Top 10 Hoof Care Tips for Horses: How to Support Strong, Healthy Hooves

Top 10 Tips for Healthy Hooves

Healthy hooves are the foundation of a sound, comfortable horse. Whether your horse is a pleasure horse, performance horse, pony, broodmare or golden oldie, hoof health affects movement, balance, comfort and long-term performance.

The most up-to-date hoof care advice still comes back to a few essentials: regular farrier care, good nutrition, clean footing, moisture management, daily observation and early intervention. Hoof quality also takes time to change. Supplements and management improvements support new hoof growth, so visible improvement can take months rather than weeks. In fact, notable hoof changes can take 6–9 months to become obvious, and a full hoof wall can take around 9–12 months to grow down. 

To help your horse's hooves through winter, here are our top 10 tips. 

1. Keep up with regular farrier visits

A consistent farrier schedule is one of the most important parts of hoof care. Regular trimming helps maintain balance, reduce flares, manage cracks, prevent overgrowth and support correct movement.

Most horses need trimming or shoeing roughly every 4–8 weeks, although this varies depending on workload, season, hoof growth, conformation, whether the horse is shod or barefoot, and advice from your farrier. Some barefoot horses or horses with hoof issues may benefit from more frequent, smaller adjustments rather than waiting until the hoof is overgrown. 

Oakford tip: If your horse is losing shoes, chipping badly, becoming footsore or showing new cracks, do not just wait until the next scheduled visit. Speak with your farrier early.

2. Feed the hoof from the inside out

Hooves are made largely from keratin, so they need the right building blocks: quality protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and adequate energy. Good quality forage, a balanced diet, correct vitamin and mineral supplementation, and constant access to clean water are all important for hoof health. 

Key nutrients often discussed for hoof quality include:

• Biotin

• Methionine and other amino acids

• Zinc

• Copper

• Essential fatty acids

• Adequate protein

Biotin is one of the best-known hoof nutrients, but it works best as part of a balanced diet rather than as a quick fix. It is generally recommended biotin intake is between 15–20 mg per day.

Oakford product options:
For horses needing hoof and coat support, consider products such as Kelato BiotinMAX Concentrate, which is a concentrated biotin supplement for horses with poor hoof quality, or Hygain Gleam Rapid Hoof & Coat Conditioner, which contains biotin, bio-chelated zinc, amino acids, full fat soya bean meal and essential fatty acids. 

3. Do not over-supplement

More is not always better. Hoof supplements can be useful when there is a genuine nutritional gap, but over-supplementation can waste money and may create imbalances, particularly with minerals such as zinc and copper.

A better approach is to look at the whole diet: pasture, hay, hard feed, balancers, supplements and workload. Excessive supplementation can be detrimental, so it is worth choosing targeted support rather than adding multiple products that overlap. 

Oakford tip: If your horse is already on a fortified feed or balancer, check before adding another hoof supplement. We are happy to help you compare labels.

4. Pick out hooves daily

Daily hoof picking is simple, inexpensive and extremely valuable. It removes stones, mud, manure and bedding packed around the frog and sole. It also gives you the chance to notice early warning signs such as heat, smell, black discharge, cracks, punctures, bruising, loose shoes or tenderness.

Frequent picking and brushing are also recommended as part of preventing and managing thrush, especially around the frog clefts. 

Look for:
A strong odour, black discharge, deep cracks around the frog, sudden lameness, a hot hoof, increased digital pulse, or a horse that suddenly resents having one foot handled.

5. Manage moisture carefully

Hooves do best with balance. Too wet and they can soften, split, stretch and become more vulnerable to thrush or white line issues. Too dry and they can become brittle and prone to cracking.

Wet-dry cycling is a common problem: hooves absorb moisture, soften and swell, then dry and contract. Repeated cycles can contribute to loose shoes, cracks and weakened horn. In Western Australian conditions, this may happen with winter mud, irrigated paddocks, frequent washing, or horses standing around troughs and gateways.

Oakford Product options :
For wet conditions, Keratex Hoof Gel is designed to form a waterproof yet breathable layer over the hoof to help prevent softening, splitting and breaking up in wet or muddy conditions. 

For dry hooves, products such as Worlds Best Hoof Oil, Effol Hoof Oil Gel, Keratex Coconut Oil Hoof Balm, or Keratex Hoof Moisturiser may help support hoof condition as part of a broader routine. 

