is keratex any good??

keekee

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sorry may have spelt in wrong.... iv been told that it is brilliant for hardening there feet but it cost 20 pound a bottle so dont wanna pay that if it,s gonna do no good.
 
I had the same dilemma, but it was recommended by my farrier so I gave in and tried it. It's definitely helped my mare - she was getting very sore across the stones, but is now much better.

Depends what the problem is with your horses feet, and what you're hoping to achieve. It's strong (as well as expensive!), so I'm not sure I would use it without advice from my farrier. Also, I don't think it's designed for long term use.

Hope this helps
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I used NAF Rock Hard on my little pony who has soft soles and it definitely helped him. It's about £20 too but was good stuff
 
Keratex is OK for hardening the soles of the feet, unless your horse is newly barefoot in which case you shouldn't use it until all the false sole has naturally exfoliated.

On a barefoot horse, you shouldn't use it on the hoof walls as they should be allowed to flex. It's really not the best thing you can use on the walls of shod horses either, Kevin Bacon hoof dressing is much better for long term use. However if you have really crumbly bits around the nail holes that look ready to give way, it can be used as an emergency measure. It's a very harsh product and needs to be used sparingly.
 
I wouldn't recommend using any of them. Read 'Feet First' for a diet that will really help, and is inexpensive. Actually it probably should be called 'Gut first'.
 
Fantastic product and it will harden the feet no end. There is a common misconception that mud will suck off shoes. There is no way this happens. What actually happens is like your finger nails go soft if you spend to long in the bath, the horses hoof and walls go soft if stood in wet and muddy ground for a long period. Therefore the molecular structures of the wall of the foot stretch and the clenches come loose and the shoe falls off or becomes loose. Keratex stops the molecular structure from altering with long exposure to water, or at least that is my understanding on how it works. It is very good and IMHO should be twice as much as they charge because it is such a good product! Nothing will compensate for correct and regular shoeing though and if you leave your horses feet too long between shoeing this increases the chance of shoes coming off (not saying you do by the way).
 
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Keratex is OK for hardening the soles of the feet, unless your horse is newly barefoot in which case you shouldn't use it until all the false sole has naturally exfoliated.

On a barefoot horse, you shouldn't use it on the hoof walls as they should be allowed to flex. It's really not the best thing you can use on the walls of shod horses either, Kevin Bacon hoof dressing is much better for long term use. However if you have really crumbly bits around the nail holes that look ready to give way, it can be used as an emergency measure. It's a very harsh product and needs to be used sparingly.

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Funnily enough, that's basically what my farrier said
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Keratex on the soles only, not on the walls, and only for a couple of months, then switch onto Kevin Bacon. It's working so far
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i started to feed my horses Dengie Alfa - and their feet improved loads - dont know if this was a coincidence but clearly improving foot condition from the inside out might be a better approach through diet?
 
Keretex is excellent stuff for toughening up their soles- as above not to go on the walls though.

i use it on my barefoot youngsters and you can tell the different in how they walk over stones etc a day after application.
 
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