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Winter Feet: Why Sometimes the Best Thing to Do Is Not Panic

Winter hoof care can feel a bit like trying to keep the house clean with toddlers, dogs and a husband walking through the back door in muddy boots. You can try your best, but at some point you do have to accept that the season is doing what the season does.

Hooves are not static. They respond constantly to environment. Wetter ground can make hooves look flatter, wider and a little more flared than they did through the drier months. And while it is very tempting to rasp the foot back to the neat little version we remember from summer, that is not always the kindest or most useful thing to do.

Sometimes winter feet just look like winter feet, and that’s ok. It does not automatically mean everything has gone wrong.

A little more flare or a slightly flatter appearance can simply be part of the natural seasonal cycle. The important thing is knowing the difference between a foot that needs sensible maintenance and a foot that is being over-managed in an attempt to make it look like it belongs in January. Ironically, trying to rasp away every bit of winter flare can make the foot more likely to flare again.

I like to think of winter feet in a similar way to my own transition into a winter bod. You're more likely to find me at the bakery than on the beach in my cossie when it's cold. My body ‘adapts’ accordingly. I get my stretchier jeans out and embrace the change rather than trying to squeeze into clothes that are too small just because that's what I've always worn. Lord knows I'll be sweating it all out again come summer.

Likewise, don't be surprised if some horses need to go up a shoe size through winter. As feet spread and flatten slightly in wetter conditions, a shoe that fitted perfectly in summer may suddenly feel a little snug.

Perhaps this is the Yorkshire coming out in me, but if those summer shoes still have plenty of wear left in them, put them aside rather than throwing them in the scrap bin. When the ground dries out and the feet gather themselves back up, they can often be refitted later in the year.

It is also worth remembering that changing what you are doing does not mean what you were doing before was wrong. Good hoof care adapts to the horse in front of you and the conditions they are living in.

Wet ground, greasy gateways and slippery paddocks mean horses don't have to try quite so hard to invent new ways to injure themselves.

Slippery conditions do matter. Winter is often the time when your farrier may recommend a different shoe than the one your horse wore through summer. A slightly more concave shoe, for example, may provide a little more purchase in muddy conditions than a flatter shoe. Although the right choice will always depend on the individual horse, the work it is doing and the surfaces it is working on.

As the hoof shape changes with the season, sometimes the shoe choice needs to change with it too. 

Winter can be hard on your tools too. Wet sand and grit can be extremely abrasive on knives, rasps and nippers. 

Some people will use different rasps for different seasons. Personally, I’ve never had too much trouble with rasps clogging up but some people swap around to a Heller Excel Original rather than a Heller Excel Legend – I think it’s all personal preference. 

But do give your rasp a good brush out each time, wipe the horses foot with a towel each time you pick it up, to stop the teeth of your rasp blunting too quickly, and carry some WD40 to treat wet tools with after.

Pads can be very helpful in winter, especially for horses needing protection, support or comfort on stony ground. Mustad hoof pads and impression materials can form part of a practical shoeing package when extra sole protection or support is required.

However, pads are not a "fit and forget" solution.

In sandy areas especially, farriers need to be aware of what can work its way underneath. Sand trapped beneath a pad can create pressure, irritation and sometimes bruising. ComfortMix or packing under the pad can help fill the void left by:

• that poor atrophied frog that's disappearing quicker than the kids' chocolate in the fridge, and
• the space where sand, mud and gravel would otherwise compact.

Flushing underneath a pad with a hose can sometimes be a practical way of removing sand when the owner can't access it with a hoof pick.

No winter hoof blog would be complete without mentioning thrush.

Moisture, mud, manure and limited airflow create ideal conditions for thrush to develop. Horses with deep central sulci, contracted heels, long-term pad use or poor paddock hygiene may be more prone to it. If there is an opportunity for the horse to go a cycle without pads, take it.

Owners should look out for black discharge, a strong smell, sensitivity when picking out the frog, or a deep crack running up the centre of the frog.

Topical applications like Comfortmix Thrush Treatment and Hoof Hygiene liquid are fantastic but if the horse is standing in wet manure all day and only has their feet picked out once every 6 weeks, then we’re not just asking it to help, we’re asking it to perform miracles.

Winter hoof care does not need to be dramatic. The biggest improvements often come from simple, boring management.

Pick feet out when you can. Add gravel or stable matting around gateways, shelters and feed areas if practical. Keep horses on a regular farrier schedule, even if they are not working as much. Consistent appointments help prevent small issues becoming bigger ones, and tools such as EQUINET can make scheduling, reminders and forward planning much easier for both owners and farriers. If possible, adjust appointment times so feet can be properly assessed and worked on in daylight rather than trying to make decisions in the dark.

Communication and education also go a long way. If owners understand ahead of time that feet may spread, shoes may change, pads may come off, or a horse may need a different setup for winter, those seasonal adjustments become far less alarming.

The less people panic when a foot looks different, the less pressure there is to make unnecessary changes simply to make it look like summer again.

A winter foot may not look as tight, polished or pretty as a summer foot. That does not always mean it needs to be rasped into submission. Good farriery is not about forcing the foot to look the same all year round. It is about supporting the horse through the season it is standing in.

Sometimes that means temporarily using pads, packing or a different style of shoe. Sometimes it means treating thrush or adjusting the trim.

And sometimes it means accepting that the weather is wet, the paddocks are muddy, the horses are feral, and the feet will improve when the season turns.

Winter feet are not always pretty, but pretty is not the goal. Healthy, functional feet that comfortably carry the horse through the season are. If we can achieve that, the tighter, neater feet of summer usually take care of themselves when the weather finally turns.