A comment on a previous post has had a few asking for Lisa’s magic tar hoof recipe.
(You can see the comment and replies here).
But this came in from Sarah. And I thought it only fair to publish, seeing as I linked to Sarah’s site on the same post:
“Pine Tar is now mainly used as a softening solvent in the rubber industry, and for construction material and special paints. Why would you put this on a hoof?
With shod horses over time the hooves can dry up and crack as the natural hoof mechanism is obliterated. So what horse owners used to do was to put on all manner of potions to protect the hoof. It is backward thinking as there was no problem with the hoof it was the shoe which was creating the problem. So putting stuff on hooves is like putting spot cover up on spots.. You are not treating the cause.
You may well put stuff on barefoot hooves and think this is what is keeping your horse sound – but you are forgetting that the barefoot hoof can and will perform. Putting stuff on it is not what is going to make it sound – the barefoot hoof will stay sound. Ie it is a total waste of time and is if anything going to do more harm than good. Would you put stockholm tar on your skin or eat it? the answer is obviously no – so therefore why would you put it on a horses hoof.
There is nothing I would put on a horses hoof that I would not eat. My point being the hoof is a living organism and it needs to breathe. It is able to function in wet conditions and in dry conditions and adapts accordingly.
The background from putting tar on the hoof is to stop water entering the hoof – however hooves need moisture. An extreme example is with horses in the wild living in very dry conditions immerse their hooves in drinking holes which moistens the hoof – this is as nature intended.
In very dry conditions some barefoot horse owners build water bays so they can get their horses hooves in water.
It is an old wives tale that hooves need tar on them to keep water out. If your horses were standing in water all day long all year round then they may require a water repellent but no horse is kept in these conditions.
Sarah”
If Sarah struck a chord with you, her site and step-by-step videos are here.
Please keep ’em coming.
Best
Al
I left my comment to share experience, not to disagree with anyone else. I have used the 50/50 mixture of pine tar & fish oil on my barefoot horses hooves in Wisconsin for about 20 years, as needed only. Not as a routine grooming regimine. Typically it is needed summer and fall especially in drought conditions. Never seen anything cure cracks, chipping feet or bruised & dried out soles faster. Also excellent at the coronet band for encouraging new & healthy growth. When more severe cracks appear I use straight pine tar. I personally have had sucess. My back ground includes growing up in farming. We had to be resourceful penny pinchers & tried to avoid putting chemicals in or on our animals. The local Fleet XXXX store has always been my favorite. The good old large animal remedies are still available. Again, I am just sharing my experience for others to consider.
Having lived more than three-quarters of a century and dealing with horses many of those years and presently living on a ranch where horses are not a hobby or a pet but a necessity and their care and keep is of utmost importance, I have learned that there are no absolutes and that each animal, as are humans, are individual and unique as to their requirements. What works for one doesn’t necessarily work for all. Most of what I have learned came from the school of experience and common sense and not from experts which by definition are a drip of water under pressure. It’s best to listen to both sides and then make your own conclusions. A lost art in the world today.
Glen, This is a very good comment! I appreciate the experience you have and you are correct in saying that what works well for one will not be what is needed in the other. Thank You
I have had my mare barefoot her whole life, and she gets dry hooves really bad. Even though we don’t precisely have a very dry environment. Therefore, I do keep oil on them so they don’t crack and chip off; usually I use Hooflex but I have also used Rainmaker which has pine tar in it. Going barefoot, in my experience, isn’t a cure-all, and still requires special attention to the hoof jut like with shoes.
I certainly agree with Sarah about putting “potions” on horse hoofs in almost all cases. All my horses are barefoot. However, I have a thoroughbred retired race horse that had the worst looking hooves when I got her. Some thoroughbreds apparently have soft, shelly hoofs. They were splitting and had numerous cracks running up nearly to the coronet. For quite some time I used a biotin hoof supplement, but to no avail. Then, I read an article by the barn manager at Hill ‘n Dale Farms, one of Kentucky’s premier Thoroughbred facilities. He had been using Keratex Hoof Hardener with success. I tried it and her hooves are beginning to look normal. It is not a surface coating but penetrates and hardens the hoof.
David Brokaw
Ty Run Stables
God created horses. He did not require them to apply anything to them. It is just putting a bandade to a problem we humans have created. Start from the inside out. Supply proper feed to horse & heal it frst thru diet. That takes time. Try some organic feed that has no chemicles as ingrediants. Are you not aware of Monsanto. Our commercial feeds that have corn, which most do re loaded with geneticall modified organisims….GMO
Why not try essentials oils to the hoof if you must to.
And yes you can eat it to.Why not try someting simply as coconut oil. Has healing properties as well.Inexpensive to,on the hoof if you must to or add to the diet as well.
just some alternative suggestions.
I have had an OTTB for 8 months which I am trying to keep barefoot, unlike her previous owners who kept her shod in the summer riding season. From reading Dr. Getty’s page, now realize that her “soft” hoofs are just an indication of protein and fat deficiency, just like humans grow longer stronger fingernails if we have a good dietary intake. In the summer when her hoofs started getting dry, I tried putting neatsfoot oil on her surface cracks, which caused them to get worse. I am now using Cornucresine Ointment on her coronary bands which was recommended by one of the previous owners. Barefoot is worth a try, as one barefoot farrier told me, it has to do with “diet, diet, diet and exercise.”
😛 I agree whole heartedly with you Sarah.
many years ago we used lard on hooves when needed. Was easy to come by then and economical and worked!
Thank you all for your input. Most polite and well mannered and a good range experiences and suggestions which we can use to choose our own path
That is fantastic information from everyone…and I will be calling on it when I finally get my horse…to go barefoot sounds good to me…how do they go on the open bitumen road though, with no shoes??? Does it just toughen them up, as with humans?? Thankyou all for your input and I agree, food for thought and lots of alternatives and choices. 🙂
What you are going to do with your horse does matter. For instance you can’t expect a horse who normally works only in arenas or on sand etc to do a long walk in the bush over stones or ashphalt etc. He may be a little sore afterwards. Depending on he surface you normally ride on will dictate the type of shoe (or not) that he would need. Of course, as in the wild, if the horse did enough of walking on stones, rocky paths etc, his feet would toughen up to accommodate that. 😛
I use a homemade mixture roughly of 1 3rd Stockholm tar, 1 3rd animal fat and 1 3rd vege oil.
My horses are barefoot, and do not put on when turned out. However, I do put on when working, though the mixture changes with the seasons. More fat ratio to the oil in summer to stop drying out, and more oil to fat ratio to stop getting too soggy in winter. This has worked for me for 30 yrs, on barefoot horses that muster cattle on rocky terrain. I live in Australia, so we are very dry in summer – so more fat. Just use your left over fat and oil from cooking, and mix with the tar as set above.
I’m a barefoot convert the mustang I adopted never shod feet look good mmmm, read a lot,got a good barefoot trimmer haven’t had a problem. Uses mustang roll and I go everywhere rarely any chips but I agree diet and exercise is important I don’t use any oils on feet. What I always think of is the feet are the second heart of a horse need to keep that blood circulating