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?

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karenh565mo 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.

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laura_schmidt825mo ago

Three months on deep bedding fixed mine too.

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elliot_gibson275mo ago

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

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