Hoof oil is cheap, but I recently read the ingredients on a dozen brands and no, I’m not paying $22 for a pint of mineral oil! In fact, no to petroleum products in general.
A plastic hoof oil can with brush can be had for $6. And sunflower oil, a bit of venice turpentine, maybe some tea tree oil? Any other ingredients you’ve tried or would recommend? Just looking for some shine for shows and maybe thrush resistance.
I can’t see oil protecting against thrush.
I use peanut oil for shows.
I really like the Kevin bacon hoof oil, but yep, you can definitely diy a good proxy. Tallow. Laurel essential oil.
I have only used Venice turpentine on hoof soles for drying, hardening, in wet conditions. I would think it rather harsh to use on the soft coronet tissue, where new hoof grows from. The oils from food products sound safe enough without salt in them as used to happen with lard being rubbed into hooves in the past.
Rub oils on, rub oils off, leaving the shine. Stuff like sawdust, plain dust, is less likely to stick to the hooves that way. No food products used on horses in locations where rats chew hooves!! That post sounds like a nightmare to live with!!
I agree with no petroleum products on hooves.
I’m thinking the venice turps and/or tea tree oil would be the ingredients that would combat thrush, but not VT realistically as it can’t go on frogs… 
When I was a kid we used to mix our own-- equal parts linseed oil and pine tar.
You should be removing the fat from your cooking. Place the fat in the fridge. I am in a hot country so we put it in the fridge.
Put in a jar that has a screw lid. It will soften here out of the fridge. You can use a used toothbrush to apply it. Do not leave out. Dogs love it. Mice love it, etc, etc, etc.
Somehow I feel like this will result in a post about “how to keep rats from chewing your horse’s hooves” …something I never thought I would see to begin with. 
I wouldn’t think the same product would be used for “shine at shows” and “thrush prevention”. If that’s the goal, I’d consider two separate products. Shine could be anything, although I never really understood the point of wet oil on a hoof and then lead them into a dusty sand arena. I would want something that would dry completely so dirt didn’t stick to it. So, I’d probably just buy a polish and use it only for that.
As for thrush - just some diluted raw apple cider vinegar might help.
Meh… who needs hoof oil anyway… all it does is harbor bacteria. If you’re looking for something to seal the hoof you would do better with Keratex and if you use Hoof Armor it’s antimicrobial. A thin coat on the hoof wall can last up to 6 weeks.
We use hoof oil to prevent sand cracks when riding in a sand arena. If you are not riding in a sand arena you don’t have to worry about it. We put it on before riding in the arena.
It is like a moisuriser, which if you use hand moisturizer, will help your own finger nails. It is good for the hoof not just for shine.
You can also boil it on the stove and add it to a bought hoof oil. We have done that as well.
I was reamed out by my farrier for putting black it on my horses hoof. It stops the hoof breathing and is bad for the hoof.
I had never heard of hooves being eaten by rodents until I read it last week on here. I have seen a mouse take off with the toothbrush.
The best hoof oil is horse oil. We don’t eat horses but we do eat beef, lamb and pork. We have a vertical grill that collects all the fat. Healthier for us and for our horses hooves. I was taught by mother, so I have used it for over half a century. My Mum is 40 years older and I don’t know what age she was taught but rode most of her life up to her 60’s.
When Dodge came here he had a crack down the hoof from the coronet and a separation all the way down the middle of the front of his front hoof. That is why he was given to us for free. Sand cracks are also from the coronet down.
We fed biotin and put on the hoof oil. The crack has closed. He is ridden with no shoes.
We don’t have stabled horses.
I put the black it on for a show. After being reamed out by my farrier I used nothing but the hoof oil. I was fine as I have never suffered from peer pressure.
I also never pulled my horses mane. I never cut his whiskers. I was told I had to do all to win.
I can tell you we won without doing all those things. I did a running plait and put on the hoof oil last thing before mounting.
On the fridge it has no smell.
Oil will not prevent cracks (in fact, regular use of oils is likely to CREATE them, not solve them). Nor will it “moisturize” the hooves - which is the last thing one wants to do to a hoof, anyway. A healthy hoof is a dry, hard hoof, not a soft, wet one.
If you live somewhere like I do with no rain in over a year riding on sand, you CANNOT skip adding moisture to their routine. Whether it’s oil or water they can stand in some. Most of the people here have rain and not sand everywhere.
Yes Australia so very hot and dry. Although Mum started off in England, but also was in the Army in Egypt, which I believe has a lot of sand also. She did mention riding over rocks in Egypt.
During a drought water is very precious. You don’t want to waste it soaking hooves. It is kept for drinking.
Now that I have read all the ingredients lists on a few dozen brands, I can say that there are actually a couple products that are oils with thrush preventing (tho not likely curing) claims. What this means to me is that if you’re applying oxygen blocking oil to a hoof you’re creating an environment MORE suitable to microbes, so your oil had BETTER have some antimicrobial ingredients.
I agree that oil doesn’t do much to moisturize a hoof but it does prevent moisture loss. Putting oil on a damp hoof is like putting lotion or oil on your damp skin after a bath. And depending on where you live that can be a good thing. For shows I have always used a sealant type hoof polish vs an oil, but I don’t know that the shine is a great deal better than oil.
At any rate, the “polished effect” plus moisture retention plus a degree of microbial defense is enough for me to want to experiment with this.
Boiling cooking fat to put on my horse’s hooves? Ugh, no! The thought makes me feel nauseated, even though my kitchen fan is a good one and vents directly outside. Also my dog would set up camp in the kitchen and I’d be tripping over him constantly.
I don’t use anything on my horse’s feet unless the vet or farrier tells me it’s necessary, or I see the beginning of thrush or something of that nature.
It is called hoof oil. It is not referring to petroleum or essential oils like eucalyptus.
It has no smell in the fridge or when putting on hooves. Digs of course have a better sense if smell than us humans. It is not a layer or anything on the hoof. It just leaves a shine. It is not a mad hatters experiment. I am sure a lot of people bring the juices to the boil to make gravy.
When I make gravy, there is definitely an aroma of meat juices cooking, caused by the small pieces of meat left in the fat and juices as they brown along with the flour or other thickener I use. In addition, I remarked that I don’t use anything on my horse’s hooves unless the vet or farrier suggests it; then I use whatever the vet or farrier tells me to.
The farrier was just out yesterday and told me that my horse’s feet are in good shape and don’t need any sort of topical dressing, oil, or moisturizer. YMMV.
I meant than when cooking lime that ir is not a horrible smell. I the fridge it has no smell.
I also said I only put it on for protection before riding in a sand arena or for shine for a competition. I don’t go out and put it on otherwise.
I think cottonseed oil is a primary ingredient in some hoof dressings.
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