Applying water and/or access to water for hooves?

Question

I had previously answered a hoof question with a suggestion to make sure that the horse's hooves have daily access to water whether it was by manually applying it to the hooves or the horse having a place to soak their feet naturally (ie - snow in paddock or pasture in winter of mud puddle in front of watering area in summer). I was then given 6 thumbs down. I would like to know why this would be considered not appropriate treatment.

It is my understanding that a horse's hoof has some form of elasticity and does retain a fair amount of moisture. In order for the hoof to retain this moisture naturally and to maintain overall health for the hoof and the horse, the horse should be left in a natural environment which would include full turnout, access to food on a free choice basis, lots of movement and the companionship of others (ie - wild horse environment). Now, most horse owners do not have access to this type of condition for their horses. Some of us have our horses in a stall environment 24/7, a stall with daily turnout environment or a full turnout environment. Now, my horses during the non-winter months are kept outside 24/7 with free choice feed and access to water for both drinking and stepping in. In the winter months, I board at a facility that stalls my horse at night and then is turned out during the day in a paddock with another horse. They are only fed twice a day with full access to drinking water and salt block.

Now, I have a barefoot trimmer work on my horses and after the first week of boarding, she told me that I needed to apply water to the hooves on a daily basis. The shavings and hard dry ground my horse is on dries out the hoof faster than it can absorb moisture. My horses feet were not so much chipping, but they were flaking along the walls and the soles, frog and heels were very dried out. They were not nice hooves.

After 4 weeks of daily water application, my trimmer came out again and said that the water was doing a great job. The soles were firm, but not soft, the walls were hard but not brittle, the frogs were soft but not mushy. My horse was actually to the point where he was self trimming, not falling apart.

Has anyone looked at the sheds of hoof that the farrier trims off? If you take a piece of the trimmed hoof and leave it to dry, it will actually shrink. I would think that the same would happen to a hoof if it didn't have access to water on a daily basis. I am not saying that you have to soak them for 15 minutes a day - in the summer time for instance, even the dew on the grass in the morning is all the hooves need.

Now that it is winter and we have lots of snow, I don't have to apply water daily because the snow that they are walking in is enough moisture to meet the requirement for the hooves.

So, in this ramble of mine, can anyone tell me why applying water or making sure that my horse has access to water for their feet is an unappropriate method? Is there any trimmers/farriers who could tell me what their opinons are? I am not trying to shove barefoot trimming down anyone's throat, I am actually looking for logical explanation.

Thanks everyone, I look forward to reading your answers and thoughts.

Answer 1

Many farriers I know say to have the hooves soaked in water if dry. That is one of the best natural ways. Better then grease ointment. I'd chalk it up to uneducated trolls.

Answer 2

I just had a class on this, and this is exactly what they told us to do. I agree 100% I know thoroughbred racers that mud their horses (so they basically just glob mud up in the hoof) and others that actaully had a pond that their horse stood in. We were told to over flow the water tank and make mud around there so when the horse drinks it will get the moisture needed in its hooves. Or if the horse is out during the morning due then it probably gets enough also. Also, may of the hoof oils and other hoof products do not work at all because of how the hoof naturally works. The hoof is quite an amazing thing. I think anyone who owns a horse should really look into learning about how the hoof truly works. But, then again, I think they should take classes and learn a lot more about the horses that they own and then they would understand a lot more about horses and problems we have in general.

Answer 3

Soaking the hooves for 10 minutes a day is fine, if the hooves need it. Your trimmer suggested it, so it made sense to do. 90% of hoof moisture comes from the blood circulation and lymph. A portion of the other 10% is transpired through the coronet and sole, or absorbed in to the vertical tubules of the hoof wall. The water in the tubules is actually an electrolyte solution. Usually the ground ends of the tubules are crushed closed so nothing enters from the ground. Only right after a trim by the farrier will they be open and able to absorb water if needed. The soles can always exchange moisture with the ground. But too much can soften the sole, which is never desirable. And the bacterial and fungal spores that remain dormant on the dry hoof walls can become active when exposed to too much moisture, and begin to feed on the keratinized protein and degrade the hoof wall tissue. A limited amount of environmental moisture is good for the hoof, but too much can lead to biodegradation of the tissues by infective organisms. It's about balance. Some farriers/trimmers will advise soaking if they have a very hard time removing excess wall because it is too hard. Hard is good, so you only want to provide enough softening to allow it to be trimmed. The best way to provide adequate hoof moisture is with good hydration of your horse through providing ample drinking water, and through ample exercise which allows the hoof compression and expansion to pump the blood and perfuse the hoof tissues as the horse moves around.

Answer 4

Well standing in water can also cause thrush. Trust me you dont want that. My suggestion to you if you are worried about the hooves get some horse shoers secret and also some hoof moisturizer. My horses are turned out 24-7 but my draft still has bad hooves. When I give him hoof supplement I see a huge difference. The moisturizer you paint the frog and the whole bottom and top of the hoof.

