Do-It-Yourself Hoof Care—A Guide, horseandmore.ch

Do-It-Yourself Hoof Care – Tips and Tricks for DIY

Hoof care—and specifically the care of each individual hoof—is just as important for an animal as foot care is for humans. Professional hoof care is provided either by a hoof care specialist or a farrier. While the hoof care specialist also tends to the hooves of unshod horses, the farrier is a trained professional specializing in the care of shod hooves using horseshoes or other materials. Hoof care in general includes correcting the hoof’s alignment and balancing each individual hoof using tools such as hoof knives and hoof rasps, hoof blocks, sharpening steels, or hoof angle gauges.

Unlike farriery, which requires several years of vocational training, hoof care can be practiced both professionally and as a hobby. As a horse owner, you can acquire the necessary knowledge to care for your horse’s hooves yourself—just as effectively and on a long-term basis. Attending a specialized course or workshop here and there may be helpful. You truly don’t need to be a perfect hoof podologist to care for your horse with care and love when performing hoof care yourself.

The Horse’s Hoof—A Sensitive Area in Ungulates

In all ungulates, the hoof is a thick layer of horn at the ends of the toes. In odd-toed ungulates, which include horses, this horny structure encloses the toe phalanges. As a hard material, it is formed by the hoof skin. It consists of keratinized and dead cells made of keratin, a substance produced by animals that characterizes horny tissue as such.

The horse’s hoof is predominantly made of horn and is anatomically similar to your fingernails. Hooves are not feet, but rather the ends of the toes. The front and relatively hard part of the hoof, the hoof wall, ensures a firm footing, while the rear part of the hoof is flexible and acts more as a shock absorber. This is where the frog is located. The so-called skeleton of the toe tip includes the hoof bone, the frog bone, and the lower portion of the coronary bone.

When you lift a hoof off the ground, you see the part that is in contact with the ground. This is the sole of the hoof, and directly beneath it is the corium. It is rich in nerves and therefore sensitive to pain. The outer edge is called the frog margin. A white line is visible between it and the actual sole. The resulting triangle is the frog; behind it lies the hoof pad.

The hoof’s elastic response to stresses of any kind is known as the hoof mechanism. When your horse is moving, the hooves are not rigid; rather, they yield to the movement and weight. The front pastern bone is pulled backward and downward, while at the same time the frogs are pushed apart. This causes the frog to make light contact with the ground, resulting in information about the ground conditions being transmitted to the nerve endings in the corium. Furthermore, the constant alternation between the expansion of the frogs and their subsequent contraction ensures good blood circulation in the hooves. Under high stress from vigorous movement, this process affects the overall blood circulation in the horse’s leg.

This brief overview of the anatomy of the horse’s leg and hoof is intended to highlight the importance of thorough hoof care.

Doing Hoof Care Yourself – Learning by Doing

Aside from having your horse’s hooves checked regularly by a farrier, you can confidently handle the rest of the care yourself. Ideally, you grew up around horses, or as a horse lover, you’ve read up on and acquired a lot of know-how. Hoof care is learned less through theory and more through hands-on experience—and is often literally picked up by watching your neighbor.

However, you shouldn’t wait to start hoof care until your horse is already struggling with health issues. Horses are living beings that can be just as sensitive to pain as humans. For this reason, you should never let it get to the point where you need a veterinarian.

Keep in mind: For the treatment of any hoof diseases, a veterinarian, barefoot specialist, or farrier is the appropriate professional to consult. However, the primary responsibility for hoof care rests with you as the horse owner.

Hoof Care Guide and Hoof Care Tips

The Healthy Horse Hoof

As a rule of thumb, a horse’s hooves are considered healthy if the animal can walk barefoot—that is, without horseshoes—on all surfaces without difficulty and, above all, without pain. You can recognize a healthy horse’s hoof by the following characteristics, or in other words, determine it by

Harmonious, i.e., regular shape
a prominent frog that bears weight in the rear third
straight and upright corner struts running from the heel to the center of the frog
a white line that runs evenly without disruptions, rot, or separation
Wall thickness that is uniform all around
Straight or elongated wall contours
Identical angular positioning of the toes and heels
No structural abnormalities such as forced hoof conformation

Here is a hoof care guide: The horse’s physiology is designed so that, on average, approximately 10 mm of horn is formed each month, comprising wall horn plus sole, lamellar, and frog horn.

