Cleaning Your Horse's Hooves
Cleaning out your horse’s hooves is an essential part of horse care and it needs to be done frequently. It’s important for several reasons. The concave shape of a horse’s hooves and the two clefts beside the frog can easily pick up debris that could injure the horse’s hoof. It's not unusual to pick rocks, pine cones, and twigs out of a horse’s hooves, and although a pine cone probably won't cause damage, rocks and twigs certainly can. Nails, bits of wire, glass, and other sharp objects can pierce the sole or cause bruising. If your horse is suddenly lame for no obvious reason, the first thing you should do is clean out its hooves and look for a foreign object, bruise, or puncture that might explain the lameness.
Manure and soil left in the hoof can create a damp, dirty environment that makes an ideal place for thrush to start. Keeping the hoof cleaned out may help prevent thrush from starting. Once thrush does set in, frequent cleaning can help it from getting worse, and any thrush remedy you are using can be applied without drawing more dirt into the area.1
Getting a good look at the bottom of the hoof helps you assess when your horse’s hooves need trimming or shoes need resetting. You’re also more likely to notice if a shoe is loose as you clean out your horse’s hooves. You may also notice things such as separated laminae, heels that are getting shallow or contracted, soles that are changing, and other problems that evolve slowly but can be solved easily if caught in time. Hoof cleaning time is a good time to assess the overall health of your horse’s foot.
How to Clean a Hoof
- Start picking out your horse’s hooves by having it tied safely. Crossties may be safer because they keep you away from posts and walls you could get knocked into if your horse acts up. Most people start on the front near side.
