[Blistering Winds]

carrie...I live in an extremely dry area myself. I have yet to do anything to my horse. His hooves are awesome...no cracking, no splitting, nice and healthy.

Good proper trims, nutrition are key to healthy feet. Not anything that goes on them really.

[carriekinz]

Thanks again everyone.

Tana is trimmed every two months. No problem with her feet till now...when the ground was moist she had picture perfect feet.

She is out on grass--rated highly by our neighbour who is a real farmer, not like us acreage farmers--full time in the summer (apart from now when we're on a weight loss mission she spents from 9 AM to 6 PM-ish in a paddock which is mostly dry but has some very short green grass, already grazed this year but hasn't grown back happily, which just keeps her busy and gives her something to nibble on). She gets no rich feed apart form from a couple--two max.--Manna Pro liquorice treats after having her feet cleaned just as a reward for being polite and occasionally one after a ride, but normally I try to make a good grooming and massage the reward for a good ride

So, I don't know. Today they look better because of the rain, I'm guessing that's why because nothing else has changed.

Carrie

[Kiwi Pony]

Trimmed every two months? Would you consider getting her trimmed more often? At least every 6 weeks, or even every month if her feet are really bad. Two months is too long between trimmings.

It might not just be the moisture that caused her feet to be better in winter - moist ground = soft ground, so there would have been less stress on her feet to cause them to crack then too.

Is she pasture trimmed or barefoot trimmed?

[Love_Angelina]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Pony

Trimmed every two months? Would you consider getting her trimmed more often? At least every 6 weeks, or even every month if her feet are really bad. Two months is too long between trimmings.

It might not just be the moisture that caused her feet to be better in winter - moist ground = soft ground, so there would have been less stress on her feet to cause them to crack then too.

Is she pasture trimmed or barefoot trimmed?

Some horses can go 2 months. My friends pony hardly gets his trimmed 'cuz he wears them down himself and they look great. I think every month is too often. My mare gets trimmed every 5-6 weeks. This time we're going 5, but she normally goes 6. It all depends on the horse really.

[Bailey-Boots]

Great Post Rick I love reading what you write !

I find the problem in the summer time with my guys is the hooves going from one extreme to another. They are either really wet (with rain) or dry. It's usually the changes in weather that causes the hooves to crack. Its a bit like licking your chapped lips in winter (anyone who has done that knows the relief for a couple of seconds but as soon as they dry out they are even worse LOL!)

This summer I have been using a couple of times a week a treatment on one of ours. She doesn't have the best quality hoof in the world so I have been using Mega-Tek. Its a very high protein treatment that is used a lot for hair cell regrowth. I don't know too much about the hoof cells but I know a bit about hair and that requires moisture and protein to keep the structure and strength. People always say that the hair and horn are similar in components, and I have read that the hoof is made up of 90% protein so I guess it must be true (I am sure Rick will correct me if I am wrong )

I would suggest one thing that you don't use is an oil based product. They make the feet nice and shiney but oil molicules will prevent any moisture getting to the hoof. Oil does prevent moisture loss, but if it's not there in the first place then that will cause more of a problem.

The company that makes the mega-Tek say it can be used on hooves and it will make them 30% stronger. I know from using it on my own hair what a difference it has made to strength.

it might be worth a go ?

[ryu2832]

Originally Posted by Blistering Winds

carrie...I live in an extremely dry area myself. I have yet to do anything to my horse. His hooves are awesome...no cracking, no splitting, nice and healthy.

Good proper trims, nutrition are key to healthy feet. Not anything that goes on them really.

I agree, I only use the lanolin when the conditions are wet to keep environmental water out, and my horses feet are getting too soft. The olive oil keeps dirt, mud, ice from packing tightly into the clefts of the frog--kind of like a non-stick coating. It's really helped with my draft, I used to need a pickaxe to get his feet picked out.

[Blistering Winds]

Originally Posted by Love_Angelina

Some horses can go 2 months. My friends pony hardly gets his trimmed 'cuz he wears them down himself and they look great. I think every month is too often. My mare gets trimmed every 5-6 weeks. This time we're going 5, but she normally goes 6. It all depends on the horse really.

At one point of life, Blister didn't need trimming for 2-3 months. He just didn't GROW. Nutritionally he was fine. He just....not sure what happened. he was a stud at the time too....so that might have had something to do with it....too much nutrition being pulled to "other" areas. LOL

But different horses grow at different speeds, at different times of their life. What I would trim at 3-4 weeks, others would trim at 6-8 weeks...others can go 10-12 weeks.

Certain times of the year, I'll go every month.....then all of a sudden, he doesn't need anything for 2-3 months. It just depends....and that is toe length and flares I base it off of, not waiting for him to chip. He just doesn't GROW as fast at certain times of the year.

[Bailey-Boots]

LOL BW - maybe I should start breeding and that would cut down on the farrier bills

we also had one shetland that I counted had 3 trims in the year as every time I pulled him in to do with the others the farrier said "naa not enough there to trim we will do him next time" poor little thing got dragged in every six weeks and then turned out again

[JBandRio]

Originally Posted by carriekinz

I meant to add that these dry hooves/unhealthy frogs are causing her to be very sensitive when we're riding. She hits a stone and limps for three or four steps. Last summer we rode barefoot on the gravel roads--because the county put down fresh gravel and I didn't know if the ditches had wire or metal pieces hidden until the county mowed in there--and she NEVER took a step wrong AND her frogs and rest of hooves looked like one of the pictures you see under photos marked "healthy barefoot hoof" I mean they were perfect, apart from a quarter crack that grew out in the winter. But the dryness is definitely affecting her badly this summer.

If anything, a dry environment should make the feet a bit tougher. If she was doing fine last year, and now isn't, my guess is it's not really the environment (assuming that is the same) but the trim has allowed something about her feet to become sensitive. Correctly trimmed heels will allow the frog to make ground contact and while the frog may feel hard to you, it should still be wide and very capable of contacting the ground. If the heels are too tall, the frog won't touch the ground, will start to get narrower, and will get a shriveled look - use it or lose it, literally. These frogs are sensitive. Feet that are wet for long periods of time are softer and will have a harder time dealing with gravel and other uneven footing.

[Blistering Winds]

Originally Posted by Bailey-Boots

LOL BW - maybe I should start breeding and that would cut down on the farrier bills

we also had one shetland that I counted had 3 trims in the year as every time I pulled him in to do with the others the farrier said "naa not enough there to trim we will do him next time" poor little thing got dragged in every six weeks and then turned out again

What sucked...calling the farrier for ONE horse.....and him saying, there isn't anything to trim. He rasped the top of the hoof, and that was that....paid 25 bucks for NOTHING.

Learned real fast when to call and when not to call. Then the little snot picked up speed for a while, trimming every 4 weeks, then 6 weeks, then 4 weeks.....Now it's evened out to around 6 weeks, though the last trim, he should have gotten done at 4 weeks.....

Weird horse.