Warning: Overheard a guy at the feed store talking about hoof cracks getting way worse in dry summer months

I was picking up some baling twine and heard a farrier with 30 years in the trade say he sees a 40% spike in quarter cracks every July and August because people aren't adjusting their shoeing schedule for dry ground. He told another shoer that he switches to full pads and more frequent trims around June 1st to stay ahead of it. I usually just go with the flow and trim when the horses need it, but that conversation got me thinking. I lost a good client last year because a hoof crack got bad after I didn't suggest anything for the heat. Anyone else change up their approach when summer hits, or just roll with the same routine no matter what?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah83818d ago

Been doing this 15 years and I push back on that 40% number a bit. Dry ground definitely makes cracks more visible but I think a lot of that stat comes from guys pushing fancy pads and extra trims to upsell clients for the summer. Way more hoof cracks come from poor nutrition and bad trimming angles year round than from seasonal ground hardness in my experience.

stella90418d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy @noah838 over in Kentucky had a horse last August with a crack so deep you could fit a quarter in it. Owner swore it was the dry ground. Turns out horse was on a straight alfalfa diet with zero copper or zinc. I trimmed the crack out, got them on a good supplement, fixed the angle a little. Took six months but grew out clean. Ground was still hard as concrete that whole time. So yeah I'm with you on this one.