# Homemade Hoof Oil



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Oiling the hooves can prevent the walls from absorbing moisture.


----------



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Oiling the hoof does nothing to help it, in fact it hinders it. If I am showing in a sloppy arena, I don't use hoof black, I use olive oil, keeps the mud from sticking so much, only reason I saw fit to oil a hoof.


----------



## rocky pony (Oct 5, 2007)

This is the first I've heard that oil could be bad...what do you do then when your horses' hooves get crazy dry?

Here in California we see a lot of droughts. When it's just dry and not a drought I've been advised to intentionally overflow the water trough to make mud if their hooves are drying out, but in a drought that's not really an option.


----------



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Water, soak the hooves in it. Oil hinders, water hydrates. Remember that.


----------



## rocky pony (Oct 5, 2007)

Really, straight water? It's surprising because it's counter-intuitive, as someone whose hands get really dry, water is the ultimate enemy for my dry hands! But of course, hooves are not hands.

That's good to know, thank you.

I have to laugh, too, because I had a trainer chew me out for hosing my horse down once when his hooves were dry, saying I was going to make them worse. Turns out I should have been hosing him down more!


----------



## KateAndDestiny (Oct 7, 2015)

My farrier told me my horses hooves need to be oiled at the moment because they are getting rather dry.


----------



## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

KateAndDestiny said:


> My farrier told me my horses hooves need to be oiled at the moment because they are getting rather dry.


Wetting the hooves then applying a hoof oil can help keep moisture in. Petroleum based products, while they look nice can dry hooves more than not.
I'm not sure what too dry means though unless the farrier has to work too hard.


----------



## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Yes, it is hot and dry in CA. You should get some sort of hoof vitamin blend that is sold for hoof health. My horses hooves are very hard and cracking. i dump the trough into the pen when i clean them . some horses wont stand in the mud. There is a hoof product that is more of a cream base than oil based its white , and i totally forget the name. it comes in a plastic jar type of packaging. you could try that. makes your hands silky too !

It takes almost a year for a hoof to grow from coronet to toe . You do not any product that repels water. If the crack is severe you may need to put shoes on , until the crack grows out. good luck !


----------



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Soaking the hooves in straight water is very good for dry hooves. In fact, a big part of my daughter's horse's rehab was in a foot spa, just straight water! 
View attachment 705642


----------



## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

in az there is such a thing as too dry. the hooves get dry and start cracking. I use the original hooflex as it traps moisture in and creates a barrier against other crap you dont want seeping in (it also helps kill thrush).


----------



## rocky pony (Oct 5, 2007)

stevenson said:


> Yes, it is hot and dry in CA. You should get some sort of hoof vitamin blend that is sold for hoof health. My horses hooves are very hard and cracking. i dump the trough into the pen when i clean them . some horses wont stand in the mud. There is a hoof product that is more of a cream base than oil based its white , and i totally forget the name. it comes in a plastic jar type of packaging. you could try that. makes your hands silky too !
> 
> It takes almost a year for a hoof to grow from coronet to toe . You do not any product that repels water. If the crack is severe you may need to put shoes on , until the crack grows out. good luck !


I'd bet it was the Mane N Tail Hoofmaker, right? My mom uses that for herself and her horse and she seems to be happy with it.


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

If there's a water shortage. even two inches of water in a rubber feed tub for 10 min will help replenish moisture. Rocky, ever notice how soft your nails are after washing a lot of dishes by hand? Hooves are the same as your nails.


----------



## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Rocky pony, it could be hoofmaker.. sounds right !


----------



## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

When our horses get dry hooves, every now and then, our farrier recommends taking petroleum jelly and rubbing it along the coronet band and about an inch downward on the hoof. I do that every now and then and it works nicely, the hoof that is growing comes in nice and it also stimulates the coronet band and blood flow/supply.


