I’ve got a new mare with soft soles. Farrier suggested iodine. I’ve been doing that for a week but haven’t seen a difference. Anything else that helps?
I like Keratex for toughening the hoof walls and venice turpentine for toughening the soles.
Thanks. Can I use the iodine and turpentine together? As in iodine one day and turpentine the next? (I’ve never used turpentine before)
Durasol worked wonders for my horse he was lame on everything but grass until using this, now 100% sound, he is barefoot.
farrier’s fix hoof oil for the sole (contains turpentine and 3000% less annoying to deal with) and keratex for the walls
Durasole.
Keratex is hit or miss and it is expensive. Apply Durasole daily and you’ll see a difference within a week.
I’ve done turpentine, not really a fan of it. It doesn’t seem to be super efficacious by itself, but most hoof salves or oils are a turpentine derivative. Makes me wonder if the other products in there help “bond” and deliver the goods the turpentine offers, for a lack of a more scientific word.
http://shop.farmvet.com/Horse/Hoof-Care/Elemental-Equine-Sole-Salvation-8oz
I bought that and my main complaint is that I wish the container lid had a brush rather than you having to use a separate brush, because it’s sticky and also contains DMSO. I got it because it has both iodine and venice turpentine but no formaldehyde.
I used Farrier’s Fix before but found it to be better at mild disinfecting rather than toughening. I think the new stuff is helping. I think formaldehyde products might work faster because of how it affects keratin, but I just am not a fan.
I’ve had good luck with Keratex hoof hardener. I have a TB with thin, soft, shallow, tiny feet. I still have to keep her shod, but she holds shoes very well and my farrier has remarked that her feet have hardened quite nicely since I’ve started with keratex.
Hawthorne Hoof Freeze:
http://hawthorne-products.com/shop/hoof-care/hoof-freeze/
It works so incredibly well. But the fumes will about kill you! Apply it outside!
I can’t get durasole as I’m in Canada. I’ve been to every tack shop today looking for it and was finally told its wasn’t in Canada! I can’t find anywhere online that will ship to Canada either. Also couldn’t find iodine anymore! I will use the rest of my old bottle I guess. I just bought turpentine to replace that. I’ve used keratex before and hated it.
One thing that really helps with tender soles:
Have your farrier leave the sole on instead of trimming it down!
(probably you already do this 
[QUOTE=piedmontfields;8694033]
One thing that really helps with tender soles:
Have your farrier leave the sole on instead of trimming it down!
(probably you already do this :-)[/QUOTE]
Yes I have asked my farrier to lol. Does anyone think shoes will help? Or does that just make it worse because of the nails? I’ve don’t have a lot of experience with shod horses.
You can mix iodine with Venice turpentine, my farriers personal favorite home remedy.
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[QUOTE=Horsechick200;8694174]
Yes I have asked my farrier to lol. Does anyone think shoes will help? Or does that just make it worse because of the nails? I’ve don’t have a lot of experience with shod horses.[/QUOTE]
I’m doing the barefoot route with my current horse, using Renegade boots for riding on rough surfaces.
But absolutely: yes, one of the primary functions of metal horse shoes is to lift the sole a bit off the ground, and this is why you can trot a shod horse on all kinds of gravel that a barefoot horse will often be a bit pickier about.
That said, you do need to know the reason the horse is sore. If the horse has had founder and has some permanent rotation, then shoes alone won’t be enough to make her entirely comfortable. If the horse has soft, chalky feet from wet conditions, or white line disease, or thrush, then you also need to take care of that, shoes or barefoot. And is the sole soft, or is it thin?
My farrier also told me to use iodine, to harden or dry out the soles in the winter. After using it, my impression is that it works really well to blast out any incipient thrush or stinky-foot (I’m thinking of those nasty whiffs that aren’t really full scale thrush). This might help as far as such infections cause tenderness. But I haven’t found that iodine does that much to actually harden up chalky sole caused by wet weather.
[QUOTE=Scribbler;8694650]
I’m doing the barefoot route with my current horse, using Renegade boots for riding on rough surfaces.