6. Keep living areas clean and as dry as possible

Standing in wet, dirty bedding or muddy yards increases the risk of hoof and skin problems. Thrush is strongly associated with moisture, manure, organic matter and poor hoof hygiene. To mitigate this, it is recommended to clean out stalls daily, removing wet spots and manure, and keeping hooves clean of dirt, debris and excess moisture to help prevent thrush. 

Where possible:

• Remove manure and wet bedding regularly

• Improve drainage around gateways, shelters and troughs

• Rotate paddocks if conditions become boggy

• Give hooves time on drier ground

• Use clean, dry bedding for stabled horses

Oakford tip: During wet weather, do not forget the legs. Mud can also contribute to pastern and skin irritation. Keratex Mud Shield Powder is designed for legs prone to scabs and broken skin in wet and muddy conditions. 

7. Watch for thrush, seedy toe and white line disease

Thrush, seedy toe and white line disease are common hoof concerns, especially when moisture, dirt and compromised hoof structure are involved.

Thrush often affects the frog and can produce a foul smell, black discharge and tenderness. Thrush is often preventable with dry footing, clean hooves, regular turnout or exercise, and regular trimming. 

White line disease/seedy toe involves separation or infection within the hoof wall. Cases are often first noticed during trimming or shoeing when a separation filled with dirt or debris is found. 

Oakford Product options:
For hoof hygiene and management support, options such as the Decron Hoof Kit, for hoof emergencies including abscess, sole bruise, nail bind and thrush, and Donny Brook Hoof Repair Pack, described for issues including seedy toe/white line, thrush, abscesses and cracking. If your horse suffers from seedy toe or hoof cracks you can't go past the Beeswax Blue Balls.

For suspected infection, lameness, deep cracks, abscesses or white line disease, always involve your farrier and veterinarian.

8. Support circulation with appropriate movement

Regular movement supports circulation through the hoof and encourages healthy function. Horses evolved to move, and appropriate exercise can help stimulate blood flow and hoof growth.

This does not mean hard work on unsuitable ground. The best exercise depends on the horse’s age, soundness, workload, footing and current hoof condition. A horse recovering from an abscess, laminitis, sole bruising or thin soles may need a carefully managed plan from a vet and farrier.

Oakford tip: Movement is good, but pounding on hard ground is not the same as healthy exercise. Choose footing that suits the horse.

9. Protect hooves from excessive concussion and wear

Hard surfaces, rocky ground, jumping, roadwork, dry summer paddocks and high workloads can all increase wear and concussion. Some horses manage well barefoot; others need shoes, pads, hoof boots or short-term hoof protection depending on workload, terrain and hoof quality.

If your horse is transitioning barefoot, has thin soles, loses shoes often or becomes footsore after work, talk to your farrier about the best protection strategy.

Oakford Product option:
For horses with brittle, cracked, soft or weak hooves, soft soles, repeated shoe loss or barefoot transition concerns, Keratex Hoof Hardeneris designed to strengthen and protect shod and unshod hooves.

10. Reduce stomping, flies and unnecessary hoof stress

Some hoof damage is not caused by nutrition or farrier timing — it comes from behaviour and environment. Horses irritated by flies may stomp repeatedly, run fence lines, pull shoes, chip hoof walls or aggravate cracks.

During fly season, use a complete management approach:

• Fly masks and fly rugs where suitable

• Fly sprays and repellents

• Manure management

• Fans in stables if appropriate

• Reducing standing water and breeding areas

• Checking that stomping is not caused by mites, skin irritation or pain

Oakford tip: If your horse is suddenly stomping, do not assume it is “just flies.” Check legs, pasterns, soles and frogs carefully.

A simple healthy hoof routine

For most horses, the best hoof care routine is not complicated:

Daily: Pick out hooves, check for heat, cracks, smell, stones and loose shoes.
Weekly: Assess paddock/stable conditions, bedding, wet spots and mud-prone areas.
Every 4–8 weeks: Maintain regular farrier care, adjusted to the individual horse.
Seasonally: Review diet, workload, pasture changes, moisture exposure and insect control.
Long-term: Give hoof supplements time to work. Hoof improvement is measured in months, not days.

Healthy hooves come from consistent care, balanced nutrition and early action when something changes. If your horse has brittle hooves, poor growth, repeated shoe loss, thrush, cracks or soft soles, the best first step is to look at the whole picture: diet, environment, farrier schedule, workload and hoof hygiene.

At Oakford Stockfeeds, we stock a range of hoof supplements, hoof oils, hardeners, gels, balms and care kits to support your horse’s hoof care routine. Pop in-store or shop online, and we can help you choose a product that suits your horse’s needs, season and current hoof condition.