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You Are Here: Home > Hoofcare > Articles > Balancing Moisture in Hooves
Balancing The Moisture in your Horse's Hooves
by Cheryl McNamee Sutor, MHG
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Which is better... too much moisture, or too little? Neither! Both extemes can be quite harmful to the health of your horse's hooves. When your horse's hooves are too dry, they become hard and brittle, have difficulty expanding and contracting, and crack easier. On the opposite extreme, when your horse's hooves are water-logged, they become too soft and supple, may expand and contract too easily, and are more inviting to harmful bacteria, yeast and fungus.
Some hoof experts say that a horse's hooves should be soaked in water daily for as much as 1-2 hours. Yet, others say that water is harmful and a horse's hooves should be kept as dry as possible. However, blanket statements such as these leave many horses with less-than-ideal hoof function.
The ultimate solution is to strike a balance between wet and dry. Both extremes can be equally harmful and achieving balance between them is very important to maintaining hoof health.
When wild or feral horses drink from streams and ponds, they stand with their feet in the
water on average 5-30 minutes daily. The horse has evolved over millions of years to require daily
hoof soaking to prevent the hooves from drying out and becoming brittle. A lack of water can be quite
harmful to the horse's hooves.
Wild/feral horses travel upwards of 20 miles per day over varried terrain. They travel over dry, rocky terrain, and also wet, soft terrain. They tend to strike a balance on their own. Our domesticated horses are typically standing around in the same environment, same terrain, without much variation. Our problems begin when our horses just can't escape the extremes of wet or dry ground.
The most damaging of environments is either when a horse is water-logged (mucky, muddy paddock, standing in manure or urine) or when they are in complete dryness (bedded stall, sand arena, limestone paddock, dry weather) for an extended period of time.
If the weather is typically dry where your horse lives, it is very beneficial to allow your horse's hooves exposure to moisture on a daily basis. This can be done using soaking/medicating boots, or you can set up an area of your horse's turnout that contains water and allow him to walk in the water as he pleases. I've seen some horse owners place plastic children's pools in their pastures, and I've seen plenty of horses who love to splash and play in them. I've also seen horse owners set up special "soaking spas", with four railroad ties set out in a square, and a tarp filled with water placed in the middle.
If the weather is typically wet where your horse lives, consider placing the shelters on high ground with plenty of wood shavings inside them. Also, surround the shelters and high-traffic areas in heavy, packed limestone so that the horses have a firm, dry place to stand to escape all the moisture.
Ideally, our pastures should have both wet and dry areas, so that the horse's hooves can experience both extremes on a daily basis. However, over 99% of boarding facilities do not offer this option. (To learn how to do this, purchase Paddock Paradise, A Guide to Natural Horse Boarding from TheHorsesHoof.com.
(c) Sherry Froemming
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Unfortunately, our domesticated horses are often not able to stand in water while they drink.
This is because we generally water our horses from buckets and troughs, which are too high and
too small for a horse to stand in. The only times that our domesticated horses generally have water
on their feet is during bath time (when soap is added it can be drying to the feet) or during periods
of rain (only when the horse is kept outdoors). This is not sufficient enough to restore and maintain
a proper balance of moisture in the hoof.
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As a result, many of our domesticated horses are suffering from dried-out, brittle hooves that are inflexible.
The horse's hooves should be soaked in water on a regular basis, ideally daily. The water should be
high enough that it completely covers the horse's coronary band and periople, as this area is highly absorbent
and "feeds" water to growing hoof horn. For horses with fairly healthy feet, soaking for 15 minutes daily should
be sufficient. However, for horses that are rehabbing from hoof diseases or those whose feet have become dried-out
and brittle, 1-2 hours per day of soaking is recommended.
If your horse does not have access to a pond or creek for hoof soaking, here are some suggestions: hose your horse's hooves
for 5-10 minutes daily. Or, try using soaking boots (pictured right). Soaking boots are available
from TheHorsesHoof.com
or (1-877-594-3365) and are the most common way of soaking a horse's hooves.
I have also seen many horse owners build "hoof spas" on their
property for daily soaking. The hoof spas are usually contructed of 4 railroad ties with a tarp over the
top to hold water for the horse to stand in. If these options do not work for you, simply carry a sprayer
bottle of water with you and spray your horse's hooves and coronet bands with water throughout the day.
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Photo Courtesy of TheHorsesHoof.com
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It is especially important to wet your horse's hooves if he has been on any bedding or footing that wicks
moisture away from the hooves (ex: wood shavings, sand, etc.)
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