Keeping gravel out of white line

[Gloi]

My pony is pretty successfully barefoot. However he doesn't move straight on one leg and puts more weight on one side of the hoof. This area tends to get a bit damaged and picks up gravel in the white line. I always dig it out but it leaves holes I want to fill to stop them picking up more gravel.
Keratex wax and the like is too soft as gravel sinks in it.
Any suggestions how to fill the damage to keep gravel out. I'm considering trying epoxy putty.

 

[ycbm]

I've found that gravel in the white line is normally an indicator that the feet are too long or that the white line is not tight enough, and sometimes both. Is there any scope to reduce the height of the hoof wall? I think it might be something that's been asked before, and if so sorry for asking you to repeat, but is his diet good and has it been good for the whole hoof growth?

I've never come across anything that will stick in the white line well enough to keep out stones, but someone else might have some ideas.
.

 

[Gloi]

I've found that gravel in the white line is normally an indicator that the feet are too long or that the white line is not tight enough, and sometimes both. Is there any scope to reduce the height of the hoof wall? I think it might be something that's been asked before, and if so sorry for asking you to repeat, but is his diet good and has it been good for the whole hoof growth?

I've never come across anything that will stick in the white line well enough to keep out stones, but someone else might have some ideas.
.

The rest of the hoof is good , wall barely above sole, sound on all surfaces, and unfortunately this is the shortest part of the wall as it takes the heaviest wear due to how he puts his hoof down, probably putting all his weight on this spot for a moment ?
It just seems to damage easily from stones jamming in there. I'm trying to protect this spot from any more damage. I'm going to put Hoof Armour on that part tomorrow to see if that helps but I pulled a big piece of gravel out today and I really need to fill the hole ?

 

[deicinmerlyn]

I put a bit of hoof clay (the Eucalyptus one) in a little cotton wool and roll it into a little ball and stuff it in the hole with an old hoof nail. The cotton wool stops the grit getting in there and prevents the clay from falling out if that makes sense!

 

[Gloi]

I put a bit of hoof clay (the Eucalyptus one) in a little cotton wool and roll it into a little ball and stuff it in the hole with an old hoof nail. The cotton wool stops the grit getting in there and prevents the clay from falling out if that makes sense!

I have some hoof clay ,cotton wool and a nail ? I can try that. ?

 

[paddi22]

I use the red horse hoof cement stuff sometimes. or the field paste either.

 

[pistolpete]

Just pick them out after rides with a nail. Shoe clenches work well ironically.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Field paste works well. If you have time before you ride to allow it to dry in place, wipe it over the white line and let it set. Otherwise, it can be used as a filler for the little gravel holes. My 27yo has always been barefoot, and I have never solved this problem.

 

[paddy555]

I've found that gravel in the white line is normally an indicator that the feet are too long or that the white line is not tight enough, and sometimes both. Is there any scope to reduce the height of the hoof wall? I think it might be something that's been asked before, and if so sorry for asking you to repeat, but is his diet good and has it been good for the whole hoof growth?

I've never come across anything that will stick in the white line well enough to keep out stones, but someone else might have some ideas.
.

I've never found anything that will stick in the WL. I wouldn't want to put anything such as cement in in case it traps infection.

I think the answer to this problem is trimming. Make sure the wall does not have excess height, the foot is balanced and then relieve the wall along the area of separation. At the same time make sure the new wall growing down is growing in tight to avoid "the gap" . It does take some time to resolve it.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Short term, scrub out. Let dry and cotton wool in sudocrem-pack in and blot with paper towel. Hoof stuff is great for this but I always scrub out first-hibiscrub or a 1% povidine iodin solution. These products are s=used to surgically scrub wounds, I don’t buy that they damage tissue unless used at the wrong concentration.

 

[HelenBack]

I have this with mine. He's got arthritis in his hock and I presume it must be the way he moves but the outside hoof wall on that foot is always prone to separation. I ride him in boots to stop it getting worse and save the faff with the gravel. For going to and from the field though I don't think there's anything I could put in that would stop the problem. So I just suck it up and pick out the gravel with a little screwdriver each day. Sorry.

