Give Your Horse Summer Support for Healthy Hooves

Summer fun for woman and horse.
Summer fun for woman and horse. Shutterstock

Newsdate: Friday June 29, 2018, 10:00 am
Location: PLYMOUTH, Massachusetts

As seasons change, so do the needs of your horse. One area that horse owners shouldn’t forget is hoof health, and SmartPak is here with the information and products to help you take great care of your horse’s hooves this summer.

Applying horse hoof treatment.

Applying horse hoof treatment

Although summer may mean more time spent with your horse, the weather and associated activities can be tough on hoof health.
© 2012 by Carien Schippers

Horse owners often hear about the idea of “no hoof, no horse” and the importance of regular hoof care and maintenance. “At a basic level, maintenance is as simple as establishing a consistent schedule with the farrier to trim or shoe every five weeks or so,” said Danvers Child, CFJ, SmartPak’s Hoof Care Consultant.

“Along with regular visits from the professional hoof care provider, maintenance also includes using a hoof pick daily to clean and inspect hooves, and other routine concerns. While your farrier serves as the team leader for consistent care and maintenance, an ideal team effort includes you, the farrier, the veterinarian, and other equine professionals.”

Although summer might mean more time spent with your horse, the weather and associated activities can be tough on hoof health. Frequent bathing and the other shifts between wet and dry environments that your horse’s hooves go through every day puts them at risk for cracks and other structural problems.

Consider adding a topical hoof sealant to help protect your horse’s hooves from excess moisture or over-drying such as Kevlar Tuff Hoof Guard Sealant or Keratex Hoof Gel.

In addition to moisture shifts, horses that spend their summer days stomping at flies could be causing damage to their hoof walls. A good fly defense program, including topicals, supplements, environmental controls, and fly gear such as fly boots may help reduce this.

Along with working with a knowledgeable hoof care professional and limiting the wet-to-dry shifts your horse’s hooves go through each day, proper nutrition plays a vital role in helping your horse maintain strong, resilient hooves. Child adds, “While, in an ideal world, a complete and balanced diet should provide adequate nutrients to support healthy hooves, other concerns (age, climate, activity, etc.) often result in a horse needing supplementation.”

A daily hoof supplement is an easy way to provide your horse with biotin, which has been shown to impact hoof growth rate and hardness, and other key nutrients that support healthy hoof growth. Popular picks include SmartHoof® Pellets and Farrier’s Formula® Double Strength.

To learn more about how you can support your horse’s hooves, and to get the tools you need, visit www.SmartPak.com today or check out SmartPak’s YouTube channel for videos featuring Danvers, from SmartPak’s Ask The Vet series, and hoof health product reviews. 

About SmartPak

From the feed room to the tack room, SmartPak offers innovative solutions to help riders take great care of their horses. SmartPak was founded in 1999 with the introduction of the patented SmartPak supplement feeding system. The revolutionary, daily dose SmartPaks are custom-made for your horse, individually labeled and sealed for freshness. With the success of this simple and convenient feeding system, SmartPak has continued to expand its offering of quality products, including its own line of more than 55 supplement formulas called SmartSupplements, and a wide variety of tack, equipment, and supplies.

The company has grown rapidly each year and is now the largest retailer of equestrian products in the United States. SmartPak’s success has been powered by a passion for delivering an unbeatable customer experience, and the company has been recognized with a Bizrate Circle of Excellence award eight years in a row, as well as receiving an “Elite” rating from STELLAService. A nine-time Inc. 500/5000 honoree, SmartPak is the only equine company ever named to the Inc. 500 list.

About the Author

EquiMed Staff

EquiMed staff writers team up to provide articles that require periodic updates based on evolving methods of equine healthcare. Compendia articles, core healthcare topics and more are written and updated as a group effort. Our review process includes an important veterinarian review, helping to assure the content is consistent with the latest understanding from a medical professional.

Subscribe