Hog fuel breaks down hooves?

[OllieOxenFree]

I’ve seen a few articles describing how the acidity of hog fuel ultimately encourages bacterial growth, increases risk of infection, abscesses, and deteriorates the hoof and sole.

Have any of you seen these effects? How much time would a horse have to spend exclusively on hog fuel for that kind of deterioration to take place?

Planning to put hog fuel in a 12’x25’ area in front of horse stalls. Would like to fence it off as a sacrifice area but hesitate to do so if it means hoof issues down the line. Thoughts/experiences?

[S1969]

You’ve seen actual articles (scientific?) or someone’s blog posts? I believe hog fuel is just wood chips (we don’t use that term)?

I can imagine that if horses are standing around in wet, soggy wood chips they could have bacterial issues, but that’s the same as wet, dirty bedding, or standing in mud.

Personally I wouldn’t do it because it just sounds like a muddy mess as it decomposes; can you use stone dust or crushed gravel instead?

[TheJenners]

IME it makes the mud issue worse as it just breaks down into…more dirt.

But it was put down at every gate in a property I purchased, and they added each fall and winter when I boarded there before purchase, and I didn’t notice significant issues. I wasn’t keeping them on it though, it was at gates and extended about 10 or 20 feet into each paddock. It’s not my first choice, I would go with some sort of rock myself.

[Foxtrot_s]

Hog fuel is a PNW term for cedar bark and trimmings. Used to be used all the time for tracks, riding rings and paddocks.

It has toxic run-off and was discouraged. It is never used in shows, but actually I quite like the footage when it is fresh But it gets punched down and into the base and turns into a boggy soup the gets bigger and bigger - needing to be dug out and replaced.

Never heard about it ruining the feet, tho. But, with all the rain we get, the feet don’t dry off very well, get soft, so maybe???

[partita]

Hogsfuel was the standard for outdoor riding arenas in the PNW for years. Alot of it was hauled down from Canada as shredded/chipped leftovers from a cedar shingle mill. It did need to be replaced regularly.

I would not use it for stabling or containment areas because it does not provide a firm surface. Too squishy, particularly when saturated. That might be the cause of hooves “breaking down” moreso than the material itself. Cedar has natural insecticide/antibacterial qualities.

And, as already mentioned several times, when it mixes with the soil below it creates an even bigger mess.
I would use gravel for the containment areas.

[Scribbler]

Hog fuel is still in use in Southern BC for both riding arenas and paddocks, in an area where many farms have a high water table and may even be below sea level.

It is specifically cedar chips and bark. It can come in different textures, depending on what the mill was making.

IME, if the underlying drainage is good, an outdoor hog fuel arena can hold up for years until the footing breaks down too much into small pieces. In a paddock, if the underlying drainage is good, you keep it clean, and you top it up frequently, it works very well. At my barn, we have hog fuel by the ton delivered so that everyone can top up their paddocks as they wish.

When the hog fuel is clean and new, it drains very well and holds the horse above the damp, squishy layer. IME, horses do well on it.

Sand or gravel paddocks start out looking cleaner and drier, but if the underlying drainage isn’t good, sand or gravel can form big green slimy pools and also pack down hard.

A well-maintained hog fuel paddock is better for feet than a poorly maintained sand one.

And you can’t dump sand, gravel, or hog fuel into existing mud or standing water, without causing a mess. You need to excavate out the mud and provide some drainage.

[OllieOxenFree]

Thanks for all the responses. We have some major digging and drain building to do next year, so although gravel would be my first choice as well, we are holding off until we can do it all the right way! Hog fuel is our short term plan. Sounds like the hoof damage hasn’t been an issue for y’all.

Didn’t have any luck finding scientific articles unfortunately (or fortunately? ) Here’s one article: American Farriers Journal.

“Horsemen here have easy access to this type of bedding because we’re in a rain forest and there’s a lot of logging, so many use it. The problem with cedar shavings or chips for bedding is that it’s acidic. Many horses’ feet react to this and the hoof walls break down even more,” he says.

And as the hog fuel gets tromped into the mud, or mixed with urine and manure, it changes the pH of the ground. It becomes more acidic and the bacterial count rises.

“Thus you have much more of a problem with abscesses and more deterioration in the feet and soles just because bacteria are always eating into the cracks,” he says. “There’s more opportunity for infections to get started. In wet climates, it’s better to have raised paddocks with good drainage, and to use gravel instead of sawdust or shavings.”