Common Hoof Diseases

Rotten White Line

In this hoof disease, the white line—which holds the hoof wall and sole together—begins to break down in the early stages. In most cases, this is caused by fungi and bacterial infections, but is also often due to a lack of care or poor stable hygiene. Collectively, these factors lead to poor to very poor horn quality. As the white line continues to rot, treatment becomes more time-consuming and difficult. The hoof wall is subjected to increasing stress, leading to inflammation of the lamina. In the worst-case scenario, a hollow wall develops in the hoof, making it virtually impossible to fit a horseshoe.

At this stage of care, the area affected by rot must be carefully excised. Antifungal and antibacterial medications should be administered only as prescribed by a veterinarian. The affected area of the hoof must be kept clean and properly cared for.

Horn Split

This is a crack in the hoof wall that usually runs vertically. The crack can be superficial or extend deep down to the dermis. Such a deep crack often leads to dermal inflammation. Causes of a horn split include poor horn quality, poor hoof conformation, or improper shoeing. Treatment as part of hoof care depends on the size and depth of the horn split. Options include holding the split together with clips or adhesive tape. The hoof will heal on its own as the horn regrows, causing the split to close naturally. At this stage, hoof care is extremely labor-intensive. Ideally, it should be supervised by a veterinarian.

Laminitis

This is an extremely painful inflammation of the hoof corium and, after colic, the most common cause of death. This makes it all the more crucial that you do everything possible to prevent laminitis through proper hoof care. Causes range from metabolic disorders, improper feeding, or poisoning to overuse and obesity.

The inflammation causes the tissue to swell, resulting in the hoof bone sinking toward the hoof sole. This is known as hoof bone sinking, and the next stage of the disease is hoof bone rotation. Here, the hoof bone sinks even further and rotates. In the worst-case scenario—a hoof bone perforation—the hoof bone breaks through the sole. This progression of the disease can be prevented or even ruled out entirely through careful and prudent hoof care. You should seek veterinary advice at the very first signs.

Symptoms range from unmistakable to recognizable and include

excessively cautious and slow walking with flat, short strides
general signs of pain and an extremely sensitive sole
a swollen, warm coronet band and pulsation at the pastern

Thrush

This is a putrefactive process that slowly but continuously breaks down the soft hoof horn. It is caused by putrefactive bacteria, which are primarily found in a warm, moist environment and multiply in the absence of oxygen.

The telltale sign is the putrid odor of a black, slimy mass that forms in the cavities created by the decay within the frog. This causes the frog horn to soften, and in the worst-case scenario, the frog detaches completely. Rotten hoof can penetrate down to the dermis, where it can lead to painful inflammation. At this stage, the horse begins to limp.

With proper care, the development of thrush is virtually impossible. Should it occur nonetheless, you must remove—or have removed—the affected portions of the horn and ensure that bacterial growth is prevented.

This means: a clean and dry surface for the horse, as well as meticulous and regular hoof cleaning. Experience shows that medications prescribed by a veterinarian accelerate the healing process.

Hoof Care Guide—Here’s How

Exercise for Your Horse

Any movement without horseshoes stimulates your horse’s entire hoof mechanism. This, in turn, also benefits its circulatory and cardiac systems. Blood circulation promotes the transport of nutrients, keeping the hoof healthy and flexible. If your horse wears horseshoes, it’s definitely recommended that they go without them for a few months on average each year. This maintains the stability of the hooves and supports the entire hoof mechanism.

Exercise, just like proper nutrition, is an effective elixir of life for your horse. Muscles that are consistently and correctly engaged have a positive impact on the horse’s overall metabolism. They support the function of vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and digestive tract.

Note: Hoof care is not just about grooming and applying balms; it goes further to ensure the horse’s overall well-being.

Cleanliness in the Stable and Paddock

Proper animal husbandry is an essential part of balanced, animal-friendly hoof care. This means keeping the bedding in the stable dry and fresh at all times. During the cold, wet weeks of fall and winter, it’s important to prevent the horses’ hooves from becoming infected with bacteria in the pasture and paddock. Horses’ hooves are similarly sensitive and vulnerable to urine and manure.