Answer 5

This is never a good idea. I've heard it recommended also, but every drop of research in the past 10 years proves that this is incorrect and can be harmful to your horse's feet. Your horse's hooves, sole, frog can never be too hard. If your horse's feet are poor quality or exhibiting problems between trims, either the nutrition is not optimum or the trimming is incorrect, regardless of the terrain. Does your trimmer trim the frog and sole every trim? Should NOT be happening. Frogs should not be "soft". The frogs and sole should develop a healthy callous. With proper barefoot trimming, you almost never have to touch the sole or frog (terrain is irrelevant). In response to your comment about "what happens when tissue is removed". Of course, it is going to shrink and dry up. It is LIVING TISSUE and when it is cut off, it no longer can receive nutrition and blood supply. What would happen to your finger if you cut it off - it would die and shrink right? Make sense? Same thing with hoof tissue. Proper barefoot trimming is a primary key to a healthy and sound horse. I would never put shoes on my horses, but I would never hose their feet. Moisture is your enemy and anyone telling you to do this is just wrong and there are volumes of research to back this up. It is not just an opinion. Hope your horse continues to be well.

Answer 6

Moisture is very important for horse's hooves... If you think about it, all of the expensive "hoof products" are formulated to help keep moisture in the hoof. Most people now days simply run to the local feedstore and buy the most expensive thing they can find for what they are looking to achieve, i.e. "Rainmaker", "Hoof Flex", etc., but in the "old days" people used more natural methods, like creating mud near a horses water trough so he was forced to stand in the moisture while drinking.



Okay, with that said, you can't go overboard on something. Too much moisture can cause just as many problems as a hoof being too dry. Thrush and other anerobic bateria thrive in dark, damp places, and a continually "wet" hoof is a perfect breeding ground. So, try creating an area in your horse's pen or pasture where he will be forced to walk in the mud for only short periods of time, and make sure to keep his hooves clean and if you notice thrush treat it immediately.



Everything in moderiation is the key...

Answer 7

In my opinion, the water transfer from the outside world, to inside the horse's hoof isn't even worth considering. They get their moisture from the inside - not the outside. I understand that hoof "conditioners" are nice, but (in my opinion and observation) not necessary because it doesn't put moisture inside a hoof - but it locks moisture in from the outside so moisture can't escape. And sometimes can even draw moisture from the inside to the outside - and dry up the hoof.



The reason trimmed hoof actually curls in on itself (like a pretzel) and shrinks, is because it is no longer attached to the hoof - like if you were to break off a branch from a tree - it will eventually die.



People often compare a horse's hoof to that of a human's nail - while they are similar, they are still quite different. But, I'll use it for an example. Putting water on a horse's hoof is like putting one (1) drop of water on each of your finger nails. It doesn't really do anything. That's like soaking a horse's hoof for 5 minutes each, or having them walk / stand in water while they drink, etc. In the long run, it doesn't really matter.



The only time I recommend actually soaking a horse's hoof, is if it summer time (I live in an incredibly dry, hot area that's close to a desert), and the hoof is already really dry and hard enough to the point where I would have a hard time getting a knife around. And then it's just for 3 minutes every day for seven (7) days before I come out.



I'm not saying what you are doing is bad, if your horses seem to be thriving off of your treatment, then keep it up. Maybe that's the extra little bit your horses need to be happy on their feet. If so, keep it up. Happy footed horses are happy horses - and as the saying goes - kNOw hoof kNOw horse.

Answer 8

I have heard this also. My horse is barefoot and has been his whole life (5 years). I give him VitaBiotin every day with his food. He is trimmed with a barefoot trim about every three months and I do some maintenance rasping every few weeks. In the summer It can get pretty rainy here in Oklahoma, so I mostly just leave him be. Occasionally though, we can go months without rain and when I notice the ground drying out excessively, I make over fill the water trough so that my horses hooves get moisture while he drinks.

Answer 9

I've made sure my horses get their feet wet daily for the past 35 years. When we get into drought conditions their hooves dry out and splitting is a problem. I try and keep a mud puddle around the water trough so they have to stand in the mud to drink. Thumbs down or not, it works. I also ride them down to the creek and have them stand in the water for 30 min or so before they are trimmed. Ferrier says it sure helps make his job easier.



Look at the difference it makes with your own fingernails when you soak them in water.

Answer 10

I have never heard of it. If hooves are dry I would use hooflex on them. Too much moisture can cause thrush,white line disease and make the frog too mushy.

Answer 11

water may help but it does evapourate! Neatsfoot oil applied each day during the summer maintains hoof structure,stops chipping and splitting.

Oils in their dry feed like linseed or any cooking oil in their dry feed helps every part of their body and maintains the coat hoof and lining of their stomach