But absolutely: yes, one of the primary functions of metal horse shoes is to lift the sole a bit off the ground, and this is why you can trot a shod horse on all kinds of gravel that a barefoot horse will often be a bit pickier about.
That said, you do need to know the reason the horse is sore. If the horse has had founder and has some permanent rotation, then shoes alone won’t be enough to make her entirely comfortable. If the horse has soft, chalky feet from wet conditions, or white line disease, or thrush, then you also need to take care of that, shoes or barefoot. And is the sole soft, or is it thin?
My farrier also told me to use iodine, to harden or dry out the soles in the winter. After using it, my impression is that it works really well to blast out any incipient thrush or stinky-foot (I’m thinking of those nasty whiffs that aren’t really full scale thrush). This might help as far as such infections cause tenderness. But I haven’t found that iodine does that much to actually harden up chalky sole caused by wet weather.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for all of that! I’ve had this horse for 2 months and she goes lame for anywhere from 1-3 weeks after each farrier visit. So I get about 2 weeks (if I’m lucky) of riding time. I was in contact with the old owner and this was a regular occurrence. Her soles don’t look thin or soft to me but they must be at least one of those. I’m going with thin since it happenes after the farrier. I think I might get her shod and see if it helps at all.
I don’t want to pile on your farrier but if your horse is lame every time he’s trimmed then you most likely have a farrier problem. Overzealous trimming would be my guess.
[QUOTE=Texarkana;8693822]
Hawthorne Hoof Freeze:
http://hawthorne-products.com/shop/hoof-care/hoof-freeze/
It works so incredibly well. But the fumes will about kill you! Apply it outside![/QUOTE]
This! Best thing ever. Recommended to me by the vet school farrier. Yes, the fumes are noxious and will make your eyes water.
[QUOTE=neversaynever;8695178]
This! Best thing ever. Recommended to me by the vet school farrier. Yes, the fumes are noxious and will make your eyes water.[/QUOTE]
From the website, I gather that this is an analgesic. That is, it will mask pain, rather than build up stronger hooves.
[QUOTE=Horsechick200;8694670]
Thank you for all of that! I’ve had this horse for 2 months and she goes lame for anywhere from 1-3 weeks after each farrier visit. So I get about 2 weeks (if I’m lucky) of riding time. I was in contact with the old owner and this was a regular occurrence. Her soles don’t look thin or soft to me but they must be at least one of those. I’m going with thin since it happenes after the farrier. I think I might get her shod and see if it helps at all.[/QUOTE]
I don’t think you can really evaluate the thickness of the sole, without having radiographs done.
I would really want to get radiographs done to see if there is any coffin bone rotation (founder) or navicular changes going on. Founder would put the bone closer to the sole, and make her feet more tender. And both founder and navicular could be made more ouchy by a change in angles right after the trim. I also wonder if she is ever going truly sound, that is optimum for her build and gait? Perhaps she is always going a little short, it is just worse after the trim?
Shoes are expensive over time, and they do impact the hoof wall health. However, for many horses and in many situations, they are a good choice and the trade-off is well worth it. We shod our horses as teens, rode them all day on rocks and gravel, and never had any hoof or leg issues at all. But nowadays, the various hoof boots are a viable alternative, especially if you are not competing. And while they can seem expensive, they are a one-time purchase and definitely work out to being cheaper than shoes.
I would suggest trying hoof boots on this horse, and seeing if it changes how she moves. If the problem is merely sensitive soles on her front feet, the hoof boots will absolutely give enough n that your problems will be solved. If the pain is however coming from the internal structures of her feet (coffin bone rotation, navicular, etc), then you might need to investigate further.
I use and really like the Renegade boot, but it requires that the horse already have a good “barefoot” trim: toes trimmed back, heel pushed back, no wall flares. If the hoof capsule is pulling forward or there is significant sole/wall separation, the Renegade boot won’t fit correctly, and another brand of boot would be your choice.
http://www.renegadehoofboots.com/
It might also be useful to post photos of her feet here for us to see. Side and front views, at ground level, and also the sole view. Before and after a trim would be great, or even just wherever you are in the trim cycle. There might be obvious issues with the angles that people could point out.
And I assume that chronic thrush is not the problem, or you’d be on top of that already.