 

[Gloi]

Well I picked out all the stones that had gone in overnight and wire brushed the area. Looking at it it really isn't the right shape to pack, too shallow , some of it is white line some damaged wall. It's not an area with infection just physical damage. I've given the area a good coat of hoof armour , then a second coat on the worst bits and may give a third coat tomorrow which should have filled in all the hollows and I'll see how that goes. If it works I'll buy some more as that's nearly the last of it.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

The hoof armour should help you may just have to re apply to the worst bits more regularly.

 

[Gloi]

The hoof armour should help you may just have to re apply to the worst bits more regularly.

I think that is the case. I usually boot him a bit more than I'm doing but wanted to try a bit more without and he's fine apart from picking up gravel. All our roads have lots of gravel. I've just ordered a new tube but they are awaiting new stock.

 

[Gloi]

Semi successful. He's tidying the grass on the sides of a gravel track overnight at the moment and this morning only 2 stones to ping out. I think another layer of hoof armour might just about fix it but it was too wet today to do it.

 

[GreyDot]

I have the same problem with mine. I was thinking today that all the picking out of the gravel every day was causing the little holes to go deeper in the WL, but it's a difficult situation as the gravel bits need to be dug out. I have spoken to my trimmer about it and he says it's pretty superficial, but that I (obviously) do need to keep picking out the gravel each day. And keep to a strict trimming schedule to keep everything as healthy as possible.

 

[Gloi]

It seems to be working well. I put a second layer on the worst bits, have been riding barefoot on the lanes all week and haven't had to dig out any gravel.
New stocks are meant to be coming into the UK store next week at last.

 

[bouncing_ball]

It seems to be working well. I put a second layer on the worst bits, have been riding barefoot on the lanes all week and haven't had to dig out any gravel.
New stocks are meant to be coming into the UK store next week at last.

I tried packing in keratex hoof putty this morning. Got it really warm and soft and packed in. Then coated to outer edge with talc to make it non sticky. See if any left in morning.

My horse only has a small white line separation in hind toes, but it never seems to fully trim out. I have tried hoof stuff / artimud without much joy. Same with hoof armor (but I have never tried more than one coat). Area is really to small / open to pack easily but the small bit of grit do seem to work in, then I need to disturb edges to flick it out. It's not getting worse but not really growing out either.

 

[Gloi]

Reporting back. I have been putting a layer of Hoof Armour on about every 3 weeks,with an extra bit on his wall he wears in between All his white line is now solid enough not to pick up any stones and I'm doing about 20 miles of roadwork a week without needing boots. I'm having to put a weekly roll on the edge of his hooves but apart from that have only had council trims since April.
Keeping topping up the Hoof Armour especially on the front feet seems to be really helping and the foot that used to wear badly on one side has levelled up after I have been making sure that side always has a good layer of Hoof Armour.
I'll give him a little longer then tackle some longer rides without boots, just doing about 6-7 miles roadwork at the moment.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Reporting back. I have been putting a layer of Hoof Armour on about every 3 weeks,with an extra bit on his wall he wears in between All his white line is now solid enough not to pick up any stones and I'm doing about 20 miles of roadwork a week without needing boots. I'm having to put a weekly roll on the edge of his hooves but apart from that have only had council trims since April.
Keeping topping up the Hoof Armour especially on the front feet seems to be really helping and the foot that used to wear badly on one side has levelled up after I have been making sure that side always has a good layer of Hoof Armour.
I'll give him a little longer then tackle some longer rides without boots, just doing about 6-7 miles roadwork at the moment.

I find the hoof armour helps in summer when it's dry and gravely and that's when I find little stones lodged in the white line, a little wire brush helps if you just give them a little brush the small stones come away, I do sometimes use the riders rasp file inbetween trimming but it does hurt my back so I do a bit at a time.

 

[PurBee]

Interesting to know hoof armour works well. I tried keratex before and didnt succeed - too soft. I did find shoving into the deeper gaps copper sulphate crystals really helped speed up the holes closing. Microbes were half the battle with mine, making a small gap large within a relatively short time. Will have to have hoof armour on hand.

