painting thick bleech on horses soles?

lochpearl

lochpearl

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My farrier came out yesterday to shoe my horse that has multiple problems, one being that he has very thin soles. The farrier told me to put 'household thich bleech' on his soles and it would toughen them up.

To me this sounds absolutely horrific thus have not done what he said.

Does anyone have any experience of this? I was talking of putting keratex hoof hardner on them but was told I may aswell put gin on them as it wouldn't do anything and it was just alcohol.

Please help!!
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I have put hydrogen peroxide on horses' feet, which I guess is bleach.

Keratex is good stuff and is more than alcohol - contains fermaldehyde and amongst other things (there was a thread on here a while ago which listed its ingredients).
 
i like keratex hoof hardener, although i know some people say it makes the hooves brittle as opposed to stronger.
i'd be very wary of using bleach. hydrogen peroxide was always used for thrush (because it floods the area with oxygen, which kills the anaerobic bacteria... i hope i've got that the right way round!) but i've been told recently that it is too harsh for the frog tissues and can do a lot of harm...
what about putting cornucrescine on every day?
i am using a German hoof dressing called Hainzl Hufsalbe, which my trainer recommended - he says they all swear by it in Germany. it's available online. It contains a bit of menthol, i think, which helps stimulate new growth. too early to say whether it's working yet though.
 
thanks for your suggestions, I'm not a hundred percent sure that he wanted it used to grow the hoof, mind you I'm sure it would be beneficial as he has no heel at all!!

My previous farrier who is great (but we have logistical problems) kept saying don't put anything on them, he also said don't bother paying out for expensive additives.

I think I might just leave it for the time being and see what happens next time he is shod. Poor thing has just had surgery on both stifles so don't really want to be faffing around with him unnecessarily.
 
Hi MrsMozart, funny as I was remembering when I was a kid putting that on their feet but I didn't buy any as I couldn't remember why we did it??!! What does it actually do?
 
We were also advised this by our farrier for a racehorse on holiday with us. Feet needed hardening up, so he said just to paint the soles, not the frog.
I thought it was strange that he advised it, as we use keratex for the job most of the time, and he knows that. Guess he figured it was the right solution for the racer.
I'll stick to keratex, (don't put it on the frog) but it is expensive, so bleach is a cheaper alternative - much cheaper!!!!
 
No, not household bleach!!! If you NEED to address something like thrush then get hydrogen peroxide solution from the chemists as its at the correct dillution.

Other than that good diet is much the best way to go for improving feet.
 
I can recommend Keratex. It keeps shoes on as well as being a sole hardener but I think from what I can remember that you are meant to dilute it to put it on the sole/frog so read the instructions. People tend to think that mud pulls off shoes, whereas in fact it is the wet that makes the hoof wall soft and clenches do not hold the shoe - a bit like your finger nails going soft in the bath. Keratex resolves this problem.
 
don't worry spaniel, I wasn't going to use it, it's bad enough that I have to start giving him intramuscular injections for his stifles, so to have to put bleech on his feet is a no-no. I just really wanted to know if he was bonkers for telling me to do it, or if people actually did do it.
 
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Just noticed you are nearby to me lochpearl - I wonder if it's the same farrier?
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Funny you should say that as I thought the same!!!! Are his initials MB?
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Lochpeal... is this MB you are talking about?! If it is, although I think it sounds drastic, I would put a bet on that it would work. He is usually very good!

Maybe water it down a tad to start?! and as others have said, avoid the frog...

Good luck though... hope all is well for you and the boys? xx
 
hey ss, yes the one and only, you're one was there doing most of the work LOL!!! Poor old boy was supposed to have bute the night before he was shod to help with the pain, called farriers Tues pm, they were there without notice at 8am Wed!!! great service!!!

Boys good thanks, L can be lead out in hand now - so I guess I'll be dragged down the road with him!! and M is great!! Oh and told hubby on Tues so he knows now!! xx Hope G good x
 
I use MB as well - for years, he's been saying use bleach on my TBs feet. Well, I did a small experiment last year and bleached one (the non-kicker) and not the other and he never noticed the difference, just kept telling me to use bleach! I think it works better if your horses are stabled but mine live out and the bleach came off the minute they were turned out.
 
he did offer me some disinfectant at £25 a bottle for a litre!!! buit not really sure why i need it as the horse doesn't have thrush or any infection??!!
 
Lol! Funilly enough, he has never told me to do that!

They were with me this morning, so they have their lucky shoes on ready for Olympia!! I told them to make them lucky and apparently they have a 'Farrier Prayer!'.... never heard of this before, but lets hope it works!!

Glad they and you are all OK! xx
 
Have used bleach on mine for months and months now, farrier is MB, also a lot of my clients are now using it.

it has been brilliant on my horses feet really hardened them up, I slightly dilute it and keep it in a spray bottle and then after exercise pick their feet out and spray with bleach, I am not too careful about where it goes, it has done no harm what so ever to frogs or any other part of me or horse, soft soles from the wet weather have hardened up, he used to lose his near fore shoe all the time but has not done that now for months, highly recommend it.
 
the cheapest out of the lot and it works is eucolyptus oil! paint it all over the hoof sole and frog twice a day you will notice the difference in about 7 to 14 days and try feeding him seaweed!
 
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