Tips for Improving Your Horses’ Hooves

Horse’s hooves are one of the most important parts of their body. No hoof means no horse. All the horse’s weight is passed to the ground through the horse’s hooves. The hooves carry a lot of static weight and have more pressure added to them dynamically when the horse moves around.

Here are some tips for keeping your horse’s feet fit and well:

1. FARRIER
   Have the horse checked and trimmed by a qualified farrier at least every 10 to 12 weeks. Horses can survive well without shoes on, but they need to be trimmed and rasped regularly. If the horse is being shod, they should have their feet checked more often eg. every 8 to 10 weeks.
2. FOOTINGS
   Ensure they are not: Standing on very hard ground all day. This can cause soreness through the feet and legs. Standing in a wet paddock all day. This can help cause all sorts of diseases of the foot including seedy toe. Pacing rapidly all day long. This will wear away their feet very quickly.
3. CLEANING
   ‘Pick-out’ horses feet at least once day to remove anything from their hooves that could cause bruising or abscesses etc. Do this particularly after working or riding, as stones etc can become lodged at these times.
4. WATCHING
   Keep an eye on the horse’s feet. Watch out for things such as: Cracks, bad smells, punctures, abscesses
5. FEED
   Don’t over feed a horse or pony to the point of grossly overweight. Over-feeding can cause foundering or “laminitis”, which can disable horses. Feed your horse “biotin” in their feed (biotin can be found in “hoof factor”). This will help the horse’s feet gain strength and also promote their growth.