Understanding Hoof Moisture & Maintenance.  

You won’t be surprised to hear me tell you that the hoof is a complex collection of anatomical structures that undergo a tremendous amount of concussion and force on every stride. I won’t bore you with stratum this and inter-tubular horn that or even moment arms and force vectors. What I am keen to help you understand is that your role in maintaining these wonderful structures is not a passive one, as farriers we trim, shoe, maintain and manage the hoof, but we only see your horse every six weeks. You see them every day. Your involvement in Høøf maintenance is actually greater than mine. So, below are some tips to better understanding the role you can play and giving you a game plan to devise your own routine that best suits you. Remember 

‘No foot, No horse’  

Understanding the problems. 

The hoof can cope with these forces acting on very well if it is maintained, think of your car engine, it needs maintenance or it will eventually breakdown, the hoof is no different. The UK brings a particular set of problems that horses in other countries are not subjected to. 

Yes, I am talking about the weather. Hooves can cope with wet weather quite well, they can cope with dry weather quite well, what hooves can’t cope with is wet dry wet dry cycles. Hooves like consistency. You may already be spotting the problem here in the UK.

These vast and fast changes in temperature and moisture levels are the main problem we face and the real kicker is that by the time a crack becomes visible, the stresses and changes that caused it to have often been developing for weeks. If I take all the anatomy out of it and what’s happening at that level and just say that maintaining a consistent balance in the hoof can pay dividends to long term health and less problems such as lameness and lost shoes. This is where you come in, by acting proactively and consistently you can be the deciding factor in how your horses’ feet cope and function, and here is the good news, it doesn’t have to cost very much at all. 

Some guidance on a good care strategy 

OK so I have already touched on the consistency thing, but I want that to be your guide when deciding on what to do and when. 

Summer 

When the weather gets above around 13 degrees C and there hasn’t been any rain, this is your time to start applying extra moisture to the hoof wall, coronary band, and the sole and frog.

 A good water-based moisturiser is excellent for this, or alternatively a big sponge and a bucket of water, load the sponge with water and press into the coronary band all the way around, allow the water to run down the hoof wall, same with the sole and frog. Do these a good 10 times as often as possible. You’re not trying to prevent it drying out, that’s impossible, you’re just trying to slow down the rate at which they dry out so you can avoid the massive swings in moisture content, remember consistency. 

Obviously the hotter it gets, the more you need to invest the time in those hooves. AVIOD submerging your horses’ feet in a bucket of water, this will create more problems than it solves. The water will expand the white line and create internal pressure than can cause splits at the bottom from the inside out. By starting this early enough (13 degrees and no rain) you will keep those feet far more flexible and give them time to adjust to the summer heat. 

Winter

In winter it’s the opposite, from autumn time when the rain sets in and the temperature drops, switch to a hoof treatment like a hoof butter that has an element of water resistance, many products contain a water repelling element. 

The advantages of a butter over a cream or oil is that it sticks to the hoof better in the mud, as a general rule, if the hoof butter is hard to get out the tub and hard to apply then it’s hard for the mud to get it off too, this again will slow down the rate the hoof takes on excessive moisture and slow the curve down much like the summer one but in reverse. 

So, I hope you can see that it doesn’t have to be complicated, you just need to appreciate the basic principles and act accordingly. 

Predict, act and be consistent. 

Your work in this area can prevent many hoof problems from happening, your farrier can only try to fix problems, you have the power to at least try to prevent them, prevention is always better than the cure.

Take Home Message

Healthy hooves are not usually the result of reacting to problems, they are the result of preventing them in the first place.

The key is understanding how the seasons affect hoof moisture and adjusting your management before problems begin to appear. By the time cracks, lost shoes and other visible signs develop, the process causing them may already have been underway for weeks.

You do not need a complicated routine. You need a consistent one.

Learn to anticipate the changes in weather, act early and remain consistent in your approach.

Predict, act and be consistent.