In short: Hoof care involves both regularly removing manure from the pasture and keeping the stable hygienically clean at all times.

Daily Scraping, Inspection, and Cleaning

Part of the daily check involves cleaning out the hooves with a hoof pick and a small brush. The outer and middle frog grooves must be cleaned. Stubborn, caked-on dirt can be effectively removed with a large brush and fresh water. In any case, every hoof must be completely clean. Stones can become lodged both in the hoof and in the white line. When it comes to the heel corners, literally every stone, no matter how small, must be removed. Otherwise, there is a latent risk that subsequent stones will drive them further in; this inevitably leads to a hoof abscess.

Regular checkups by a professional hoof care specialist

More general hoof care tips include consulting a farrier, a hoof care specialist, and a veterinarian. Trimming the hooves yourself with a hoof rasp is certainly appropriate. Until you’ve mastered this technique perfectly, leave it to an experienced hoof trimmer for the sake of your horse. The recommended interval for having the farrier shoe the hooves is about every six weeks.

Even if the horseshoes are still wearable at that point, the horse’s hoof will have continued to grow during that time.

Shaping the Toe Direction

Optimal toe length is good for your horse’s tendons and joints. As the toe length increases, the horse’s ability to push off deteriorates.

Hence this hoof care tip: Only regular filing ensures trouble-free toe-off. It’s recommended to always file the toe in the same direction. Over time, each hoof develops its “own” toe direction. This rarely occurs in the center of the hoof, but rather laterally—that is, to the side of the hoof tip.

Ideally, the toe direction should resemble the tip of a sneaker, with a natural toe direction radius of 15 to 20 degrees.

Hoof Care Tips—What You Need to Keep in Mind

Hoof greases – not too much and not too little

Applying hoof grease affects moisture absorption. An excess of hoof grease accelerates unwanted drying of the hooves. The correct dosage is crucial for their care. If hooves are greased for cosmetic or aesthetic reasons—such as for a horse show—this should be limited to the outer wall of the hoof. For this reason, the hoof soles should not be greased.

Hoof Moisture – Pasture, Watering, Foot Bath

Hooves must be moistened regularly to prevent them from drying out. It’s ideal if your horse can walk through dew-covered grass early in the morning during the summer months. When your horse is stabled, you can place its hooves in buckets filled with water. Afterward, the hooves should be greased and oiled to retain—or, in other words, lock in—the moisture within the hoof. Hoof care involving hoof greases and hoof moisture goes hand in hand—one depends on the other, and one needs the other.

Follow this rule of thumb: Normal moisturizing once a week; daily for severely dried-out hooves.

Posture & Blood Circulation

Your horse’s posture and movement are directly related to hoof care. A daily ride—or, in other words, exercise—is, as they say, the best medicine for hooves and the body. The combination of appropriate exercise and species-appropriate feeding is virtually a guarantee against hoof diseases.

Do-It-Yourself Horn and Hoof Care—Choosing the Right Herbs

Another hoof care tip is to use herbs for hoof and horn care—similar to natural remedies for you. For hooves that are too dry or prone to cracking, moisture is essential. Moisturizing natural substances derived from herbs include plant mucilage from mallow leaves or marshmallow root, vegetable glycerin, aloe vera gel, or a homemade cucumber extract.

Herbs for strengthening and caring for the hoof include watercress, pumpkin seeds, and stinging nettle. Herbs that promote growth include rosemary, ginger, and juniper. The essential oils extracted from these herbs are applied to the hooves drop by drop. This natural care has an overall soothing effect and promotes blood circulation in the hooves.

Conclusion—how to keep your four-legged friend healthy and in top condition

For you as a horse lover, the bottom line is that with these hoof care tips, you’re on the safe side when it comes to your horse’s well-being. As long as your horse is healthy, you can handle all hoof care yourself with know-how and patience, experience, and a love for animals.

Ideally, you’re someone who truly understands horses, and you know your animal inside and out. The key is to recognize when your care is no longer sufficient and you need the help of a professional hoof care specialist, a farrier, or even a veterinarian.

Your horse stands on four legs—and so does healthy hoof care, which involves