How to Clean Your Horse’s Hooves

It is very important to clean your horse’s hooves out on a regular basis. Some people do it everyday, some once a week. Horses can pick up stones that become stuck in the crevices. If you do not remove the stones, they can cause your horse to become lame by constantly walking on them. You cannot ride a lame horse. When your horse walks around in the pasture and barn, manure and dirt become impacted in the hooves. This is similar to you getting dirt under your fingernails while gardening or cleaning. If you do not keep the hooves cleaned out, the moisture can cause infection called hoofrot or thrush. It causes a bad odor and makes the hooves soft and sticky. This can also lead to a lame horse. You should make hoof cleaning a regular part of your horse’s grooming. How do you clean your horse's hooves?

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A hoofpick
• Thrush-XX
• A horse

1. 
    
   Bend the leg

   Start at the front side of your horse. Tap the hoof with the pick and say, “foot.” If the horse doesn’t lift the hoof, then grab around the ankle and lift the hoof backwards, bending the horse’s knee.

2. 
    
   Look into the hoof

   Bring the bottom of the hoof up so that you can see it clearly.

3. 
    
   Pull the dirt away from the frog

   Place the point of your hoofpick next to the frog and pull the dirt and manure away from the hoof. Let the dirt drop to the ground. Repeat this process until you have cleaned the area on both sides of the frog.

4. Go around the outer edge of the hoof checking for small stones. Use the hoofpick to remove them.

5. If there is a foul odor, the frog is sticky, or the inside of the hoof is soft, put some hoof medicine for thrush, such as Thrush-XX, on the hoof you just cleaned.

6. Move to the hoof directly behind the one you just cleaned and repeat all of the steps. Then go to the other front hoof, then the other back hoof repeating the steps each time.

Tips & Warnings

• When you shampoo and shower your horse, you can lift the hoof as if you would clean it only spray it completely out with water to clean it.
• Some horses try to kick people who stand behind them. Know your horse’s temperament, or stand slightly off to one side and not directly behind the buttocks.

Resources

• How to Shed Your Shetland Pony Using the Furminator
• How to Compost Inexpensively and Without Attracting Pests
• How to Know When You Can Start Collecting Milk From a Cow
• Parenting tips
• Foster care and adoption advice

[painthorse42]

on 10/5/2008 Wonderful article! The saying "No hoof No horse" is so true! 5*

[CowgirlCal]

on 8/23/2008 Also thanks for your great advice. You write to me and I'll write to you. We can be friends!

[CowgirlCal]

on 8/23/2008 My Shetland Pony had thrush once. We worked hard to get her hooves back to good health. she mostly layed down because of her hooves. If we didn't do anything she could have had to be put down or not able to walk. Now she's good and healthy.