Moisture and feet...aagghh!

[Mr.GMan]

The farrier I am using said a good deal of my gelding's feet problems are being caused by being out on the wet pasture a lot. Not that we have a lot of rain, it's just the dew that gets trapped in the grass. It gets so soaked at night that in the mornings your shoes are soaked when you walk down to the barn in the grass. So, he recommended stalling at the moistest part of the day (which is actually night) and turning out during the day when the grass/soil is for the most part dry. It has only been a couple of days, but I feel terrible doing this when they could be in their comyf stalls with the fan on instead of the heat of the day. They have water, fly sheets/mask and some semblance of shade (albeit not much). Tell me they will be okay and it is a necessity if I want my horse to have a better foot.

Yes--his diet has been looked at and I have a really competent farrier who keeps up with his education so all the other angles check out--just not my pasture. Thanks for listening.

[HollysHobbies]

Try to sponge him, not bathe him in summer. Or use the mist-function on your sprayer--keeps the feet from getting too wet.

Add a hoof supplement--biotin especially.

I tried the "don't turn out at night"--it helped a little. But this year, my MIRACLE product is called "SOUND"--I paint it all over (not just coronet region, like your farrier will recommend, but ALL OVER) the outside of the hoof daily before riding. It seems to keep the moisture balance more stabilized, without building up on the foot. It's manufactured by a company in California. My boy has been on 24-7 turnout this summer (has a run in) and still has shoes (knocking wood). The thing about day turnout is that they will still stomp flies, which I think is equally damaging to the hoof. So I really, REALLY recommend SOUND.

Consider trimming/resetting more often--4 weeks, in summer.

Good luck!

[myvanya]

sorry- maybe I missed this, but what problems is your gelding having specifically? It seems odd to me that dew on grass is causing big problems...I am not an expert though so it could just be that it seems odd to me since I live in a crazy dry state :lol:

[HandsomeBayFarm]

Have same problem here.

We use 10% Coppernapthenate on the walls 3x a week.

It is the same ingredient as Koopertox - just in diluted form. Also the same stuff they use to preserve wood.

[Bayberry64]

HollysHobbies-where do you get this product called SOUND?

[TB Fan]

Yeah, I would love to take a look into this product too. I've never heard of SOUND as a hoof product. Where can it be ordered?

[HandsomeBayFarm]

http://www.soundconditioner.us/

[besttwtbever]

My horses both have the same problem. I have been told by many farriers to use turpentine to help dry them out. Venice Turpentine can usually be found at feed stores but Pure Gum Spirits Turpentine from the hardware store works just the same.

[horsenround]

I've had the same problem with my guy. I just started using Hooflex (which balances hoof moisture and contains antibacterial and antifungal agents to help prevent infection) a few times a week and supplemented that with Tuff Stuff. I probably don't need both but it's just preventative. It's only been a few days but I'm liking what I see so far -- though in all honestly, it could just be wishful thinking :)

[qhwpmare]

Keratex Hoof Gel balances hoof moisture.I highly recommend it.

[birdsong]

Koppertox here in the Swamp!!

[eruss]

Does anybody have pics of these feet getting beat up from dew?

[rodawn]

I'm a bit puzzled. My farrier has always said a dewed pasture is great for feet (the hoof walls). Do you perhaps live in a rather humid, rainy area, so that this combined with the heavy dew is what's making the difference and skewing the balance, and causing (?query) thrush? Our area here is usually so dry that we're happy when the horses' feet get to be in some dewed grass. I cure thrush with equal parts vinegar, bleach and water.

[JB]

Dew and the bare foot is usually great.

Dew and the shod foot is murder on those nailholes :(

[JB]

Tuff Stuff can be nice to paint over the nail holes right after shoeing, and a few times a week.

[newrider]

Same problem here in Texas, and solution is stalling at night, turnout during the day. They have shade shelters, trees, and a pond for cooling down in the hottest parts of the day, and even my horse who has trouble sweating has made it through two summers on this routine all right. It is too humid for fly sheets, but Solitude and fly spray keep the flies from being too much of an issue. For those who don't live in an area where even in the hottest, dryest part of summer the dew still makes things soaking wet overnight, it's hard to imagine that dew could basically soak the feet all night, but it happens around here all the time. I moved here from a less humid climate, and the transition wrecked their hooves until I was advised that I had to bring them in overnight if I wanted them to have any feet left at all. None of them are shod. It just gets that wet overnight, so I understand your issue. They used to stay turned out 24/7 but really seem to look forward to coming in for the night now that they are used to it. It took months to grow back strong hooves when I finally changed their routine to bringing them in at night. I had been using Keratex, turpentine, pine tar, and all the other solutions people had recommended, but giving the feet dry time overnight was the only thing that really helped.

[Mr.GMan]

It is good to know that some of you can understand. The farrier I just started using said in the summer (from what he has seen in the past), it seems like the more humid when in high heats, he said over 85 the dew soaks everything, including the horses hooves and that when the hooves are constantly soaking up that much water (you could see how much moisture was absorbed when they stepped on the mats) and then drying out in the stall or during the day, as in constant turnout, it wreaks havoc on the horses hooves, esp. shod ones, as JB mentioned. My guy is barefoot in the back and shod in front (needs for his soles) and the bares are much better. I have been trying to stick to a day only turnout and I see a difference in how his feet with shoes have been. They are doing better, IMO. We shall see when the farrier comes out next week to check up on him.

[Thomas_1]

Now I'm in the UK where we have heavy dew wet, wet and muddy, wet and rainy, wet and snowy, wet and slushy and muddy.

Or to put it another way. We've had to become world experts at managing horse's feet in the wet.

So just as your farrier suggested I also bring mine in and to give them a break from wet.

It doesn't have to be at the wetest time of the day though. Indeed so long as they get chance to get their feet dry, then IME it doesn't matter when it is.

So bring him in at yours and his convenience.

Some other tips to managing horses feet in wet conditions:

- Use sawdust bedding
- Ensure the stable is skipped out and kept clean
- Hot shoe rather than cold shoe
- Pick out the feet daily and use something to dry and harden the soles. I use turps.