Stupid question about snow balling up in hooves...

Tiarella

Tiarella

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After looking through many pics of you all riding how do you stop it from balling up?! Or is everyone now barefoot?

Absolutely desperate to ride now and school fields have a good layer of snow and snowing again now!

Horse just has front shoes but keeps balling up, do you just ignore in the hope it will flick out? Tried the Vaseline, oil etc but nothing works.
 
It's not easy is it. I wondered about putting hoof boots on top of the shoes, but expensive if you don't often get snow.

Mine are unshod which means its no longer a problem which is great as it used to drive me mental and ruin snow hacks!
 
No and I'm really stressing :( have my first area team comp on 3rd - don't want to let anyone down! Is it a bit extreme to just move yards for 2 weeks to somewhere with an indoor :p
 
Lunged my boy tonight - it balled up a little and then flicked out once he started trotting......kept flicking out every few strides... X
 
Took my horses shoes off, no problem now! I had same problem as you though, can't really just ride through it as they are so uncomfortable. Can you take shoes off for a week or two?
 
I have been struggling with it too. I used a mixture of hoof oil and vaseline today which was more successful, she still had some little blocks forming but fell off quicker with adding the hoof oil. I had to use quite big dollops of vaseline, I don't think I had been putting enough on before, and smothered it right over the shoes not just on the soles. I found this worked well enough to do 30 mins schooling, only had to dismount once to check hooves were still clear. I wish it would just melt now :)
 
I can't really expect my farrier to come and take shoes off to put them back on again next week can I? Would he not be sore on icey hard snow? Having a crisis!

Would like vet wrap and duct tape work like a poultice?
 
Get yourself to the local supermarket and buy a big wedge of the cheapest Lard they have, pack the feet with it completely. Oldest trick in the book, cheapest remedy and only thing that has ever worked if I ever had horses with shoes.
 
Lol I know that fw, he would come and do it but is it worth it to have them back on next week espesh walking on hard snow?

Yes I might try my vet wrap idea :D if it works I could well of invented something :D
 
Ive often wondered this and have tried the vaseline with no luck.
Today I put my horse in the school for a mooch, he was on stilts despite not moving round much so I decided to put him on the lunge, just to walk about, he exploded, the stilts came out and once he settled I noticed in trot and canter (not ideal I know) he didnt get one snow ball. Friend says its because by moving round, the snow doesnt have chance to compact and freeze next to the shoes???
 
The snow here is the very powdery kind, my horse seemed to kick off a snowball every few strides when it was mud and snow layering, I have only been out in walk but its been totally fine and when she has been trotting in the field she didn't even have any that I could see. The vetwrap is a good idea though, worth a try if you're worried and maybe you could smear lard on top!
 
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