Snowballs in unshod horses

[sannabelle]

Armor all, hair serum, even show sheen.... Problem I have with them is the inorganic elements...

The hoof is a surprisingly delicate mechanism the less you mess around with it the better. Any possibility of the materials passing through the hoof wall has to be considered... I have seen old timers use motor oil... I wouldn't...

Same goes with good trims and the bio-mechanics involved. Proper angle and sole contact with the ground is important for pumping blood up and out of the hoof. Mess with that and you get a lame horse.

deb

That’s kind of my thought as well- I try not to use anything on my animals that I wouldn’t be comfortable putting on my own skin!

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I'm not into using nasty stuff like motor oil etc myself. Never even treated a wound with wd-40!(ever hear that one?) But a little human hair serum or even armor all on a hoof I feel comfortable with. For the hopefully few days a year it's needed I can't imagine negative effects. Think of all the spray paint type stuff used on show horses hooves. Bet I've used gallons of it personally.

Couldn't go wrong using a hoof oil or moisturizer first to decrease absorption I guess. But everyone has their own comfort levels.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

That’s kind of my thought as well- I try not to use anything on my animals that I wouldn’t be comfortable putting on my own skin!

Mostly same here. But I do use hair serum sparingly lol. Which is basically Armor all.
Oh and so is makeup primer. Silicone. There ya go, for human facial skin.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

learned alot from my Farriers over the years....
This horse I have now has never been shod. Her hoof walls are one inch thick and she can go as long as four months without a trim... If need be..

But she sheds out her sole at eight weeks almost like clock work so that's when we scheduled her trims... Farrier loved her because of that... Less work... not that he didn't neaten up stuff. But draft horses can be labor intensive to trim because of that heavy hoof.

I hear Mules have diamond hard hooves as well...

deb

My QH filly is two and her hooves are so hard and nice they haven't ever been trimmed. Now they are getting one soon as they have a funny flare growin on one side but it's very minor. She's very self maintaining. It's lovely

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Nice to see how well they can take care of themselves sometimes.

 

[perchie.girl]

Its important to have lots of exercise for youngsters... pasture or large dry lot where they can woop it up... fall down learn to rip and snort and slide and be silly.... Having different types of surfaces would be Ideal... Hard soft wet dry rocky sandy.... gives em experience on when to take their time and go up and down hills...

Normal wear and tear goes far toward them being able to maintain their own hooves... with a little work from the farrier to keep the angle correct that will keep flares to a minimum because they will be standing on thier hoof wall....

I have had horses now fifty years... all in San Diego... Decomposed Granite is our predominate surface along with cobbles and the occasional granite slab to traverse... makes for quick wear on hooves so my horses have mostly been shod.. but with the last two horses I have had I went bare foot.

If I were to get back into carriage driving and heavier work iwth my girl I would go with Hoof Wings.... Yes they do make boots for drafts. Pricy but they are reparable and will last for a few years regular wear. http://www.hoofwings.com/index.html

They make em Mini to Draft even Mule sized... LOL.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

I got very lucky with her. She likely will never be shod. It was important to me when I bought her that she have healthy feet. I'll purchase a 4 set of boots for if we ever need to go on super rocky terrain and she gets tender but I don't expect she ever will have any trouble.

She was born and bred for ranching work out here in Idaho and the quarter horses bred to handle that sort of work are usually extremely hardy horses. They can live on anything and handle horrible weather and almost useless food because no rancher needs a pasture with a bunch of hard keepers with tender feet. She's got grit, stamina, small sturdy body, hard feet, and good mind. She's perfect for me.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Part of the reason feet were so important is I have a gelding with very poor feet and I know what a pain that is so no thanks.

 

[perchie.girl]

Part of the reason feet were so important is I have a gelding with very poor feet and I know what a pain that is so no thanks.

Yep Yep Yep... I see so many "halter' horses these days raised up with eensy feet... navicular in the making... sigh.

My back ground is originally I was trained calvelry style posting in a western saddle ride for an hour get off and walk for fifteen minutes... I got tired of being thrown. so I took dressage lessons... so many of those dressage horses are babied and only kept on level ground to the point where they freak out the first time they have to go down hill.

My trainer did it all with her big bucks dressage horse.... from swinging up bareback and a halter to riding on streets and brush popping with the rest of us. Her horses were always sane and willing to do what ever was needed...

she taught me how to drive a carriage and I was hooked.... Litterally
VBG

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

sorry to stray off topic @sannabelle ... Please keep us posted on the results of trimming....