----------



## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

Water will dry out hooves like no other. Water is terrible for them, do not soak feet in water !
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

Its helpful to have a muddy spot around the watering trough during the dry months to help keep the hooves moisturized. That way every time the horses get a drink their hooves get a quick soak.


----------



## kiwi79 (Nov 11, 2011)

gypsygirl said:


> Water will dry out hooves like no other. Water is terrible for them, do not soak feet in water !
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Actually water is the best thing for them. As others have said hoof oil does nothing except make them look shiny until stuff starts sticking to it. In mid summer when their hooves are really hard my trimmer would ask if I could soak them before a trim so would take them down to stand in our stream for a bit. Just made it a bit easier for her trimming-wise. Making a wet area around their trough is the easiest way to do it.


----------



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I never knew about water either. However, the farrier at the hoof rehab stable swears by it. Can't disagree with her, she got my daughter's horse sound in 2 months when he had been lame for almost 3 years and had been to equine lameness clinics. The farrier with the hoof spa got him sound, so what she says, goes, in my books anyways.


----------



## rocky pony (Oct 5, 2007)

I had been wondering why my nails have been looking better than ever. I thought I must have been eating healthier than I thought, but when I think about it it happened shortly after I moved into a house without a dishwasher. lol
Makes a lot of sense. My hands get really dry from all the dishwashing but my nails look great.


----------



## DarlaPony96 (Jan 5, 2015)

I just use mineral oil for my horse's hooves. They used to be really dry and chipped a lot, now they're doing pretty well.


----------



## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Wow, lots of contradictions here. Hope I can iron some out. 

Firstly, horse's hooves are meant to be dry! They are evolved for arid environs. While it's *possible* that in... extremely extreme deserts, they might become 'too dry', I've never seen it, and have seen many dry desert feet... along with many, many, 'dry looking' cracked feet in my sort of far wetter environ. In really extreme dryness, hooves *might* benefit from being stood on a wet mat or muddy patch from time to time, to allow the sole and inner wall at the ground to absorb some moisture - this can help horses shed excess sole they might be hanging onto unnecessarily. But even if there is a 'too dry', oil doesn't hydrate anyway, just softens & seals. & that's not healthy.

The outer wall which grows from the coronet is (assuming healthy) pretty much impermeable. It doesn't absorb water, oil, anything. Only if something very astringent were used that damaged the horn, or if the farrier had rasped away the outer wall, or they were full of 'microcracks' from poor nutrition *or too much wet* would anything be absorbed.

When the outer wall is compromised or cracked, micro or otherwise, bacteria can get in. Commonly known as 'seedy toe'. Sealing in the bugs with oil will provide for an ideal environment for the anaerobic bugs to thrive.

It is the inner wall material which grows from the laminae which is moist, live. The outer wall and sole are dry, dead keratin, like your fingernails & hair. You can improve the look of them cosmetically, but you can't improve their health with topical measures. To do that, the body - & therefore coat, skin, nails - needs to be fed well, with well balanced nutrition, and good circulation. In the case of horses, walking on their 'nails', health is also dependent on mechanical factors - function of the hooves effect circulation among other things. Eg. peripheral loading(hoof walls bearing entire load) puts pressure on both the coronary & circumflex arteries.

So... all in all, massaging the coronary border with a stimulant *might* be beneficial. Extremely dry environment hooves *may* benefit from standing on wet footing periodically(& your farrier will benefit if you do this right before a visit!). Hooves with compromised wall material *may* benefit from a polyurathane sealant or such, but more to seal *out* moisture and bugs. 

*Don't apply any kind of sealant if there's a chance of bugs present! Disinfect &/or resect before considering this.

If horse's hooves appear 'too dry', brittle, shelly, cracked etc, it is nutritional, &/or mechanical, &/or perhaps due to a too wet environment, or regular application of topicals!

Save your hoof oils for occasional use on healthy, uncompromised feet to look pretty for shows or such!


----------

