Dry weather = cement-hard ground = bad feet. Help?

[sophie]

We’ve been in a drought here in Northern New England and the biting flies make horses pound the cement-hard ground non stop.
My mare has good feet but this year, they are chipped and cracked. Not to mention, all that pounding can’t be good for her joints! But that is another issue…

Anyway, just to make ME feel better I guess, I have been using RainMaker on her feet. Not sure whether it is doing more harm than good, tho…

I am calling my farrier ASAP to see what can be done.

Anyone has this problem these days?

[knic13]

I keep Shoo fly leggins on my thin soled tb all summer to prevent him from stomping and getting sore. I haven’t had any inssues with them slipping down or causing rubs.

[IPEsq]

Every summer in the west! It would be better to use a turpentine/iodine dressing if you are going to do anything. I would not use any product that is supposed to make the feet moist. You want them hard to deal with the hard ground. Summer bathing is the worst thing for feet here when it’s dry fly stomping season. It may also help to have her trimmed more frequently or learn to control the cracks yourself.

[2miniB]

I’m in Northern New England too, and my horses’ feet are just fine. They’re all barefoot and are on a 4-6 week trim cycle. I have a fly sheet and fly boots on my old mare 24/7, plus I put fly spray on her every day. She’s the only stomper out of the group, and this keeps things to a minimum. My other 2 have no problems at all. In fact one has the best hooves she’s ever had.

If everything is spot on with her diet and farrier, I’d get her a fly sheet and boots. Hard dry feet are healthy feet. If she’s in a dry lot, you could add more footing. Or turn her out on pasture sometimes. The pastures here are pretty soft, but the dry lot my horses live in isn’t.

The only hoof dressing I’ve ever used is venice turpentine on a thin soled hooves. IMO, most hoof dressings are worthless.

[FrittSkritt]

Our footing has been wicked hard this summer (as it is most summers)… here’s what I normally do: Durasole on their soles every day (taper to every other day and then less as sole thickens). Also pack feet with Magic Cushion after riding on hard ground. :yes:

The hoof wall problem is a little harder to tackle because we get these combination super wet - super dry periods, so the hoof wall is constantly expanding and contracting.

[FalseImpression]

My clyde x mare has terrible feet this summer. It has never happened like that before. I can’t be there every day and she is out 24/7 from May to end of October. Trimmed every 6 weeks… still I have used nippers too often this summer to trim what sticks out.
If we have a rain, she stands in the mud hole all day!! lol
I can’t wait for Fall!

[JB]

Yes it can definitely be hard on feet, whether bare or shod.

I would not be using Rainmaker or anything else that softens feet. That’s the worst thing to have with hard ground. Feet need to be hard, and if the ground is hard, they especially need to be hard.

It helps bare feet to have more frequent touch-ups to re-roll the outer walls, as that’s usually what starts chipping and cracking first with all the stomping. It’s easy for owners to do, have your farrier/trimmer show you how. Touching that up weekly or so takes very little time but has huge benefits.

Good fly spray on the legs is a must. Every day. Sometimes twice a day.

[Chestnut_Mare1]

Horses’ feet adjust amazingly well to the different surfaces they live on. We had a very dry summer as well and my girl’s feet got rock hard just like the ground she was living on. They did not look pretty but they adjusted as they should. Now that we have had rain, her feet have completely changed to “match” the wetter conditions.

[Chief2]

We have had this problem. We went to shoes and pads on the fronts, Tuff Stuff on the lower hoof walls on the unshod back feet three times a week, and switched to Bioflax 20 hoof supplement. Feet are no longer sore, the hoof walls are excellent. Problem gone.

[CFFarm]

Be careful what you wish for. Wet is harder to deal with than dry.:no:

[Texarkana]

I use Kensington Fly Boots to prevent a lot of the chipping and cracking that happens from stomping in the summer. They help tons!

[sophie]

Yeah, fly boots might be in order…
I have used Tuff Stuff in the past with great results, to toughen up the sole. I might try that on the walls.
Horse already wears pads with shoes in front, regular shoes in back. Since she is not bare foot there is not much I can do when the walls start chipping and cracking… I am still waiting for farrier to get back to me.
Thanks everyone for your input!

[FalseImpression]

My fellow boarder keeps two retired horses at the barn I board, and one show mare at another barn. That mare has shoes all around and this year has managed to develop a huge crack on a hind foot. She says it is ugly.
The ground is so hard… I am really hoping for some rain…soon.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Chestnut_Mare;8842454]
Horses’ feet adjust amazingly well to the different surfaces they live on. We had a very dry summer as well and my girl’s feet got rock hard just like the ground she was living on. They did not look pretty but they adjusted as they should. Now that we have had rain, her feet have completely changed to “match” the wetter conditions.[/QUOTE]

I’m not sure hoof changes based on the surface, but is just a reflection of the moisture available on the ground/in the air…for good or bad.

In in NY and we’re in a severe drought with hard clay. My TB mare’s feet are thin and more brittle to begin with, so we always worry in August when the ground is hard. Fly boots have made a huge difference.

My farrier recommends Keratex for hardening, and it does help. But I think the fly boots help more, and of course keeping the trim cycle on schedule.