Horse Hoof Health - Keep Your Horse's Hooves Healthy

One of the most important parts of horse care is hoof care. Your horse is on its hooves all the time, so if you don’t take care of your horse’s hooves your horse could develop some very serious health problems that might even result in your horse having to be euthanized. Hoof care is essential to taking care of your horse.

In order to give your horse the best hoof care possible you need to have a blacksmith come out every four to six weeks and trim your horse’s feet. If your horse wears shoes then the blacksmith will need to remove the shoes and refit them because the horse’s hooves grow constantly. Even if your horse doesn’t wear shoes it’s important to get the horse’s feet trimmed regularly. Untrimmed feet can crack and split and cause lameness.

In addition to having the blacksmith come out regularly you also need to pick your horse’s hooves out every day or every time you groom or ride your horse.

Here are some other ways that you can keep your horse’s hooves in good shape:

• Use a hoof strengthening product on the hooves when you clean them

• Make sure that the horse’s bedding is always dry and clean. Standing in wet or unclean bedding day after day can cause hoof rot or other hoof problems.

• Make sure your horse’s diet is nutritious. Just like your fingernails will be dry and crack easily if you aren’t getting the right nutrition, a horse’s hooves will be dry and likely to crack if the horse isn’t getting the right nutrition.

• Make sure that the shoe your horse wears isn’t too heavy for your horse. Wearing shoes that are too heavy can cause a lot of foot problems for horses.

In the winter, keep your horse’s hooves clean and dry. Coat the entire hoof with petroleum jelly to insulate the hoof against the cold and wet and to prevent snow from building up inside the hoof.

 Common Hoof Problems

Unfortunately, there are a lot of hoof problems that horses can develop. Here are some of the most common hoof problems that horse owners see in their horses and how to treat them.

• Hoof Bruises
• Horse Abscesses|Horse Foot Abscesses
• Horse Thrush
• Horse Laminitis