SoVa Hoof Care

07/28/2026

You know that old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? Well, turns out it’s usually true! Especially in hooves. 😉

Despite good diet, this gelding‘s hooves still had issues in our wet climate with wall quality and delamination, every single year. Late last year, his owner started using Hoof Armor regularly and it’s made a HUGE difference. By this time of year, his walls would have delaminating (peeling apart) at the bottom.

I believe in very FEW lotions and potions you can paint on a hoof wall that’ll actually do something, but Hoof Armor is one of them. It’s safe to use on the entire hoof!

07/20/2026

Timely post as it’s our warm & wet season and the exact conditions white line disease thrives in. Great example of how these can be deceivingly deep these can get be, and why they need to be opened up & debrided most of the time to be treated.

White line disease up close- islands of crumbling hoof wall.

Notice the non pigmented wall that’s nearer the coronary band is fractured, like islands. That’s the appearance of microbes digesting the keratin. Keratin is essential structure that keeps the wall functioning correctly. As it is digested the wall crumbles.

If the paddock muck (the black plug) is not removed, there is no point squirting a treatment up into the hole. It can’t get to the active part where the microbes are digesting wall and multiplying uncontrollably.

Many owners religiously treat white line disease but it often a complete ware of time and money as the treatments can’t get to where it is needed.

The disease can be very high up and it also digests horn medial to lateral.

In the olden days this was called ‘hollow hoof’ as it made a hollow sound when tapped.

The photo is a sagittal section of the toe.

Please share and let’s try and help others that don’t realise how awful this condition is.

Thanks to my sponsors for supporting my equine study - see comments for details.

07/18/2026

Thank goodness for electrolytes, big fans and sweet little minis. 🥰

07/18/2026

06/11/2026

I’m so glad somebody is saying it. Some horses are an absolute struggle to get their legs off the ground or position them accordingly for the farrier. Let me tell you what, it is absolutely exhausting to repeatedly try to lift the dead weight of a limb belonging to a live 1000lb + animal. Exhausting. Sometimes it is poor training/behavior, but when you practice this and they “know” (and every horse should know) sometimes they are really physically struggling.

06/05/2026

The horse pictured here is genetically predisposed to equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and was given free choice, unlimited access to hay. He developed obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and ultimately insulin-induced laminitis. When he could no longer stand, hay was kept in front of him 24/7.

After getting a hay analysis, the owner was advised how much to feed based on actual energy requirements (calories consumed vs. calories expended), to weigh the hay, and to use slow feeders. When the horse was sound, the owner scattered the hay over several acres. The horse made a full recovery and achieved his ideal weight in 9 months.

For weight loss, a good rule of thumb is to feed 1.5% of current weight, or 2.0% of ideal body weight in hay (lbs/day), whichever is more. Example: Overweight horse of 1200 lbs, ideal weight is 1000 lbs. [1200 lbs x 0.015 = 18 lbs/day; 1000 lbs x 0.02 = 20 lbs/day]. Use of slow feeders or small hole hay nets will slow consumption. More information here: https://bit.ly/3Cmh50L

06/01/2026

There was a post in a local group asking about farrier prices for barefoot trims. The prices ranged anywhere from $40 - $80.
This one comment caught my attention because, well, farriery is a tough job that is high skill, high risk and causes lots of wear and tear & sore bodies. It’s not a computer desk job, or a sit down job to sew napkins, or bake cookies for multi order discounts.

So, if you are looking for a farrier or looking to add more horses, I 100% do not recommend bargaining or haggling for one trim, let alone a multiple horse discount.

05/26/2026

Easycare Rollers (size 11) for this big gal with a medial collateral ligament tear. The left shoe has been modified to reduce leverage, aiming to help facilitate healing of the ligament.

EasyCare Inc. Protective Hoofwear
Jim Blurton Farrier Products
3D HoofCare

05/18/2026

05/01/2026