used motor oil for treating quarter cracks?

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=DownYonder;6294258]
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…;)[/QUOTE]

I noted two alternatives, here. Take your pick.

If a horse has crappy feet because of bad DNA then, yes, the breeding is less than fully successful. I don’t care how many blue ribbons line the walls or how many nice photos they’ve got. The proof is not in the ribbons or the pictures but in the horse.

G.

[SwampYankee]

[QUOTE=DownYonder;6293881]
Ok, so in your infinite wisdom of all things related to Horse Care - what “better alternatives” do you recommend? :winkgrin:

And - as a I mentioned earlier - the folks who told me about this says they have tried EVERY treatment and product on the market over the past few years, but NOTHING worked as well as the used motor oil. And the farrier concurs… :D[/QUOTE]

I’d tell her what the old Jamaican grooms do to cure thrush, but I wouldn’t want to push someone into therapy.

[511]

Spent motor oil contains about 10% unburned fuel.
You are warned not to breath that yourself why subject your horse to it?
Plus I think they still might absorb the MTBE nastys through their hooves into their blood.

They used to give horses all sorts of bad stuff back in the day that is why they were washed up or dead by age 20.

[SwampYankee]

[QUOTE=Appsolute;6293961]
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.[/QUOTE]

Here’s one thing I can tell you unequivocally DOES work:

www.ctnaturalhoof.com.

This trim vs. supplements ain’t even a hoss race! I have never had fewer foot problems, throughout every kind of weather and ground condition imaginable, since we’ve been using the Pete Ramey method.

[Appsolute]

[QUOTE=SwampYankee;6294754]
Here’s one thing I can tell you unequivocally DOES work:

www.ctnaturalhoof.com.

This trim vs. supplements ain’t even a hoss race! I have never had fewer foot problems, throughout every kind of weather and ground condition imaginable, since we’ve been using the Pete Ramey method.[/QUOTE]

My horse is barefoot and naturally trimmed. My trimmer discourages putting anything on the hoof that you would not put on living tissue (like bleach or motor oil).

She has a fantastic trim, and is trimmed OFTEN to keep a high / low situation under control. I have had this horse since she was 4 weeks old, and she has been recieving a natural trim since then.

Despite this, she will get yeast infections in her fogs if not supplemented with copper. And spring grass will ruin her feet.

[Ghazzu]

As has been said, balancing the foot does a helluva lot more for a quarter crack than motor oil.

[DownYonder]

[QUOTE=SwampYankee;6294748]
I’d tell her what the old Jamaican grooms do to cure thrush, but I wouldn’t want to push someone into therapy. :D[/QUOTE]

Oooh, please tell. Sounds very intriquing. :lol:

[bird4416]

When I was a kid (many years ago), burnt motor oil and bacon grease were the “go to treatments” for a variety of horse hoof and skin ailments.

Now, we have so many better things.

[Christa_P]

[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]

Lets see - How to make crude oil:

Take some nice organic matter, what’s in bogs will work well. Add very high pressure and heat while it breaks down for a few million years and you get crude oil.

Therefore crude oil, while very messy, is not really an unnatural product and I can see where it MIGHT have some beneficial properties.

The problem with used motor oil is more what is added during refining and how it breaks down during use.

Christa

Who also remembers used motor oil being used for dust control.

[SwampYankee]

[QUOTE=DownYonder;6295360]
Oooh, please tell. Sounds very intriquing. :lol:[/QUOTE]

If I tell you, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!! I AM NOT LIABLE!

Maybe the guy was pulling our chain, but he swears it was true. Long-time groom who’s worked around here for more than 20 years, so I don’t discount him. In Jamaica, he said they used to put a small amount of motor oil on the thrushy area of the hoof and light it on fire!

Now, before everyone goes completely nuts, THINK for a minute about what your farrier does every time he sears your horse’s foot when “hot” shoeing . . . cloud o’smoke, right?

No I am not advocating this procedure. But the point is that in places around the world where no one’s heard of SmarPak, horsemen have made do with what they had around, and sometimes it worked for them. Just sayin’!

[deltawave]

Considering that motor oil is flammable but not likely to cause a giant explosion, and considering the two Jamaican farriers I worked with when I was in Cuba . . . doesn’t surprise me at all. :lol:

[Tom_Bloomer]

Anyone suggesting used motor oil for a quarter crack doesn’t know what a “quarter crack” is or what causes them in the first place. :lol:

[SwampYankee]

[QUOTE=deltawave;6295724]
Considering that motor oil is flammable but not likely to cause a giant explosion, and considering the two Jamaican farriers I worked with when I was in Cuba . . . doesn’t surprise me at all. :lol:[/QUOTE]

Believe it or not, I had a Jamaican tai chi teacher too! Just the most joyous, laid-back folks; the sound of a Jamaican accent always brightens my day–they just don’t get all EXCITED about stuff . . .

(in my experience, that is–generalization disclaimer applies!)

[deltawave]

Yes, hanging around with Jamaicans is an eye-opener for a type-A, in a hurry person. A good eye-opener. Still can’t figure out cricket for the life of me, however . . . :eek:

[ljcfoh]

[QUOTE=DownYonder;6294258]
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…;)[/QUOTE]

Many of the best trainers I know have the worst farriers I’ve ever seen.

[Larbear]

[QUOTE=deltawave;6295724]
Considering that motor oil is flammable but not likely to cause a giant explosion, and considering the two Jamaican farriers I worked with when I was in Cuba . . . doesn’t surprise me at all. :lol:[/QUOTE]

And considered as hazardous waste!

[merrygoround]

[QUOTE=Tom Bloomer;6295919]
Anyone suggesting used motor oil for a quarter crack doesn’t know what a “quarter crack” is or what causes them in the first place. :lol:[/QUOTE]

Too true!
There’s rather a large difference between “quarter”, which aren’t always in the quarters, and “sand” cracks. I once had one of the most prominent hoof supplement manufacturers, who pioneered the stuff comp me with a year’s worth of double dose. A year later the twerp still had sand cracks. He died with, but not of, them.

Now the one that had “quarter” cracks took a regular road trip till I could find a “local” who could balance. :rolleyes:

[SwampYankee]

[QUOTE=ljcfoh;6296851]
Many of the best trainers I know have the worst farriers I’ve ever seen.[/QUOTE]

Man, that’s the truth; and I get to fill my fields up correcting their mistakes! :lol:

[birdsong]

@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.

THIS!! Its on the hoof…not the skin or frog!
And for the person who made light of old timers remedies…some of them are still the best. Cures without all the commercials.
Bacon grease and sulphur for skin conditions…the grease kept it on while the sulphur cured it…Take a whiff of MTG sometime.

[bugsynskeeter]

Has there ever been any research done on the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of topical hoof remedies? I’d be interested in reading it if there has been.

For the record, I am of the opinion that topical dressings do not make a difference - nutrition and farriers do.