softening horses hooves

bubblez · 15-01-2009, 10:42 AM

hi there guys, my girls feet are due for trimming, but theyre rock solid and i dont think my farrier is going to appreciate it, so i was wondering what i can do to soften them up for him?
thanks

Caroline · 15-01-2009, 10:50 AM

Simply soak them in water regularly by hosing or let water troughs overflow so the horse can stand in the water.

bubblez · 15-01-2009, 10:57 AM

ah okies, id read that somewhere but didnt know if it would actually work lol, will give it a try thanks

ZaZa · 15-01-2009, 11:18 AM

Yep, water.
My farrier suggested digging shallow puddles around their feeds bins so they can get a good 'foot' soak while they're having dinner.
**One of our horses loves to dig so we'll get him to do the hard work for us

ClubIgnite · 15-01-2009, 02:08 PM

ah if only all people would be so kind and appreciative to their farriers!

Claireb · 15-01-2009, 02:44 PM

I don't ask any of my clients to soak feet, As long as your rasp/nippers are good quality and sharp plus the trimmer/farrier uses them correctly then your tools do the hard work. It just means you use more rasps over time.

Soaking once every 6 weeks for the farrier isn't a big issue if thats what they ask you to do but if soaking is done on a regular basis it can be detrimental, not necessarily the soaking but the foot rapidly drying.

Cx

TePaiOra · 15-01-2009, 04:04 PM

Depends where you are Claire.

We soak before a trim, even though I have great gear. Too much of everything is bad of course, but we are in the desert.

bubblez · 15-01-2009, 04:13 PM

yeah my horses tend to have hardish hooves generally, which is usually great, but the farrier im using is a grumpy man but does a fantastic trim and balance, so i dont want to upset him by having such hard hooves...

Nannoo · 15-01-2009, 10:04 PM

Something I do is put their feet in a 1/4 of a car tyre tube, poor about a litre into it and fold it back over and tie it up with bailing twine… leave to soak for 10 – 15 mins… soft as butter!

Claireb · 15-01-2009, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TePaiOra

Depends where you are Claire.

We soak before a trim, even though I have great gear. Too much of everything is bad of course, but we are in the desert.

Fair enough, Its more soaking as a regular practice i.e weekly that causes the problems. Good feet will cope with rapid water loss as a healthy foot will have good inner wall structure which will release water slowly.