 

[Gloi]

Interesting to know hoof armour works well. I tried keratex before and didnt succeed - too soft. I did find shoving into the deeper gaps copper sulphate crystals really helped speed up the holes closing. Microbes were half the battle with mine, making a small gap large within a relatively short time. Will have to have hoof armour on hand.

The difference is that Keratex is just a liquid that sinks in whereas the Hoof Armour leaves a thin film in the holes which keeps the gravel from digging any deeper and fills the holes in a little. I found that as the hoof grew the holes just grew out .

 

[PurBee]

The difference is that Keratex is just a liquid that sinks in whereas the Hoof Armour leaves a thin film in the holes which keeps the gravel from digging any deeper and fills the holes in a little. I found that as the hoof grew the holes just grew out .

sorry, i should have been clearer - i meant i also tried the keratex putty - it would never dry truly hard, and bits of gravel would squish into it. I kept thinking, like you, what’s harder i can use and started to think along the lines of building materials like grip-fill and fast-drying poly sealants! But the copper sulphate helped so much.

Many here mention hoof armour and ive always thought it was a paste - is it like keratex formaldehyde brush-on stuff? Does it dry hard quickly, despite being thin?

 

[Gloi]

sorry, i should have been clearer - i meant i also tried the keratex putty - it would never dry truly hard, and bits of gravel would squish into it. I kept thinking, like you, what’s harder i can use and started to think along the lines of building materials like grip-fill and fast-drying poly sealants! But the copper sulphate helped so much.

Many here mention hoof armour and ive always thought it was a paste - is it like keratex formaldehyde brush-on stuff? Does it dry hard quickly, despite being thin?

It's like a thin epoxy varnish, a lot thicker than keratex liquid more like a thin two part epoxy glue. I put it on , rub it round, then either put the hoof down on grit surface or if on concrete put some talc on it before putting down. It's touch dry in a minute or so but takes a bit to fully cure so I do it at the end of my time at the yard so it is ready for riding the next day though I'm sure it would be ready before that.
I have used Keratex putty in the past in my old pony s abscess holes but not for this, far too soft.
On my old pony when his feet were falling apart I have used ordinary epoxy at times to fill holes but it meant holding the leg up for ages.

 

[tyner]

Has anyone tried the beeswax based hoof packs? There are a few out there and affordably priced, they seem like they would fit in the holes and trap dirt/gravel from going in there. One is called Pure Nature Hoofcare and the other is Pure sole. Haven't tried/ so not an endorsement but curious about it and wanted to give it a go before ordering Hoof Armour.

 

[Gloi]

Has anyone tried the beeswax based hoof packs? There are a few out there and affordably priced, they seem like they would fit in the holes and trap dirt/gravel from going in there. One is called Pure Nature Hoofcare and the other is Pure sole. Haven't tried/ so not an endorsement but curious about it and wanted to give it a go before ordering Hoof Armour.

Would it be hard enough? I feel it might be like the keratex wax and still pick up stones.

 

[GreyDot]

I have been using Keratex hoof hardener since I last posted on this thread and have been really consistent with it. Have to say there is a marked improvement in his feet and the white line. I hack without boots and have to go on roads/gravel and stones to get on to the bridleways but his feet are definitely looking much better than before. Nothing else has changed (diet, trim schedule) so I would definitely recommend the Keratex.

 

[Fieldlife]

I have been using Keratex hoof hardener since I last posted on this thread and have been really consistent with it. Have to say there is a marked improvement in his feet and the white line. I hack without boots and have to go on roads/gravel and stones to get on to the bridleways but his feet are definitely looking much better than before. Nothing else has changed (diet, trim schedule) so I would definitely recommend the Keratex.

It contains formaldehyde which is used to preserve dead tissue. It does make feet harder, but various barefoot focused professionals advise avoiding it as it doesn’t benefit feet long term..

 

[Fieldlife]

Has anyone tried the beeswax based hoof packs? There are a few out there and affordably priced, they seem like they would fit in the holes and trap dirt/gravel from going in there. One is called Pure Nature Hoofcare and the other is Pure sole. Haven't tried/ so not an endorsement but curious about it and wanted to give it a go before ordering Hoof Armour.

I bought a wax with tea tree recommended for this purpose, sold and made by farrier. It’s too soft.