advice on hoof care please

[gr]

This is my first winter with my cob kept out 24/7 (baptism of fire !) My horse is shod and no foot problems yet but is there anything I should be doing to maintain foot health when kept out in muddy conditions? There seems to be a vast array of products on the market so where do you start?

[anastasia55555]

Pick them out regularly. Personally i like something like purple spray to use as often as poss, because i dont have any stables or hard standing or ways of washing off mud! so its nice and quick and easy to keep yuk away. There are loads of things you can buy, but imo some of the cheaper and older remedies work just aswell or better. Even scrubbing with hot water and tea tree oil is good. Sudocrem is another smothered on the frog and in the grooves around the frog. Lots of people will have other tips too :-D

[arabmania]

get rid of any flappy bits on the frog. these harbor thrush.
pick out regularly and apply an anti bacterial cream.
the hard and cold conditions are fab but once it melts that is really when you need to be vigilant.

[Trouble]

I bought a wire brush from B&Q and, under my trimmers advice, I use that to brush soles and frogs to remove flappy bits and mud, then spray with Redhorse sole cleanse, and once a week use sole paint

[Deleted]

I also use a wire brush to keep the exfoliating sole coming off, that seems to help all the other parts of the hoof and prevents infection.

I tend to avoid over washing, save it for days when you can get them off the mud and allow the feet to dry out and give any sprays or potions time to work. I've just bought some field paste from red horse to try as that's supposed to really stick better and therefore last longer than any sprays will.

Something new I've tried his year is packing the collateral grooves with Hoof Stuff once every couple of weeks and then leaving it there until it falls out. That's working wonders for both his hoof structure and cleanliness.

[becca00]

O too have a cob, who is new to us this winter. I have been advised to use Fungatrol by Equine America which has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. you just brush it on to the hoof and frog a couple of times a week. I have also been using pig oil and sulphur rubbed well into his feathers to help prevent mud fever when we eventually have a thaw.