used motor oil for treating quarter cracks?

[Appsolute]

[QUOTE=SwampYankee;6293869]
As an aside, don’t EVER waste your money on dietary supplements for “feet.” The two most starved rescue horses who ever walked on my place, literally racks of bones, ALSO had the best feet (and still do!) that I’ve ever seen. Poor feet are genetic, and exacerbated exponentially by poor farriers.
They can be cured by Barefoot Trimming methods if your situtation will allow it. But it isn’t dietary. Trust me! :D[/QUOTE]

Hoof quality is indeed tied to nutrition. Put my horse out on rich grass all spring and her feet will turn to hell. She will get thrush, yeast infections, white line separation, and cracks. If copper is not supplemented in her diet (perhaps the grasses and hay around here are low), her hoof quality deteriorates.

Yes, a supplement will not make a horse with genetically poor feet grow great ones. But deficiencies or imbalances WILL affect hoof quality, and those deficiencies and imbalances can be addressed by supplements and feed management.

[deltawave]

Crappy feet can certainly be genetic (so can good ones!) but not providing for the possibility that nutrition may play a role seems even more nihilistic than I, the ultimate nihilist, would consider rational.

But “adequate nutrition” certainly does not mandate 6 wells of SmartPaks per horse. :lol:

[ljcfoh]

Well, I am not even that old, but do remember some folks using used motor oil as hoof paint. I guess it was better than dumping it behind the barn.

But a quarter crack is the result of an imbalance in trimming not poor foot quality – genetic or otherwise so no amount of any petroleum product can fix that!

[lilitiger2]

[QUOTE=Appsolute;6293961]
Yes, a supplement will not make a horse with genetically poor feet grow great ones. But deficiencies or imbalances WILL affect hoof quality, and those deficiencies and imbalances can be addressed by supplements and feed management.[/QUOTE]

Sure, good groceries are ALWAYS helpful! And its an interesting question, but on the genetic aspect, out here, ranch horses are turned out barefoot on winter range, with no supplements or feed management and their (usually) tough feet seem to do just fine. On the other hand, my paint, who has been pampered and supplemented, and has had corrective shoeing when needed, and NOT turned out on any winter range, has crappy feet. I have two that have tough, will bend nails feet, one with heel problems that need to be chronically managed, and my paint. As I said, I totally agree that good quality feed (and attendion to it, NOT turning out on fresh green grass, etc.) is important, and obviously environment and injury, but think the genetics are pretty powerful.

[jaimebaker]

[QUOTE=Appsolute;6293932]
:eek::eek::eek:

I would never in a million years put used motor oil on a living animal! I am mean seriously! Consider what it is made out of. Why would it be beneficial in any way. I am sure it could only be harmful.

I am dumbfounded that any one would think it is a good idea… what is the reasoning behind this thinking?[/QUOTE]

Oh good grief with the drama. Do you know how many horses probably had used motor oil put on their feet back in the day? I’m willing to bet it didn’t kill any of them or make their hooves fall off.

[DownYonder]

[QUOTE=ljcfoh;6293993]
But a quarter crack is the result of an imbalance in trimming not poor foot quality – genetic or otherwise so no amount of any petroleum product can fix that! :)[/QUOTE]

So what about a horse that has had about a half dozen different farriers over the past 4-5 years - and NONE of them have been able to resolve the chronic quarter cracks?

[ljcfoh]

[QUOTE=DownYonder;6294123]
So what about a horse that has had about a half dozen different farriers over the past 4-5 years - and NONE of them have been able to resolve the chronic quarter cracks?[/QUOTE]

If you have a farrier who can do it, you will actually see the crack relieve itself when they put the foot back down. You are correct, they are very hard to find. In all my years, I have known two and the second was trained by the first. I saw numerous horses that had lived for years with sewn up, patched up, filled in quarter cracks that were fixed permanently – with regular shoes. And if I ever had a horse that had one, he’s the only guy I’d call.

