How to make hooves stronger and homemade fly sprays (2parts)?

Question

hello everyone, i have a bit of a problem. my QH and TB have front shoes on, but my 5yo Arabian is barefoot, just because of the fact that he is an Arab and i dont work him in anything but sand and grass. all three are always stomping their feet at flies (you know fly sprays, they never work for more than a few minutes), and my Arab is really wearing his front hooves down at the toe. I really dont want to have to put shoes on him, but i will if i have to. I'm going to put him on a hoof supplement, but i was wondering if there are any generic product or oils that you can add to thier feed for stronger hooves (like corn or veggie oil for coat and weight). and if you dont know of anything, advice on which supplement works best to make hooves stronger would be appreciated. again, i will put shoes on him if it comes down to it.

Secondly, has anyone made any homemade fly sprays that have worked well? it'd be nice to have a cheap alternative to the commercial sprays. Thanks alot!

Answer 1

I have heard feeding dried garlic granules can help with the flies, but I'ma bit sceptical bout that one.

This is a rubbish answer :( but perhaps use bute if they are reaaly bad?

I'm interested in the spray q myself too :)

Answer 2

If your horse is wearing his feet unevenly, the problem is his trim, not his feet.  Since I can't see his feet it is impossible to give you better advice.  I would not put shoes on him if he has good feet.  A good balanced diet and adequate turn out is the best thing you can do for your horses nutritionally.  Supplementation is not usually beneficial.  It is not recommended that you apply oils or topicals on hooves and soles as they are detrimental.  All of the newest findings in hoof research (for the last 10 years) have reached this conclusion.  Shoes are not the answer.  He needs a proper barefoot trim (which is totally different from a trim for a shoe).  good luck

Answer 3

A farrier I talked to once said Hooflex (sp?) every day for a month on the bottom of their feet will make them a lot tougher. He said the bottle it comes in says it will make them softer but he found it always makes them stronger.

For fly sprays, you can buy the concentrate and mix your own. it usually ends up cheaper.

Answer 4

Hooves toughen up when exposed to harder grounds for little periods at a time. If you continue to do this they will get stronger naturally.

Alternatively try this website for horse boots, ones you can put on and off when neccessary. I have never used these but found this website tonight and they look fantastic.

http://www.easycareinc.com/our_boots/eas...

I have also heard that lavender oil mixed with distilled water in a spray bottle is a natural alternative to fly spray.

Answer 5

About the fly sprays... i did a little bit of google searching and i found this!

          http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/fa...

Answer 6

As for the hoof problem, i would suggest farriers formula. Its mixed in with feed but is slightly expensive. It worked a treat on my young TB who wore his toes down. As for the fly spray, i have two things that i use! the first one is citronella and water. I mix it in a spray bottle and put in about 10 drops of citronella (according to the size of the bottle). Another great product you can try is NEEM oil. It is fantastic and can be used for fly sprays aswell as rubbing into horses legs if they are prone mud fever (mix this with baby oil). For the fly spray, you need to put the tub of neem oil into a bowl of hot water, to melt it (as it is a solid at room temperature). Once melted, add some of this into a spray bottle, again filled with water. A few drops should do it, or until it turns a slight brown colour. The neem oil i use is: http://www.neemgenie.co.uk/Merchant2/mer...

Good luck!

Answer 7

Maybe try a higher end fly spray!  Believe me, I tried the homemade stuff, didnt work.  I get Happy Horse from www.agri-med.com  It works!   So does Endure!  You get what you pay for!