Moisturising hoofs

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Overgrown Pony

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Hey guys

My farrier has suggested I buy some Effol (he said the green one) as my horses hoofs have gone really dry on the lovely new mud free ground.

I had a look on the Effol website and the main ingredient is vaseline! Would rubbing good old cheapo vaseline on them work just as well?

xx
 
I'm not 100% sure, but vaseline on it's own would provide a barrier against water, so if there is any moisture naturally on the grass it wouldn't allow the hooves to absorb it. Perhaps effol contains vaseline plus added stuff which the hoof can absorb.

Effol isn't expensive, probably about the same as vaseline.

One thing i do this time of year, is wet the hooves from either a bucket of water or a hose, let the water absorb for a bit then put on the hoof treatment
 
My farrier recommended Kevin Bacon Hoof stuff. It has the consistency of butter. It has worked well on my mares hooves.
 
I'm in the camp who believe that putting anything but water on the hooves can interfere with the natural moisture gradient of the hoof wall. If your hooves are looking cracked and 'dry' it is more likely due to poor quality hoof wall caused by diet.

So, too much sugar and/or starch in the diet; insufficient, or imbalanced minerals; or a combination of the two.
 
I use the Kevin Bacon stuff too, it works wonders - it's mostly animal fat so I guess I could buy lard and try and paint that on but for a couple of £s it's worth something that comes in a sensible pot!
 
I swear by the Kevin bacon stuff - but as price is an issue here effol is a good place to start. I used to use effol but now use Kevin bacons stuff
 
The only thing I recommended in 35 years of shoeing was a wire brush and spring water.
The reason being that if you put any preparation on the foot it will block the periople up thus stopping the very thing you are trying to achieve that is allowing moister to get to the foot.
If you bed on water absorbing materiel then it is necessary to lightly water the bedding this will stop the feet drying-up in the stable.
A healthy foot will not dry out any more than it should, thus a healthy foot will not have cracks.
Remember if a foot is cracked from the nail down on the shod horse then it is the nail that is causing the problem.
If a barefoot is cracked then there is stress on horn that should not be there.
 
Cheers for your replies.

I wrote a reply on my Kindle but it seems to have disappeared :s The gyst of it was:

It was my farrier that recommended the "green, not black, Effol". My horses feet have always been fine but this shoeing he's asked me to start applying it 3 times a week as the change in ground conditions has dried his feet out a bit. He said that he's seeing it quite alot at the moment.

So basically whatever my horse NEEDS he gets, but I obviously don't like to spend unneccessary money (i'm sure the majority of you are the same).

So what's the best tried and tested moisturiser that's clean and easy to apply? Paint on with a brush in the lid would be ideal.

I looked at Kevin Bacon and there seems to be so many different types.
 
Overgrown Pony said:
Cheers for your replies.

I wrote a reply on my Kindle but it seems to have disappeared :s The gyst of it was:

It was my farrier that recommended the "green, not black, Effol". My horses feet have always been fine but this shoeing he's asked me to start applying it 3 times a week as the change in ground conditions has dried his feet out a bit. He said that he's seeing it quite alot at the moment.

So basically whatever my horse NEEDS he gets, but I obviously don't like to spend unneccessary money (i'm sure the majority of you are the same).

So what's the best tried and tested moisturiser that's clean and easy to apply? Paint on with a brush in the lid would be ideal.

I looked at Kevin Bacon and there seems to be so many different types.
Click to expand...

Plain water.

Heelfirst knows what he's talking about ;).
 
Heelfirst said:
The only thing I recommended in 35 years of shoeing was a wire brush and spring water.
The reason being that if you put any preparation on the foot it will block the periople up thus stopping the very thing you are trying to achieve that is allowing moister to get to the foot.
If you bed on water absorbing materiel then it is necessary to lightly water the bedding this will stop the feet drying-up in the stable.
A healthy foot will not dry out any more than it should, thus a healthy foot will not have cracks.
Remember if a foot is cracked from the nail down on the shod horse then it is the nail that is causing the problem.
If a barefoot is cracked then there is stress on horn that should not be there.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^^^
this
 
Overgrown Pony said:
So basically whatever my horse NEEDS he gets, but I obviously don't like to spend unneccessary money (i'm sure the majority of you are the same).

So what's the best tried and tested moisturiser that's clean and easy to apply? Paint on with a brush in the lid would be ideal.
Click to expand...

Water. It is cheap, easy to apply and what horses are designed to have on their feet not chemcals. Do you not have a stream you could ride through or a hosepipe?
 
Overgrown Pony said:
Cheers for your replies.

I wrote a reply on my Kindle but it seems to have disappeared :s The gyst of it was:

It was my farrier that recommended the "green, not black, Effol". My horses feet have always been fine but this shoeing he's asked me to start applying it 3 times a week as the change in ground conditions has dried his feet out a bit. He said that he's seeing it quite alot at the moment.

So basically whatever my horse NEEDS he gets, but I obviously don't like to spend unneccessary money (i'm sure the majority of you are the same).

So what's the best tried and tested moisturiser that's clean and easy to apply? Paint on with a brush in the lid would be ideal.

I looked at Kevin Bacon and there seems to be so many different types.
Click to expand...


I like and use both effol green and Kevin bacon (the tub), my farriers tip is to hose the hooves off and then apply the hoof grease... Essentially locking in the moisture. Hose off the hooves daily... Giving them a nice soak and use the hoof oil a few times a week.
 
Cheers guys.

I'll go with hosing his feet we'll every day until the farriers next visit and if he still thinks they're a tad dry I'l go with Kevin Bacon.
 
Well you're wasting your money anyway because as soon as they go out it is wi[ped poff on ground and grass - and it can create a hazard on concrete for you and your horse.

Leave the tubs on the tack room shelf - feed a proper hoof friendly diet and allow the hooves to get wet somehow (avoiding the light white shavings is a good idea)
 
I use kevin Bacon - my money to waste and I can see a difference, but rather than hose pipe I've seen people over flow their water trough so every time the horse has a drink he stands in muddy water for a minute or two- easy to do and means he gets regular water applied.
 
I seem to remember reading some research done in the US about how water affects the horn. It said, if I remember correctly, that long term submersion in water weakens the horn. Might explain why so many hoofs are looking a bit dried out and cracked at the moment seeing the awful wet year we've had. Can't see how applying anything to the hoof makes much difference because like human skin their health is more influenced by diet than anything one applies externally.
my share hoss has Kevin bacon stuff applied and it does make the hoof look a bit better but I really don't know if it actually does anything other than improve the outward appearance.
 
Water them daily for a week and see the difference.

Other than that, just plain Aquaeous cream applied infrequently will do the job, if you apply anything with an oil or grease base it just dries the hoof out so you have to apply more as the grease stops any moisture getting to the hoof. Simple test to prove this is swipe some baby oil or even hoof oil down your arm then put it under a tap, your arm stays dry as the water runs off the oil..........

I don't actually put anything at all on my ponies feet and haven't done for many years, all barefoot, all shown to a high standard, no cracks or splits, just general tiny chipping if they've worked on a rough old surface. They have a very healthy diet with all the right minerals and hey presto they grow lush tootsies.
 
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