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Hoofcare Tips For Horse Owners – Our Top Ten Tips For A Happy, Healthy Horse

Date: 04-09-2025
Tips and Tricks Information For Horse Owners

 

Want to learn our top hoofcare tips for horse owners to make life better for your horse and easier for your farrier? While there are certain hoofcare jobs (like shoeing or correcting major issues) that should be left to the professionals, there’s plenty that you can do as a horse owner to boost your animal’s quality of life and ensure that your farrier visits go smoothly.

 

General Hoofcare Tips For Horse Owners

The hoof is one of the most important parts of your horse when it comes to their overall wellbeing, so it’s important to do everything you can to support their health in this regard. This includes regularly maintaining the hoof, making use of the right products when intervention is required, and ensuring that your horse has an appropriate environment to live in.

Clean Their Hooves Regularly

Horses can get all kinds of things stuck in their hooves, and this build up can cause pain or lead to more concerning issues. While it’s not possible to prevent your horse from getting dirt, rocks and other things stuck in their feet, you can greatly reduce the risk that these things pose by regularly cleaning your horse’s hooves. This can be done with a hoof pick and is our number one hoofcare tip for horse owners.

Ensure An Appropriate Living Environment

Ensuring that your horse lives in an environment thats healthy for both them and their hooves is key to ensuring their wellbeing. Areas that are constantly wet, for example, are a breeding ground for bacteria and can make your horse more susceptible to issues such as thrush and seedy toe. We recommend ensuring that there is a dry area that your horse can access, as well as ensuring that the ground in the space they usually occupy isn’t too rocky or harsh on their hooves. It is also wise to check that there are no dangerous plants growing in their paddock and to fill in any holes that may appear.

Add A Hoof Supplement To Their Feed

Much like humans, horses rarely get everything they need from their standard diet. For example, many horses don’t get anywhere near enough Vitamin E. A premium equine supplement - such as Right Balance - can help with this. Right Balance also provides Biotin and Zinpro, as is specially formulated to improve hoof health. In addition to promoting healthier, stronger hooves, Right Balance offers benefits for your horse’s coat and mane, while enhancing their overall wellbeing, making it an ideal addition to any diet.

Moisturise When Needed

During the colder months, your horse’s hooves probably won’t need to be moisturised, but we all know that Aussie Summers can be brutal. If your horse looks like their hooves are getting a little dry or brittle, applying a moisturiser like Hoof Marvel can help restore balance and flexibility. Moisturising also helps you keep on top of noticing any issues that may be threatening to form, as you can have a look over the hoof while spraying it.

Prevention Is Better Than A Cure

Finally, while your farrier can work to correct hoof issues that arise, prevention will always be better than a cure. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to look for ways to support your horse’s hoof health.

Hoof Hygiene, for example, can help prevent problems such as white line disease and thrush, while also optimising hoof health – especially within the frog and white line. Hoof boots on the other hand provide protection for sensitive feet that can be easily slipped on when your horse needs to be ridden on surfaces that are less than ideal.

Horse owners who have animals that are shod should also keep an Emergency Shoe Removal Kit easily accessible for if their horse ever throws a shoe, as keeping one partially attached can cause significant issues.

 

Helping Your Farrier Help You

In addition to following our above hoofcare tips for horse owners, it’s vital to ensure that your horse, schedule and environment are safe for your farrier.

Train Your Horse To Work With Your Farrier

While most horse owners know all about training their horse to work with them, farriers are often forgotten about when you’re working on your horse’s ground skills.  This can lead to uncomfortable visits for your hoofcare professional (and your animal) and if they’re too disagreeable, your horse may not be able to receive the care that they need.

In order to prevent this, it is vital that you train your horse to be comfortable being handled in the way that your farrier needs to. This means regularly picking up their hooves, training them to be comfortable tied up and working on having them be comfortable with a wide range of people. Your farrier probably also has their own set of hoofcare tips for horse owners in this regard, so why not ask them about it next time they visit?

Keep A Regular Schedule

Maintaining a regular schedule with your farrier makes life easier for both them, and your horse. The hoof is constantly growing and if it is left without intervention for an extended period, this growth can become uneven and/or too long,  the early stages of issues can be missed, and your horse may experience discomfort, or, in extreme cases, lameness.

The easiest way to prevent these issues is to ensure that you have regular appointments with your farrier so they can keep the hoof in top shape and provide early intervention if anything seems like it is going awry.o figuring this out with your farrier is always a good idea. The majority of the time this cycle will fall between five and eight weeks, however, some horses may require additional attention and/or a shorter cycle.

Note: If your farrier uses the EQUINET App, you may receive appointment reminders via email and/or text message. These reminders will allow you to RSVP, so be sure to keep an eye out for them, as this makes staying on schedule easier for everyone.

Provide A Safe And Clean Working Environment

Whenever possible, your farrier should be able to work with your horse in an area that is covered, dry and clean. The ground or floor should be level and there should be sufficient amenities to cross tie your horse for everyone’s safety. Measures should also be put in place to mitigate extreme temperatures.

While all of these aspects may not be able to be controlled in every situation, making the working environment as safe as possible means that your farrier will be able to work more efficiently. This reduces the amount of time that your horse has to stay still or lift their hooves, and makes the process more comfortable for all involved.

Watch For Any Issues That May Arise

Although a hoofcare professional like a farrier is going to be able to identify issues more easily than you as the horse owner, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be keeping an eye out. Any changes to your horse’s gait or behaviour could indicate the beginning of an issue, and it is wise to call your farrier out for an extra visit if you notice anything that seems off.

Remember, your farrier doesn’t see your horse every day like you do, so they’re not going to know that anything is wrong until their next visit if you don’t notify them. This could create a delay in treatment that makes things harder to correct than they would have been if your farrier had been notified when you first discovered the concern.

Follow Instructions Closely

Finally, if your farrier gives you any instructions for caring for your horse’s hooves, it is vital that you follow them closely. While farriers can provide expert care during their visits, horse owners are the ones who need to take care of daily maintenance in order to ensure that the horse is as healthy and comfortable as possible.

 

 

 

This list of hoofcare tips for horse owners is designed to give you a solid foundation for supporting your horse’s hoof health and overall wellbeing. It is also, however, general in nature, so it is always a good idea to consult with your farrier to receive personalised advice.