Mabou is a thoroughbred, and doesn’t have the best feet, therefore I am always looking for ways to improve his hoof care routine. He has shoes on all four hooves, with pads in front. (we tried removing the pads at one point, which he HATED because he has low heels and is Mr. Sensitive)
Just curious what everyone’s hoof care routines are, and what hoof products you have found to be the most effective for your horse’s particular needs.
My hoof routine is as follows (on days that he isn’t getting bathed or hosed after a ride). I do this every time I ride, so it works out to be usually 4 days a week, sometimes more, sometimes less.
Before I ride I just pick out his feet.
After my ride I pick out his feet, and use the hoof brush to thoroughly clean both the bottom and outside of his hooves.
First, I put Farriers’ Fix Hoof Oil on the soles of his feet and frogs. It is supposed to help with a variety of hoof conditions, including sore feet, quarter cracks, laminitis, and thrush. I like that it definitely seems to strengthen the sole of his hooves and helps keep thrush at bay.
Next, I apply Keratex Hoof Gel to the outside of his hooves. Keratex Hoof Gel protects hooves from damage caused by manure, urine and excess water absorption. Since Mabou lives outside, I like that the Keratex seals his hooves, since when it rains or is wet out he is standing in the wetness.
This seems to work the best for him out of the other combos I have tried. If he gets thrush I will add thrush buster into the mix for one or two days just to aggressively treat the thrush.
What does your hoof care routine look like?
Love && Horses 
I just pick them :). I am beyond thankful that I got her young and before she ever had shoes on so she has excellent feet. I use a natural trimmer and he is godsent so her feet are always well taken care of and require almost no maintenance. I also balance her diet so she gets the correct amount of copper to zinc in the right ratio which is SUPER beneficial to good feet. So that’s it!
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You are very lucky! I am working with what is left after 10 years of racing shoes
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Shoes do so much damage to feet and racehorses get some of the worst of it. I am so sorry 😦 If you’re interested in doing more, you might want to look into California Trace. It’s a pretty well balanced mineral that has a correct copper to zinc ratio. If my trimmer’s clients don’t already balance their horse’s diet he recommends that to help strengthen the hoof.
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I will definitely look into California Trace, thank you!!
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I would suggest asking your farrier’s opinion and maybe he has some tips for you to try between farrier visits. We have about 5 different farriers in total that come to our show barn for their groups of clients. They all have different opinions but I know the 2 main farriers prefer if the clients didn’t use any hoof oil products on their horses’ feet on a regular basis because it dries them out or makes them too soft. We have two horses who are on the Farriers Formula supplement, and in combination of that in their feed and regular trimming they do just fine. (one of these horses has quite “crumbly” feet, so if she is overdue for her feet she tends to lose her front shoes).
My ottb has been off the track for a year, and I only started her new career in September after she had the rest of the time off being a horse. She had front shoes when I got her, which we have continued, and she goes barefoot behind. I noticed she had an old, now healed, crack running all the way down her back left hoof when I got her. The farrier said she likely got it from either racing or it cracked at some point after her retirement from being allowed to grow too long. He did not suggest I treat it with anything. Instead it is running its course down her hoof while it grows and is being maintained by regular trimming.
I do use Rainmaker hoof oil every other week, so only twice a month on my horse’s feet, including on the pad, heel, and frog. In the summer time during show season she gets it twice to three times as much because of the show season. The hoof oil is more for presentation than prevention in my case.
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I will definitely ask my farrier, good point!
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I honestly just pick hooves. Simon got pretty lucky in the feet department. In the summer if we are hosing down a lot I will apply mineral oil so they don’t get so saturated with water, but that’s about it.
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You did get lucky! I am hoping the longer his feet have time to rehab after being on the track that they will eventually become that way.
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i feel super fortunate that my mare has excellent feet. they occasionally get a little chippy if she’s due for a trim, but otherwise she’s got shoes up front and barefoot in back and does quite well
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Totally lucky! you also get to save money on shoeing costs that way
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Miles doesn’t have great feet, so I’m always looking for ideas. My farrier isn’t a huge proponent of supplements or oils though, so I mostly just try to keep them as clean as I can!
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