Tips for Winter Hoof Health

Keep exercising – it’s good for everyone!

Cold-Weather Hoof Care Tips

• Keep a few things in mind as we count down the endless days until spring:

• Colder months can slow hoof growth. You may need to adjust the trimming and shoeing schedule.

• The most important thing you can do is the easiest. Pick and inspect the hooves daily, or more frequently if needed.

• Healthy hooves don’t happen overnight.

• A balanced diet does more for healthy hooves than any potion or lotion.

• There are many ways horse owners can support their horse’s feet, beyond daily cleaning.

Movement helps winter hoof health

• Exercise, turnout, play, and grazing are vital that promot soundness and overall well-being. One of the unique challenges of keeping horses in cold weather is keeping them moving. Their digestive system, legs, hooves, and brain all benefit from consistent movement.

• We also know that when a horse walks, there is movement over the hoof wall, sole, and frog that plays a role in winter hoof health. Movement will:

• • Allow the frog to expand and contract to help keep the grooves cleaner.
  • Boost circulation to the hooves. Standing doesn’t help blood flow.
  • Expand the heels. When the heels contract, bacteria and other microbes are more likely to be trapped, which can trigger an infection like thrush.
  • Help prevent stocking up.

Check digital pulses

• The best time to check digital pulses is when you pick your horse’s hooves. It takes a few seconds to feel around the fetlock and notice any changes in the pulse.

• And, contrary to the logical, when you feel a strong or bounding digital pulse, this indicates trouble. An absent or faint pulse is what you want! When there is an abscess, bruise, laminitis, or other hoof problem, the swelling inside the hoof makes blood flow harder, so the pulse you feel is the body trying to push blood into the hoof. Please call your vet if you notice a change in the digital pulse.

• There’s a video below about how to check this vital sign.

Watch for white line disease and thrush

• You will likely smell thrush before you see it. Thrush and white line disease are bacterial and fungal infections of the hoof. Thrush lives in the grooves, and you may also see it on the sole around a horseshoe or under any flakes of sole that are in the process of naturally shedding. The foul odor of thrush’s black discharge is a giveaway of this condition.

• White line, another common bacterial infection, penetrates the hoof wall, usually through a crack along the edge. Regular inspection of the white line area for cracks is easy after a trim. Your farrier may need to open the crack to improve airflow and provide better access for applying topical medications. Severe cases require veterinary intervention, including first X-raying the area and, if necessary, resecting the wall.

• Horseshoes make it more difficult to inspect the white line, but you can still monitor for cracks.

So much mud can trap bacteria, causing thrush and white line disease.

Check the coronary bands

• Check on the coronary band daily. This area just above the hoof wall is the birthplace of the equine foot, and damage there can affect the entire foot, sometimes causing lameness. Unhealthy coronary bands impede healthy hoof growth.

• Abscesses and wounds can happen at the coronet. Most fuzzy winter coats cover this area, so get in there with your eyes and fingers.

• Excessive hair around the coronary bands, pasterns, and fetlocks also tends to trap moisture and bacteria, which can lead to mud fever.

This article details coronary band dystrophy, a chronic condition affecting that area.

Hoof bruises are a threat

• Hard ground adds some concussion to your horse’s legs and joints. A more dangerous scenario is uneven or hard frozen ground. Rocks and hoof prints create little stabby mountains that can easily injure the sole.

• Bruising can be hard to see on dark hooves or through a dirty sole, and may only peek out after a fresh trim. Bruises can be extremely painful, contribute to abscesses and lameness, and increase the risk of laminitis.

• Talk to your vet and farrier about adding a pad or not trimming the sole. Your vet can also do X-rays, which may uncover a thin sole and therefore require extra protection.

Protecting The Hooves 

• Shod and barefoot horses need hoof protection in winter. This is especially true for thin-soled horses.

• Barefoot horses can wear special boots for riding and turnout, and there are specialty boots that make soaking for abscesses easy. There are even boots with extra padding and squish to support healing hooves.

• When selecting the best boot, consider the purpose, then the tread. No protection comes from smooth-bottomed boots on snowy ground.

• For shod horses, your farrier can add snow pads to help prevent snowballs. Leather pads or pour-in pads help protect the soles. There are so many options!

• Farriers can also add borium to the shoes for better traction. Borium is tungsten carbide crystals, which are welded to the shoe.

• Use hoof hardeners if needed. Most of them contain Venice turpentine as the main ingredient. Hardeners might help the horse that is more sensitive to the harder ground in winter. Another option is to use an oil or protectant to prevent excessive moisture and water from affecting the wall and any nail holes.

This article has information about padding as part of winter hoof care.

This article provides valuable information on borium for horseshoes.

I like hoof boots for the barefoot guys in winter. And sometimes in warmer temps, too!

Equine nutrition for hoof health in winter

• As cold weather arrives and lasts forever, your horse’s diet may need to change. Winter means horses can naturally pack on weight, and their access to the best hay and pasture may dwindle. Filling dietary gaps and adjusting caloric intake are vital to overall health.

• Supplements with biotin, selenium (in the correct amount), and Omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vitamins and minerals, take several months to a year to show changes to the horse’s hoof.

• Your vet or equine nutritionist can help you decide what supplements to give and when. There are so many variables to consider, like your horse’s age, pasture access, metabolic problems, breed, and caloric needs, that following a random chart may not be best. When you factor in variables like where their hay grows, how many minerals are in the soil, and what types of grains and complete feeds you use, there is more room for error.

Read more about supplements beyond biotin here.

This area will be major MUD in a matter of days. So. Much. Fun. Not. Really.