Has anyone tried this in its most recent formulation? I need something to help protect my horse’s hooves. He lives in a massive pasture, over 20 acres and his feet were doing great for a while but now we are dealing with excessive cracking/chipping and he is ouchy if I ride him over gravel (it’s not nice smooth gravel but pointy, hard, unforgiving stuff). I’m going to start him on a good hoof supplement to hopefully help with upcoming growth and invest in hoof boots for riding outside the arena. But for general protection Hoof Armor looks amazing! I heard mixed reviews about past formulations but it looks like they’ve worked out the kinks? He will NOT keep shoes on (or anything else for that matter) so I’m hoping this route will work…
There is no magical product that protects feet like a shoe without being a shoe except boots. I’ve never used hoof armor but it’s unlikely to be good enough to make an ouchy horse sound over gravel, no matter how good it is. It’s possible that it might help reduce some chipping/cracking between farrier visits.
Why can’t your horse keep shoes on? (Usually that’s a farrier problem.
Some horses have great feet, others don’t. Nutrition usually helps a lot, though. There are some really good nutrition experts on COTH, maybe they can chime in on diet/supplements too.
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I ordered some and it will be here next week. According to my new farrier its really good stuff, but wears quick. He said it last about 2 weeks depending on how abrasive the surfaces are, and great for a limited use. It works better for me just to add shoes and save the Hoof Armor for in case of a lost shoe.
I completely understand! To clarify, I don’t expect this product to work like a shoe. But because he lives in such a large area and is putting some wear and tear on his hooves, I’m hoping using this in combination with more frequent trims (going from 6 week to 4 week) will help protect his hooves from excessive wear and chipping in the pasture. I’ll also be adding in a hoof supplement to invest in future hoof growth and purchasing boots for when we do ride over gravel.
As as for why he won’t keep shoes on, I’m not sure, he’s just kind of a wild child and finds a way to remove anything I put on him. Once I didn’t see him for 3 days and he managed to remove his fly sheet (neck included!), braid-in tail bag, one shoe, and a baker’s dozen braids I’d put in his mane.
Honestly 2 weeks is ok with me. Not as impressive as the manufacturer’s 6 wk claim,but I can make time every 2 weeks if need be. He lives on a20+ acre chunk of the ND prairie so pasture is all grasses of varying heights and some dirt. No abrasive rock or gravel out there.
If he is chipping his feet on grass and dirt sounds like they are too long either not trimmed enough or frequently enough.
This is a new product to me and looks interesting. One thing I’d wonder about though is what’s happening in the sole painted over with epoxy. Thrush likes an airless environment.