[ljcfoh]

[QUOTE=jaimebaker;6294084]
Oh good grief with the drama. Do you know how many horses probably had used motor oil put on their feet back in the day? I’m willing to bet it didn’t kill any of them or make their hooves fall off.[/QUOTE]

No kidding…what do they think is in hoof oil anyway? While it might not be used, it’s certainly not so yummy

[My_Two_Cents]

[QUOTE=Appsolute;6293932]
:eek::eek::eek:

I would never in a million years put used motor oil on a living animal! I am mean seriously! Consider what it is made out of. Why would it be beneficial in any way. I am sure it could only be harmful.

I am dumbfounded that any one would think it is a good idea… what is the reasoning behind this thinking?[/QUOTE]

Here is a partial list of petroleum products that are used everyday.

http://www.ranken-energy.com/Products%20from%20Petroleum.htm

I’m willing to bet there are many horse related products that are made from petroleum. Difference is that they are packaged nice instead of taken from the catch pan under the truck.

I believe there are a lot of fly sprays that are petroleum based. Should we make a list?

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=DownYonder;6294123]
So what about a horse that has had about a half dozen different farriers over the past 4-5 years - and NONE of them have been able to resolve the chronic quarter cracks?[/QUOTE]

Two possibilities here (at a minimum):

The owner hasn’t got a clue and hasn’t found even one good farrier (even though they’ve tried six).

The horse has crappy feet, will always have crappy feet, and is a candidate for the sorts of things that happen to horses with crappy feet.

Maybe there are others, too.

A good horse begins in the breeding barn. If somebody buys a horse that got a bad start in life with crummy DNA and crappy feet then they have to acknowledge that they bought a problem and then decide what to do about it.

As to the initial question and the notes of lots of petroleum products in our life I’d fully agree. But there’s an ocean of difference between smearing used motor oil on a horse and using prepared petroleum jelly from jar. If anyone has problems understanding the difference then…well, it’s probably not worth my time to discuss them.

G.

[DownYonder]

Too funny, G.

FWIW, horse has been in training in Germany and in U.S. with very good, very experienced trainers (one in Germany is pretty much a household name, esp. with young horses). So none of those 4-5 different trainers had a clue either, right? :lol:

Horse has a very top notch pedigree - VERY highly regarded Grand Prix dressage sire, excellent damsire, and super bottom line. LOTS of international dressage horses and even some international jumpers in this horse’s family tree. But I guess he still got crappy DNA from his crappy breeding…

[deltawave]

Ah, now there’s an interesting thing . . . the best trainer in the world equates to superb knowledge of farriery . . . how?

And the best pedigree in the world for Grand Prix dressage movement correlates to excellent hoof quality . . . how?

Crappy feet from crappy DNA for feet has bupkis to do with wonderful DNA for wonderful gaits. Think about all those blue-blooded grade I stakes Thoroughbreds with God-awful feet. Excellence in one genetic sphere does not necessarily dictate excellence in another. And impressive credentials in the saddle for a rider does not necessarily mean the on-the-ground know-how to also qualify an elite rider as a superb and well-rounded horse management guru. It can, but it doesn’t always.

[VaqueroToro]

I’d be more inclined to use Vaseline or a generic knock off of it over motor oil for a hoof conditioner. Even Bag Balm would be a good choice. I believe the idea is to seal in the hoof moisture (or seal out any excess moisture) without damaging the keratin of the hoof wall.

The process of heating motor oil up in a car engine time after time, plus all of the other stuff it collects as it gets pumped in and out of the pan would make it less “pure,” more likely to contain funky junk and metal dust, and well, personally I’d rather rub some Bag Balm into my hands than used motor oil even it was a magic cure-all.

But whether or not you can cure quarter cracks by putting stuff on the hoof is a different matter entirely – usually they’re caused by more structural hoof issues than lacking anything in diet and/or hoof ointment.

[atr]

Are quarter cracks that common?

I’ve been around horses for the best part of 50 years and have seen my first two QCs only in the last couple of months.

