Fighting Back
If your horse's shoes aren't redone frequently enough, the nails can become loose and the shoes move more, further increasing the size of the nail holes and damaging the hoof wall around them. Nail holes expose the more-susceptible inner layers of the hoof to moisture/drying and organisms just like cracks do.
Even small cracks are chinks in the horse's normal hoof armor that greatly increase the chances of both drying and moisture absorption, and provide a pathway of entry for damaging organisms. The permeability study also showed that brittle hoof walls absorb much more moisture than hooves of normal, good quality.
We also disapprove of too much rasping, too, which may weaken the protection of otherwise normal and healthy hooves. Avoid the temptation to "smooth" out the hoof wall, removing ridging. This surface rasping along the hoof wall removes the natural waxy protection on the hoof, making it vulnerable to adverse effects of high moisture or excessive dryness. A good farrier knows to rasp to the minimum amount of necessity.
What To Do
• Although it won't give you results overnight, your horse's diet is your primary weapon against poor hoof quality. Be sure all the nutrients key to good hoof quality are present in adequate amounts. You want to look at levels of trace minerals, fatty acids, protein and essential amino acids.
• Avoid rasping the hoof wall. When upper layers of hoof wall have been removed by rasping, the hoof should be protected by use of a good hoof dressing like pine tar or Hawthorne's Sole Pack Medicated Liquid Hoof Dressing(www.hawthorne-products.com, 765-768-6585). We also especially like Animal Legends Equine Hoof Dressing (www.animallegends.com 800-399-7387).
• If nail-hole cracks and loosening shoes are a problem, discuss the issue with your farrier. He may have solutions to offer, which may include temporary helps like filling in nail holes or using a hoof sealer. You may need to have your horse's shoes redone more frequently or you may need to switch to a lighter weight shoe with smaller nails. If you're not giving your horse's feet a "rest" from shoes in the colder months, discuss the possibility. This helps old nail holes grow down and out of the hoof. Glue-on shoes are also a possibility for many horses.
• Icing or cold water whirlpools are a standard summer routine for many high-performance horse trainers, especially if the horse seems at all foot sore. Ice boots applied over the pastern/foot, or even the cannon bone, are another, mess-free, way to rapidly cool down overheated feet. We're especially impressed by the wraps by EZ Ice (www.ezice.net 386-423-1792), Reitsport (www.horsetech.com, 800-831-3309) and Dura-Kold (www.dura-kold.com, 405-943-8811). MacKinnon (www.mackinnonicehorse.com 800-786-6633) also makes a line of cooling products, including hoof boots.
