Arena Footing Stuck in Hooves

[Periwinkle]

My horse gets arena footing stuck in his hooves to the point where he can’t walk correctly. I’ll see his hind hooves twisting when he pushes off walking through the arena footing because his hoof isn’t flush with the ground. Walking on concrete, he wobbles around on the footing mounds. They can get up to close an inch protruding from his hoof. It happens in all his hooves; he’s barefoot all around. Sometimes it collects more on the outside of his hooves, sometimes it mounds in the middle.

This only happens in the indoor arena; in the sandier/dustier outdoor arena he’s fine. Farrier said he hasn’t had a horse with this problem before, and it doesn’t seem to matter where in his trim cycle he is. Trainer suggested spraying show sheen/silicone on his hooves - tried silicone spray but he still had mounds of footing in his hooves at the end of my ride. I may have seen more footing flick out of his hooves throughout our ride, but I might have just been looking too hard for a difference. I didn’t douse the whole bottom of his hoof, so I can try again with a more thorough coating.

Anyone had this problem? Any ideas? I’d rather not spend the whole summer baking in the outdoor arena dust!

Not great photos, and not the worst it can get. It might be worse with more moisture - either raining or humid, but I haven’t been keeping careful notes. (This is in the front of the arena where the footing is packed down.)

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[JB]

The picture looks pretty common to me, when my bluestone arena is damp all the way through. I can’t imagine how that much is a problem while working in the arena.

And yes, it happens.

Can you get a picture of the bottom of the foot all cleaned out? The side-ish view makes me think the heels are a bit underrun and may be a bit contracted as a result, which slows self-cleaning. That said, even mind with wide open collateral grooves collect this type of footing when it’s wet enough.

[JBCool]

Does the problem footing have rubber/fiber/textile in it? I boarded my TB at a facility with some fancy footing additive (sorry, can’t remember what now) to make the footing bouncier & he had this problem b/c it would stick to his leather pads. We ended up shoeing him with snow pads while there.

[Periwinkle]

When I watch him walk in the arena with his footing packed in his hooves, he takes shorter steps, his whole hind leg twists as he wobbles on the packed footing, and sometimes his hind feet are actually tipped up. Dousing his hooves in silicone spray has seemed to help; he flings out footing way more often so doesn’t accumulate as much total.

He does have more of a crack between his heels than a nice wide thumbprint. I’ll try to remember to get some pictures.

Indoor has AirFoot, which is a mix of rubber and fiber, mixed into it. When it starts to get dusty inside, they put down some magnesium to absorb water from the air. I’m thinking as the composition of the footing changes, it’s gotten to the point now that it gets HARD packed into his feet - it’s much harder to pick out than whatever dirt he comes in from the field with. The sandier outdoor also has AirFoot mixed in, but I haven’t noticed any issue there or in the bluestone outdoor.

[BlueDrifter]

I’ve heard of spraying Pam or other cooking oil on hooves for snow build-up.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

@BlueDrifter

I’ve heard of spraying Pam or other cooking oil on hooves for snow build-up.

This. Works for rubber footing anyway. My horse did not have trouble walking, but I sure had trouble picking out his feet when leaving the arena, and the BO was adamant about picking out feet (to save the footing and keep the aisles clean). I tried to comply, would pick until my back was about to break. Cheated a couple of times, only did 3 feet.

[imaginique]

@JB

The picture looks pretty common to me, when my bluestone arena is damp all the way through. I can’t imagine how that much is a problem while working in the arena.

And yes, it happens.

Can you get a picture of the bottom of the foot all cleaned out? The side-ish view makes me think the heels are a bit underrun and may be a bit contracted as a result, which slows self-cleaning. That said, even mind with wide open collateral grooves collect this type of footing when it’s wet enough.

There’s a picture??? I don’t see it.

[JB]

@imaginique

There’s a picture??? I don’t see it.

New forum software, picture appears to have gone MIA

[ParadoxFarm]

@BlueDrifter

I’ve heard of spraying Pam or other cooking oil on hooves for snow build-up.

Yep, I’ve done this a time or two in certain arenas. It does help.

[SonnysMom]

I went with a friend to a clinic at an indoor with the pretty felt footing. We all had to pick out their feet on a big rubber mat as we came in and as we left. The BO mentioned the footing tended to stick more to barefoot horses. My horse had front shoes and barefoot hind and friend’s horse was barefoot all around. It really did stick more to the barefoot hooves. I was there only one day so it wasn’t an issue but I could see where it could be a problem.

[SonnysMom]

At one barn we used to use bacon grease to keep snow from balling up. This was 35 years ago. It worked pretty well.

[kashmere]

If it’s a big problem you could wear boots for riding. I use Scoots for arena work and really like them.

[Periwinkle]

Thanks for all the replies. I got excited for a few days when I rode in the indoor with no stuck footing, but alas, it didn’t last. Not sure if it has to do with humidity/moisture, or the way the arena is dragged or what, but I’ll just ride outside more - the silicone spray does help, but it’s not perfect. The few days of no stuck footing did make me realize how much it does affect how he moves. He feels almost rein lame when his feet don’t land flat in the arena and will just speed up rather than take bigger steps.

I hadn’t seen the Scoot boots, might have to look into that, but my horse is such a sensitive drama queen, it might change his way of going significantly (even if well-fitted). But I am hoping to do more trails this summer, so that might just be an excuse to get some!