One is a rather obvious farriery issue and is finally growing out with correct trimming and shoeing (and this horse was being shod by “the best” prior to moving here), and the other one is a horse that has been through a rough time, was as thin as a rake when he arrived at the barn, and has the most godawful feet I’ve ever seen. Seriously, I’m suprised he’s even remotely sound. It’ll be interesting to see how they improve with proper nutrition and decent trimming.

As far as supplements go, I often think that the reason why they work is because their use means that the horse owner is taking notice of what’s going on… They aren’t going to cure poor DNA for sure!

[caballus]

Quarter cracks originate from poor hoof form. Barefoot or shod. Doesn’t matter. If the hooves are not trimmed correctly then they will suffer in one way or another from that. If the hooves are trimmed correctly and kept in good form then good function will follow and new hoof growth will come in just fine. The crack will grow out.

[Frizzle]

[QUOTE=caballus;6294319]
Quarter cracks originate from poor hoof form. Barefoot or shod. Doesn’t matter. If the hooves are not trimmed correctly then they will suffer in one way or another from that. If the hooves are trimmed correctly and kept in good form then good function will follow and new hoof growth will come in just fine. The crack will grow out.[/QUOTE]

YES! :yes:

A proper trim and good nutrition are 99% of the equation.

[DownYonder]

[QUOTE=deltawave;6294270]
Ah, now there’s an interesting thing . . . the best trainer in the world equates to superb knowledge of farriery . . . how?

And the best pedigree in the world for Grand Prix dressage movement correlates to excellent hoof quality . . . how?

Crappy feet from crappy DNA for feet has bupkis to do with wonderful DNA for wonderful gaits. Think about all those blue-blooded grade I stakes Thoroughbreds with God-awful feet. Excellence in one genetic sphere does not necessarily dictate excellence in another. And impressive credentials in the saddle for a rider does not necessarily mean the on-the-ground know-how to also qualify an elite rider as a superb and well-rounded horse management guru. It can, but it doesn’t always.[/QUOTE]

You really have the most marvelous knack for twisting things around. :lol:

In case you missed it - I mentioned trainers because of G’s comment about the owner not having a clue. And I just wanted to point out that, apparently, neither did any of the horses trainers, since none of them or their farriers have been able to resolve the horse’s quarter cracks.

As for pedigrees - nope, never said anything about “DNA for wonderful gaits”. However, horses with crappy feet usually don’t say sound long enough to still be successful at international GP dressage and show jumping well into their teens. So I imagine those horse must have had fairly good feet. And possessed the DNA for good feet.

[deltawave]

I got what you were saying. Was using a bit of hyperbole (as I often do) to illustrate my point.

[Appsolute]

[QUOTE=My Two Cents;6294160]
Here is a partial list of petroleum products that are used everyday.

http://www.ranken-energy.com/Products%20from%20Petroleum.htm

I’m willing to bet there are many horse related products that are made from petroleum. Difference is that they are packaged nice instead of taken from the catch pan under the truck.

I believe there are a lot of fly sprays that are petroleum based. Should we make a list?[/QUOTE]

Perhaps, but I have never been in a barn that used motor oil on horse. I have heard horror stories from other parts of the country when people thought it was a great idea to put motor oil on their animals skin.

I understand that things like Glycerin are a product of petroleum, but I do not think that glycerin and used oil should be applied to a horse or human in the same manner.

We always used fish oil on the feet before stepping into the show ring. Stunk a bit, never knew any one used motor oil on horses. Daily hoof dressings were never used, always been taught to just let the hoof breathe instead.

I do not put every petroleum derived product in the same category as used motor oil. Sure, I would toss a polypropylene fly sheet over my horse…. But I would not pour used motor oil on its skin.

I still do not understand why used motor oil would be a go to in horse care.

[tabula_rashah]

Hmm, OP since you mention the horse has been in Germany and the US. I have heard it mentioned by more than one high performance vet that frequent flying and sudden climate change can exacerbate issues with quarter cracks.