Tara writes:
Quote:
I have a horse that is dealing with a abscess and just all over dry cracked hooves for years.. any herbal advice? Thanks
My reply:
As an old race horse trainer, hooves were very important to me. I wanted them as pliable and strong as possible from the constant track work and competition my horses experienced every day. I would always pack my horse's hooves with clay, everyday. This would be impractical for anyone with horses outside, but if your horses are stall-bound, like race horses, for most of the day, then pack them. You can go out and dig up any clay type soil. Just make sure there are no small stones in them. You can go buy 50 pound sacks of "bentonite" clay as I did for around $5/sack. You can often buy it at feed/farm stores. You can also buy the more expensive poultice formulations every tack shop has. Just mix up the clay to a sticky consistency and pack into the shod hoof. However, unshod hooves really will not hold this packing well.
After packing the stalled horse, I would take some plain old used crankcase oil taken from my vehicle on the last oil change and paint it around the coronary band down over the entire hoof. Of course, you can buy the more expensive tack shop concoctions of hoof oils. This helps keep the moisture inside the hoof. Doing all of this kept my horse's feet in excellent shape through the years.
Oh yes, forgot, abscesses. Well, I use to do a lot of hoof soaking in a tub, using warm water and epsom salts. Also, I would routinely poultice the entire hoof. You can use the bentonite clay and mix in various herbs such as comfrey, plantain, poke leave, chaparral, etc. I would chop up the leave and just mix the chopped leave into the clay as you mix it up with water. Apply as a poultice. This can be in a regular store bought poultice boot or a home made affair at cheaper cost. The key is to keep the hoof soft and often the abcess will pop out at the weakest point. i.e. the coronary band, etc.