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Winter Hoof Care
Derek Poupard, CJF
Winter is an ideal time to pull your horse's
shoes if the animal is not being ridden extensively. If you
live in an area with high snowfall, the horse is much less
likely to pack snow in an unshod foot than one with shoes.
Horseshoes tend to pack snow into hard snowballs and smooth
horseshoes make excellent ice-skates.
Pulling the shoes and leaving the horse barefoot will always
enhance the overall health of the feet (hoof wall will
thicken, sole depth increase, heels expand, etc.). The
improvement in the feet is due to the natural physiological
process (increased circulation, movement and expansion within
the hoof capsule) that occurs when the hoof is not restricted
by the constrictive nature of horseshoes attached with nails.
As a general rule, when shoes are pulled and intended to be
left off for a period of time, one should trim the foot
differently than when the horse is shod. For the horse to get
maximum benefit from having the shoes pulled, the feet must be
trimmed in a manner that provides the utmost protection to the
bottom of the foot so the full physiology can be restored to
the unshod hoof. When the shoes are pulled, the frog is left
untouched and no sole is removed. The heels are moved back
(lowered ) toward the widest part of the frog if possible.
Additionally, some hoof wall is left on the foot to insure
that the wall is higher than the sole, so that as the horse
walks no weight bearing is placed on the sole. The hoof wall
should be rasped at an angle from the ground surface, starting
just outside the white line. The rasp is then used to remove
the sharp edge around the perimeter of the hoof, which was
created by rasping the foot at an angle. This will create a
rounded surface to the edge to the hoof and thus, help prevent
cracks and chips. The horse should be trimmed regularly while
his shoes are off with the emphasis on keeping the edge of the
hoof rounded sufficiently. The conformation, quality of the
hoof and terrain will dictate whether all four shoes or just
the hind shoes are pulled.
If your horse needs to remain shod because it is ridden all
winter (i.e. fox hunters) and turned out daily, you may want
to add pads under the shoes when the ground freezes. Pads may
prevent sole bruises from the uneven, frozen ground. In areas
that receive snow and icy weather, additional precautions
should also be taken. A shoe with a fuller (crease) should
always be used. Added traction can be achieved by using a hard
surfacing material such as borium, or studs can be placed in
the toe and heel of the shoe. When borium is used, it should
be applied to the horseshoe as small "in-line" caulks in the
heel, not large projections. In the toe area, the borium is
melted across the entire toe of the shoe such that the
tungsten particles are exposed, again avoiding large
projections on the shoe. Borium applied as described will give
excellent traction and prevent slippage. Large mounds of
borium on the bottom of the shoe can place unnecessary strain
on the horse's joints in the limb above the foot. If studs are
used instead, there are two types available, drive-in which
stay permanently, or screw-in which can be removed or changed
to a larger or smaller stud as needed. There are also ice
nails available that have a borium bubble on the nail head
that grips the ground well. They are easy to use, as they just
replace the existing heel nails. The disadvantage is that they
tend to wear out quickly.
In areas with high snowfall, some type of snowball pad is
essential to prevent your horse from walking on "stilts" from
the snow packing in the foot. This snow can build a platform
of several inches under the foot just going for a leisurely
walk. This can be dangerous to both horse and rider. Snow will
usually be thrown out of the foot at a trot, but it still
remains dangerous. Moreover, the compressed snow can cause
subsolar bruising, especially in thin-soled horses. It is
important to be aware of this problem and to keep picking the
horse's feet out as necessary. Cooking oil sprayed on the
underside of the foot may be helpful, but it wears off
quickly. There are three popular styles of pads used to
prevent snow from packing in the bottom of the feet. Flat hard
plastic pads can be used, on which cooking oil can also be
sprayed. There is also a snow popper pad, which has a bubble
in the middle of the pad that pushes off excess snow, and an
inside rim pad (Hufgrip) that has a rim, which is higher than
the ground surface of the shoe. On impact, this rim compresses
and dislodges the snow. The rubber version of the rim pad
seems to work better than the plastic version, but doesn't
seem to hold up as well.
Horses hooves tend to grow more slowly in the winter months.
It is thought that some of the circulation is diverted from
growth to keeping the feet warm. However, this does not mean
that hooves don't need attention. The unshod feet should be
trimmed regularly (4-to-6 week intervals) and painted twice
weekly with an appropriate hoof dressing. A very useful hoof
dressing is a combination of 1 part pine tar and 3 parts cod
liver oil mixed together. The ground surface of the foot as
well as the hoof wall should be painted. A little extra care
and regular attention during the winter when your horse is
unshod will result in a stronger, healthier foot the rest of
the year. |
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