My secret weapon for dealing with thin, brittle hooves

I had this one horse that kept chipping and cracking no matter what I did. After 4 months of trying different shoes and pads, I finally tried a hoof repair product called Keratex Hoof Hardener on the sole area before nailing on the shoe. It hardened up the hoof wall just enough to get a clean nail set without splitting. Has anyone else used something like this on problem hooves?

3 comments

3 Comments

karenh561mo ago

My own mare had feet like potato chips last year. I tried that Keratex stuff on her soles too and it helped a bit but I found it made the hoof wall almost too hard. The farrier had a heck of a time getting the nails to go in straight, they kept bouncing off. I ended up switching to a different product called Hoof Armor that was more like a flexible coating. But honestly the thing that fixed her the most was just keeping her stalled on deep shavings for a few months and adding a biotin supplement. Her feet were so crummy before that I could see her limping just walking across gravel.

laura_schmidt821mo agoMost Upvoted

Three months on deep bedding fixed mine too.

elliot_gibson271mo ago

My farrier says my mare's feet are training him for retirement.