

 

[wellsat]

No idea if iodine works but if I was looking to harden soles I'd be checking I'd done everything I could with diet first. My instinct is that diet will have more impact on hoof quality than anything you can paint on.

 

[sallyballybee]

No idea if iodine works but if I was looking to harden soles I'd be checking I'd done everything I could with diet first. My instinct is that diet will have more impact on hoof quality than anything you can paint on.

because shes a fatty and high risk lami, she has very strict diet, muzzled 24hrs a day, a sprinkle of chaff to get her biotin and thats it....

 

[Waltzing Matilda]

I'd def up her fibre intake, restricting the diet so much can actually cause lami too in some cases as it increased the ph in the gut as it doesn't have anything to digest and then kills the good bacteria (just like too much sugar and starch).

Hi fi lite. Quick beat (or equivalent -u can feed quite a lot of this), Mayb some magnesium. Shouldn't gain weight on that and is high fibre, with a low cal balancer or a vit and min supliment.

This should help the feet. Sometimes I have seen a dif in 4 days. Just by feeding magnesium!