Protecting Bare Feet When protection is needed: Trail riding in terrain that the feet are not adapted to, changing from wet to dry environments and therapeutic cases.
Protection options for the unshod foot: • Super Fast shoe with or without a pour-in pad • Sole-Guard pad • Glue on shoes • Boots
Does your horse need hoof protection? Contact us to talk it over.
www.vettec.com | info@vettec.com US Customer Care 1.800.483.8832 | EU Customer Care +420 800 260 001
Putting Foot Back on a Horse By Tab Pigg
Maintaining and trimming horse hooves are essential in order to sustain optimal hoof health. Without proper hoof care, a horse’s feet can develop either too much toe or too much heel, among other conditions, and can result in costly treatment in order to get the hooves back to a healthy state. Lack of regular hoof maintenance can also cause horses to become uncomfortable or develop infections. When a horse’s feet become overly unkempt, it’s important for horse owners to provide the proper support and maintenance in order to get hooves healthy again. Causes: The main cause of unhealthy hooves is lack of regular maintenance. In order to keep horses comfortable, horse owners should have their horses on a regular trimming schedule. Sometimes, keeping up with a schedule can be challenging, which leads to putting hoof care on the backburner. It is crucial to trim horse hooves every six weeks in order to avoid infections or expensive repair work in the long run. Unhealthy hooves can be a result of poor conformation, so horse owners should be mindful of their horses’ body structures. If a horse has unbalanced hooves or is base-wide or base-narrow, its feet may need more frequent trimming than the average maintenance schedule. Because the frequency of hoof care depends on the horse, and every horse is different, horse owners should consider their horse’s conformation to ensure hooves are getting proper attention. Symptoms: Symptoms of unhealthy hooves and soles
can be addressed so the condition can be maintained and corrected. The most common symptoms include: • Flaring: A horse may flare in its feet, either toe-in or toe-out, if its hooves are bothering them, and may need extra attention to get its feet back to a healthy state. • Lack of comfort: If a horse is visibly uncomfortable when walking or is noticeably less active, it may be a sign that the horse needs hoof maintenance. • Chipping or cracking: Without regular hoof maintenance, horses can develop obvious chipping or cracking in the hoof wall, so it’s important for horse owners to be aware of it, keep hooves trimmed and repair the cracking or chipping. • Infection: Conditions like thrush or White Line Disease can also be a symptom of unhealthy hooves. Thrush is a bacterial infection that can be detected by a strong odor coming from the hoof, whereas White Line Disease is determined by a deep separation between the hoof wall and the sole. Both conditions can lead a horse to become lame, so it’s essential for horse owners to take all necessary steps in the hoof care process to avoid or treat these infections. Treating Unhealthy Hooves: In order to improve hoof health, a horse may need one or two aggressive trims before going back to a regular every-six-weeks maintenance schedule. To speed up the healing process, horse
owners can use pour-in pad and adhesive materials to help repair a horse’s feet. If lack of regular hoof maintenance caused damage to the hoof wall, hoof care professionals can use an adhesive to seal cracks or apply filler in areas with missing hoof wall. If a crack appears to be an exposed wound or infected, it’s important that the area is cleaned and left uncovered to heal, and treated by a hoof care professional or veterinarian. If it is not infected, Vettec Adhere can be applied over a crack to help close the gap, or even act as missing hoof wall. Adhere is designed to fabricate large and small hoof wall repairs, and can be bonded to the hooves while a horse is standing. For shod horses with weakened hoof walls, pour-in pad materials like Equi-Pak CS can help take pressure off of the hooves and center a horse’s weight. Equi-Pak CS is a fast-setting soft instant pad material, and is infused with copper sulfate. It provides extra protection and support, and also bonds to the sole. For barefoot horses, SoleGuard helps to increase sole depth and add protection to weak soles. Sole-Guard is a 30-second-setting liquid urethane hoof protection material that is easy to apply, durable and can last up to three weeks. In order to avoid costly treatment and procedures, it is crucial for horse owners to maintain a regular trimming schedule year-round. Ongoing maintenance to a horse’s hooves is vital to its comfort and wellbeing. Solar support, pour-in pad and adhesive products can aid in the recovery process, and be a tool for maintaining optimal hoof health.
Fall 2017- Horseback Magazine [ 11]