The whole idea of a material creating an environment that encourages bacterial growth makes sense. Can’t find much to back up those claims though. If anyone knows of a study comparing hoof quality on hog fuel/pea gravel/crushedgravel/dirt/sand etc., let me know!!

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

It definitely holds moisture. I’m sure that could lead to bacteria.

I rode for years in a an indoor with hog fuel/sand footing. I was never riding enough to damage hooves, lol. It worked ok inside because the owner could control the moisture. It was nice not to breathe in sand dust. It was a PITA when a piece of wood got wedged in between the hoof and a part of the shoe jumping. It was also a little slippery for those doing bigger jumps. She ultimately pulled it out–it had degraded and was just a mess, and put down angular sand, but it was fine for a long time.

IDK about outside. It’s just going to mix with dirt and manure and pee and ultimately make a huge mess as it breaks down. But if you have good drainage/grading and clean up your paddocks and are willing to scrape it and start fresh as needed, I would do it if the price is right. I think like everything, it’s about the base/drainage and how you maintain it.

[NancyM]

Like the above poster, I think it is the fact that hogfuel holds a lot of moisture that is the main problem. Softer hooves are more open to infection and problems. We used it for years, many years ago, but it is not used often any more. I know people who had a LOT of it, and had PROBLEMS with it with run off problems damaging neighbour’s property/water wells. Then they had to have it removed, LOTS of it. VERY, VERY expensive, and HARD to find someone to take it, because it is so toxic and horrible. These people had law suites filed against them, they were REQUIRED by law to have it removed, due to the damage it caused to the neighbour’s property. If you are near ANY streams or water courses, THESE DAYS, do NOT use it. The run off will come back and bite you on the arse. Find another option that does not do this.

[shezabrazenmare]

[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;8895786]
Hog fuel is a PNW term for cedar bark and trimmings. Used to be used all the time for tracks, riding rings and paddocks.

It has toxic run-off and was discouraged. It is never used in shows, but actually I quite like the footage when it is fresh But it gets punched down and into the base and turns into a boggy soup the gets bigger and bigger - needing to be dug out and replaced.

Never heard about it ruining the feet, tho. But, with all the rain we get, the feet don’t dry off very well, get soft, so maybe???[/QUOTE]

I had no idea what hog fuel is. Thanks for explaining.
I’ve been in barns where cedar shavings were sprinkled upon pine shavings to repel bugs. No problems with hooves but I had one horse who was allergic to only one thing and that was cedar.

[OllieOxenFree]

[QUOTE=NancyM;8897038]
Like the above poster, I think it is the fact that hogfuel holds a lot of moisture that is the main problem. Softer hooves are more open to infection and problems. We used it for years, many years ago, but it is not used often any more. I know people who had a LOT of it, and had PROBLEMS with it with run off problems damaging neighbour’s property/water wells. Then they had to have it removed, LOTS of it. VERY, VERY expensive, and HARD to find someone to take it, because it is so toxic and horrible. These people had law suites filed against them, they were REQUIRED by law to have it removed, due to the damage it caused to the neighbour’s property. If you are near ANY streams or water courses, THESE DAYS, do NOT use it. The run off will come back and bite you on the arse. Find another option that does not do this.[/QUOTE]

Yikes. Do you know what the runoff did to the neighbor’s well? Thankfully none of our neighbors are on well water, we have tons of vegetation outside of high traffic areas, and we don’t have any open water sources nearby. Hog fuel is commonly used in this area and even recommended by our local conservation district for mud management, so the toxicity issue is pretty interesting. The only wood products they recommend not using at all are bark due to the phosphorus content, and sawdust since it decreases the soil’s ability to absorb water/increases runoff (and would be a nightmare in the pasture :D). I’ll check into disposal options! Thanks for the heads up!

[PNWjumper]

I do all of my muddy areas with hogsfuel every year. I have never seen any deterioration whatsoever in the health or consistency of my horses’ feet. If anything, foot quality improves because all of my mud goes away. Also, it is quite a nice surface (not unstable or mucky at all), if laid deeply enough. Yes, it starts to break down over time (mine usually makes it 6-9 months before we scrape it out to prep for winter again), but it keeps mine dry for the rainy months year in and year out.