Or, just for toughening up your horses already bare hooves.
Here is a description of what Durasole is: Durasole acts as a fixative on the exfoliating sole and insensitive frog on the solar surface of the equine hoof. It disables the intrinsic enzymes which would weaken mechanical composition of these structures, protects the structures from extrinsic damage from microorganisms in their environment, and alters the tissue of the exfoliating sole and insensitive frog at the molecular level, increasing their strength and rigidity by improving their mechanical stability and enhancing their primary function.
Nicely worded copy, but what does Durasole do then, exactly? Well, it works to toughen up the sole of the horses hoof and it also gets rid of thrush. I’ve used it on my horses and was pleased with the results. Here is the Durasole how to use it page. Be sure to click around the site if you’d like to learn more about the product. It may help some horses speed up their time to transition to barefoot or it might help a horse that is going through a sensitive time. Even an already going well barefoot horse is subject to changes in his environment or feed that could cause some hoof sensitivity. There are several places to purchase Durasole – I got it from Jeffer’s.
Karen, if it is helpful, I have seen Durasole around the farrier world for many years and have never heard of an ill effects.
There are options for sore-footed horses and I hope that people will seek some first-aid measures. I know you can’t relate to this down in the Southwest, but this time of year in the North, even horses whose soles you thought were tough can get ouchy as the frozen ground shapes into weird lumpy concrete-like hummocks right under them in the paddock.
Dreaming of spring,
Fran Jurga
The Hoof Blog
Hi Fran – thanks for the info! I actually live in Northern Nevada – at about 5,000′ elevation. It’s been dryer than normal this time of year. Normally my horses have been in mud for weeks by now and it always makes managing their hooves difficult. The storms are starting to come through now though!
Thanks for the info. I can’t use it on Julie, because I rasp her feet every time I look at her. She is a pill to trim and it is easier if I just keep after them. Her feet seem to grow an inch a month!
I will give it a shot on Tio and the others who don’t get as much attention–nor do their feet grow quite so fast.
Becky – How flat are Julie’s feet on the bottom? If you want her to toughen up too, then give it a try on her and see what happens. Even with frequent rasping you are probably not actually doing the entire sole area — are you?