# Iodine vs Venice Turpentine on soft soles



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I used Venice Turpentine.........
Either product created a reaction which in turn made a callous form.
Problem with that though is when your farrier next comes out and "trims" the hoof he will trim away the callous formed possibly and you go back to soft soles and ouchiness again. 
I'm no hoof guru but have to wonder if to much sole is being trimmed away adding to the situation you have...

Iodine is expensive, watery and stains...

I actually no longer use either for the reason above and my horse still limped if he bumped a rock...
Either I do shoes to lift the hoof off the ground for clearance or I now use hoof boots on the front hooves with success.

Good luck.
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo..._


----------



## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Hi,

I don't know about comparative effectiveness. They both dry & harden the sole. But if your horse has 'soft' soles, something is not right, and while using hardeners can be a very good 'bandaid', that's what it is, and I think it's best to address the 'real' issues too. When people say 'soft soles' it is usually that the soles are too thin(sometimes thin enough to yield to thumb pressure!). Hardeners won't help them grow thick, or provide much more protection from stone bruising to thinly protected corium. So if that's your situation, I'd also be investing in some hoof boots, or if shod, padding the feet(or better still, using flexible shoes with sole/frog support, like Eponas or Easyshoes).

If the horse has very thin soles, it is highly likely that the walls are also 'stretched', and shoes set to the flares, or regular rims which peripherally load the foot exacerbate this. Therefore, if the horse is shod, I'd strongly suggest doing away with shoes and booting when he needs protection, at least until his feet can grow healthier & stronger.

As mentioned above, it could be that the farrier is overtrimming the sole & thinning it himself & removing any callous. Unfortunately a lot still do that. Sole and frog material should not be routinely pared away. Especially at the toe. Especially if the horse already has too thin soles. Any flappy or infected bits of frog should be removed, and it is often advisable to pare a little sole, if it's chunky & dead, especially around the heel corners & bars. But while there are exceptions, other than that, the bottom of the foot should largely be left alone.

If you'd like more specific advice, or a critique on your horse's feet, best to post to the hoofcare section, and see the link in my signature line below for what is needed for good critique pics. Post as much relevant info as you can, including diet, environment, what riding/work your horse does...


----------



## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

Iodine didn't do anything for my thin soled horse.


I had decent luck with Keratex Hoof Hardener last summer, but it's time consuming, especially if you go through the recommended initial process of cleaning & drying the sole, applying, hair drying to set, roughing sole up with a stiff brush, reapplying, hair drying to set. My farrier knows not to touch this guy's soles, we have to let them slough off naturally. But once they slough off, your hardwork applying the Keratex needs to be repeated, of course. 


Mine's always been tender up front (got him as a long yearling, currently 6 yrs old). He seems to be doing better lately, but I don't know if he's just outgrowing the "issue", if the Absorbine Hoofbuilder supplement is helping, if the Keratex is helping, if the currently soft spring pasture footing is helping...


----------

