My farrier recommended a hoof hardener for when it’s wet/muddy and I was just wondering which is best: keratex or Venice turpentine. I also know some people use hoof gardeners as a maintainer a few times a week whether it’s wet or dry, is that a good thing to be doing? My one horse is barefoot and my other horse is very flat footed with shoes and is prone to bruises/abscesses.
My farrier recommends Durasole for the sole. Keratex for the wall.
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My farrier loves Farrier Barrier- every day if possible, 365 days a year. If not daily, then at least a few times a week. He prefers I not bathe my horse often, sponge as necessary. Put Farrier Barrier on right before I give a bath. My horse has crappy feet
I am not sure if I would classify it as a hoof hardener or just a hoof healthy dressing. He told me to throw away Fiebing’s. He considered it worthless.
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I’ve had great results with Farrier’s Fix.
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I kept my horse out 24/7 in western Washington and used the Keratex program with excellent results. They have both a hardener and a maintenance product
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These two products work very differently.
Keratex and Durasole are formalin products. That’s like formeldahyde. The actually change the protein structure in the outer layer of the hoof making it less prone to break or rot. Think about how formeldahyde acts on lab specimens.
Venice Turpentine is one of a number of different traditional treatments that can dry and/or harden the hoof without changing the protein structure. In my experience the thing that makes hooves harder is making them dryer so the first step in making hooves harder is changing the environment. I live in the PNW and when we go camping in the dry interior ranchland we see a huge difference in hoof hardness within 24 hours. So getting your horse out of the mud is job number one.
Since most hoof hardeners (other than the two.formalin products) don’t do very much, there’s no real harm in overusing them.
I do find that using something like strong iodine on the soles and frog in wet weather can help keep off thrush, and while thrush obviously thrives in wet, it can also make the frog and sole softer as well. So knocking back thrush helps make stronger hooves.
I’ve used both Durasole and Keratex and saw better results from the latter. The one that’s worked best for me has been Hawthorne Sole Freeze. It’s more iodine based, and I usually only have to use it 2-3 times.
It can be a YMMV type of situation though.
