Anybody tried this? Experiences?? The good, the bad and the ugly.
Thanks so much!!
It is the truly rare horse who needs any hoof moisturizer.
Many feet would benefit from being MORE dry.
Coconut oil would be better than most products out there, which are often petroleum-based, which is one of the worst things you can apply on a regular basis.
But still, the answer is - unless there’s a medical reason that something needs to soften up a little bit, don’t do anything. Healthy feet are hard feet. They do not need moisturizers/conditioners
5 Likes
Agree with JB, plus that’s gotta be some pretty pricy hoof conditioner :eek:
Totally agree w/JB. :yes: If the hoof care provider is not rasping off all the protective outer layer of the hoof*, it should be able to maintain moisture perfectly fine on its own. I never worry about not enough moisture–I worry about too much moisture.
*I’m not talking about rasping to address flares or anything to do with the hoof’s ability to properly function. I’m talking about farriers/trimmers who rasp the whole hoof wall for aesthetic purposes, or to cover up shoddy work.
I think the coconut oil marketing board is going overboard finding things that coconut oil will work for. Lard, fish oil, would do the same, probably, if it is necessary at all.
One product just cannot do all the miracles that they say coconut oil can.
If a person lives in a hot arid climate like a lot of you do - does the frog and sole ever need moisture? You read conflicting attitudes.
I rode in Mexico and those little charro horses had the most amazing, unchipped feet with no care at all, except a rasp now and then.
2 Likes
JB had it right, IMO. Most horses need harder, dryer feet. Except in extraordinary circumstances, I don’t use a moisturizer on my horses’ hooves.
But on another side, I will say that for going into the show ring or for sales/advertising pictures, I use olive oil (or just cheapie vegie oil) rubbed into the hooves to make them shine, instead of any kind of polish. Worked well and looked pretty.
Sheila
[QUOTE=2DogsFarm;7601956]
Agree with JB, plus that’s gotta be some pretty pricy hoof conditioner :eek:[/QUOTE]
My thoughts as well. Cha-ching!
Supposedly it’s good for mudfever, wounds, skin care etc. I use it on my own skin for psoriasis.
Are you looking for something for dry, cracked feet? Can you put a bevel on with a rasp? If you’re dealing with minor surface cracks and your hoof form is good it’s no big deal. Major cracks like toe cracks or quarter cracks are usually hoof form related.
[QUOTE=Pippigirl;7602142]
My thoughts as well. Cha-ching!
Supposedly it’s good for mudfever, wounds, skin care etc. I use it on my own skin for psoriasis.
Are you looking for something for dry, cracked feet? Can you put a bevel on with a rasp? If you’re dealing with minor surface cracks and your hoof form is good it’s no big deal. Major cracks like toe cracks or quarter cracks are usually hoof form related.[/QUOTE]
PiPPiGirl…it was just a question because someone asked me. I was looking for experiences cuz there is a lot of knowledge on this board. Yes, I understand the points everyone has raised…these come up on the topic of hoof dressings as a whole. I was hoping to hear something a little more specific to the question.
No worries about toe cracks or quarter cracks…and yes I can use the rasp to bevel…my Razor Rasp is gong strong 
There would be no more benefit to using coconut oil than to using any other oil. You could use lard or olive oil and it would soak in as well. I wouldn’t spend the money on it.
I don’t dress my horse’s feet at all - he has nice, hard feet and I don’t want them softening. On occasion such as a show I might rub somthing in to make them look dressy, but otherwise, I don’t want to compromise his hoof health with dressings.
We live in Southern New Mexico. It is either 7% humidity (for 80% of the year) or we are under water - mostly in July and August. The horses’ hooves suffer. I use coconut oil on their hooves mostly to protect against the water. When the rains come, they stand in water for weeks. The rest of the year, their hooves are extremely dry. And my horses get A #1 feed and as much as they want all year long. Their coats are shiny and healthy. They get rolled corn when the nighttime temps drop below about 40 deg F. to keep them warm. Just saying that my girls are fat, happy and healthy. Their coats show it but their hooves still suffer. The coconut oil helps a TON. I also use the oil liberally in their manes and tails. Coconut oil has a pretty high burn temperature so the 104 deg sun in July only helps to bake in the oil and to condition their manes and tails. I have tried a lot of stuff over my 55 years of horse ownership. I am pretty happy with the coconut oil. To show, I have to wash the oil out of their manes and tails and I expect that. I can’t show them with greasy hair. But some Mane and Tail shampoo and a good conditioner or ShowSheen (by Absorbine) works just fine. Great results. Olive oil and peanut oil lose moisture and become sticky and gooey in the mane and tail hair. That’s my experience. Take from it what you will.
2 Likes
Here is the original post:
" [h=2]Coconut oil as a hoof moisturizer???[/h] May. 31, 2014, 06:53 AM
Anybody tried this? Experiences?? The good, the bad and the ugly.
Thanks so much!!"
No one has tried it and the responders stated why.
This post is 3 yrs old. But thanks anyways for pointing it out as I had totally forgotten why I even posted it.
All said, Queen D Ranch’s response was interesting and reminds us that we don’t all live in the same climate. And thus we have different needs.
I would take the response of someone who still believes that corn keeps their horses warm with a big ole grain of salt.
2 Likes
I had to re-read that post…
Y’all I do like farriers fix! Super amazing. I feel like it helped with some tenderness (I could just be projecting)
My horse thinks he’s a water duck, lives outside 24/7 in pasture, that has a flowing creek (flows out to the yellowstone river) and a huge cattail field? Anyways he spends 95% of his time standing in the water. It is super duper dry and humid here so I swipe some on once in a while.
I do use coconut oil on his muzzle!! When his mouth gets dry and sometimes ill rub it into his tail but I prefer that pink moisturizer stuff 
I tried it based on the advice of a farrier and it did nothing.
