is it bad to wash the inside of the hoof?

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hannah28

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hey guys :)

winter on the brain, when you bring your horse in from the field in those muddy winter days i tend to wash the ouside of my neddys hooves to remove the mud, i have heard its not good for horses hoofs if you wash the inside ? is this true? and is it ok after washing to apply a hoof oil (once dry obv)
 
hannah28 said:
hey guys :)

winter on the brain, when you bring your horse in from the field in those muddy winter days i tend to wash the ouside of my neddys hooves to remove the mud, i have heard its not good for horses hoofs if you wash the inside ? is this true? and is it ok after washing to apply a hoof oil (once dry obv)
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Hmmm, never heard that one. I should think British horses are used to having wet hooves, inside and out, with all the mud and rain you get. Hooves need moisture, presumably that means the inside as well. Plain old water should be fine, perhaps if you were scrubbing them with some sort of detergent that woudn't be so good. Not sure. (Something to mention to my Farrier, this forum keeps him amused:))

If you have ever read Paradise Paddocks or whatever it is called, they make a point of providing a wet patch around the water trough so that the horses have to get their feet wet.

I can't see that hoof oil would do any harm, I am not convinced (personal opinion) that it does a huge amount of good either other than making feet look shiny of course (and I just use a bit of baby oil on a sponge for the same effect)
 
I wash my horse's legs and feet very throughly when muddy, I don't however wash inside his feet, I just pick them out. I would only scrub out feet with pethidine solution if he had some sort of infection. I apply Kevin Bacon's hoof cream all year round
 
Thats a new one to me.
I wash my horses hooves inside and out before shows and i have never had a problem, in fact all 3 have very good feet. If they get a bit stinky on the underside in winter when they are on their beds longer i even hibi-scrub them.
Hope this helps.
Teresa
 
Mine don't really get muddy legs, but I never wash them off - bring them in, work them, then they are usually dry to bandage to go to bed.
 
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