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Post by mrsfields on Aug 29, 2009 22:10:18 GMT 1
hi everyone! i'm just wondering what others use for hoofcare here in France, as well as preventive/curative treatment for things like thrush, and mudfever (thinking about winter strategies for this year!) i find the range of hoof creams/oils/frog treatments here really overwhelming and am not sure which ones are hoof-friendly... can any of you recommend any good products that won't harm healthy tissue? thanks!  |
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gillmcg
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Post by gillmcg on Aug 30, 2009 9:57:41 GMT 1
You're well ahead of me - we're still at 30 degrees and sun-baked earth and don't want to think about the mud thanks!!
I wouldn't bother with any hoof oils or creams - healthy hooves come from good nutrition, a good trim and exercise. Anything you put on the outside is a waste of money in my experience having been there and done that for many years with my TB.
Thrush and mud fever are a different story though. If your horse is prone to mudfever I'd just slather his lower legs once a week in liquid paraffin (very cheap at the local agri 'shop' - I think they use it as a drench?) with a few drops of tea tree oil added. Another good product is the Keratex powder - less messy but obviously a lot more expensive and haven't seen that on sale here. If you already have to deal with it I'd use Sudocrem (can't get that here either so I get visitors to bring tubs over from the UK - gave some to my neighbour for her baby's nappy rash and it cleared it up within a week, she was very impressed!) daily until the scabs will come off easily and then Flamazine which is really cheap here and available at the pharmacy sans prescription. As for thrush - I don't know how 'hoof friendly' it is as the maker doesn't publish the ingredients (ggrrrr!) but Kevin Bacon's Hoof Dressing really really works. I'd been putting off trying it for that reason but my two had smelly bits in the grooves either side of the frog and two applications every other day cleared it up within a week. I bought a can from a french farrier who buys it in bulk! Not sure if there's a french product that's available - maybe Wendy or Marianne will know?
Have you anywhere that they can have a hard dry surface to use overnight when the ground gets really wet? That helps enormously to avoid soggy feet and legs! - we put down a 100ml layer of local graded stone compacted with a roller in front of our barn last summer and it's been brilliant.
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Post by mrsfields on Sept 2, 2009 9:39:42 GMT 1
hi gill! thanks so much for the info! it's just started raining here the past couple of days, just as the kids are going back to school! it's been lovely and dry here too until now... that's great to know about the hoof creams etc - i've been using very little this year, just a bit of the Leovet balm very sparingly, around once a month, although i pick and brush out their feet at least a once a day and more when they've worked... it's been so great having all the info in this forum, as i feel i've learned so much in the past few months from other people's experiences and recommendations, as things are so "traditional" here hoof-care wise... i'm really hoping i can keep them barefoot as their workload increases... i've hopefully managed to pin down my farrier to come more regularly as we now make the next appointment when he's here, otherwise he's impossible to get hold of on the phone and the weeks just end up flying by... i've also picked up a rasp to smooth any cracks in between visits and that has worked nicely this time and their feet are looking much better... plus i've noticed, since i brought my boys back home their hooves have improved drastically which is such a relief to see! the new hoof growth is looking lovely, with no grass lines, and the slight flare is growing out as well... i had kept them with the farmer's herd for a year but this spring he sprayed his fields with nitrates while the horses were in it, and without any warning whatsoever, so i just had enough (there were other problems as well and our approaches to horse care were totally incompatible, and that was the last straw!).... i now keep them in little rotating paddocks, so they have v. sparse grass, but plenty of hay and a forage-based diet with various supplements, and they seem to be thriving on it... i wish we could get Sudocrem here - i wonder if there is an equivalent?? i use Bepanthen for minor superficial skin wounds and that works a treat! (it's also a nappy cream hehe!) i wonder if that would be suitable for frogs? i will ask at the pharmacy if they have anything with zinc oxide... thanks for the tip re. Flamazine! i will definitely stock up! i have one frog product (as well as the Leovet hoof balm) called "Clean Hoof" i think, which i bought here, only it doesn't state the ingredients either so i wasn't sure if it was any good haha! i did find some Milton's sterilising tablets in the supermarket this weekend though, so i picked some up just in case... your barn set-up sounds fantastic! i'm thinking of keeping them stabled at night over the winter and letting them out in our courtyard in the day which is a similar surface to yours (only ours could do with topping up a bit i think) and perhaps popping them out in a paddock for a few hours during the day as well if it's not desperately muddy... we'll see... oof! what a ramble haha! |
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Post by wendyihts on Sept 2, 2009 15:10:24 GMT 1
Hi there, Just recently I noticed that Red Horse products have a supplier in France now - think he's a trimmer. Their products are really excellent against thrush and mingy wet hooves! I use hoof stuff for packing into cracks in the frog and field paste for general, once a week keep-things-at-bay maintenance. www.redhorse.co.uk |
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gillmcg
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Post by gillmcg on Sept 2, 2009 16:08:17 GMT 1
www.redhorseproducts.com/It's someone called Xavier Meal DAEP, hipponoos AT free.fr. Will have to have a look - be happier with their stuff than the Kevin Bacon dressing to be honest....and prevention is always better than cure. ;D
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Post by mrsfields on Sept 3, 2009 14:15:31 GMT 1
wow! thanks so much Wendy and Gill for the info and contact details! that Hoof Stuff looks fab, and some of their other products look interesting too... i will definitely have to investigate further! thanks again! xxx |
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Post by marianne on Sept 6, 2009 9:48:16 GMT 1
My sensitive TB suffered badly from mud-fever last year. I treated it (internally) with echinacea (from Dodson and Horrell UK) but also with Tifene from Audevard.
Previous attempts with vaseline/teat oil/fucidine - which had worked in the past - were unsuccessful until I'd treated the internal aspect.
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Post by mrsfields on Oct 7, 2009 9:31:58 GMT 1
that's great to know marianne, thanks!
i finally got round to ordering some Red Horse products! hoping they arrive soon! xxx
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gillmcg
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Post by gillmcg on Oct 7, 2009 17:01:43 GMT 1
I've been ogling the Red Horse products site and thinking about buying the field paste (on Wendy's recommendation!)...more because my TB is treating the barn as a toilet and standing in it, yuk, than problems with mud. It STILL hasn't rained here!!!!!!! I'd like something for prevention rather than cure. (Edited to add - I've already said that!) Did you order from Xavier Meal direct or via the site? What was the postage?
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Post by mrsfields on Oct 8, 2009 8:56:18 GMT 1
hi there Gill!
the weather finally broke here yesterday and we had a huge storm - absolutely tipped it down...
the products actually arrived yesterday lunchtime (our post comes really late!)
the pots were smaller than i was expecting given the prices, but hopefully they will last...
i ordered direct from Xavier Meal who was very helpful to deal with by email, and paid 18 euros for the Field Paste, 18 euros for the Hoof Stuff, and 7.65 euros postage...
:)xxx
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