How to Wrap a Horse's Hoof

How to Wrap a Horse’s Hoof

As happy as I am to see winter drawing to a close, there’s one part about spring that I never look forward to - mud season. Grooming a smelly, mud-caked, shedding horse isn’t on the top of my Ten Favorite Things to Do list, but even worse is dealing with the inevitable curse of the season… the hoof abscess.

Yes, for my horse, it happens every year like clockwork. And for a week or so, I spend my days soaking my horse’s sore foot and examining it, anxiously looking for the telltale hole that proclaims the abscess has burst.

Soaking a hoof is no fun, for sure, but I find wrapping it even more challenging. Now I know many of you are shaking your heads and asking, “Haven’t you heard about boots?” Well, yes, I have. But I’m also the proud owner of the most thin-skinned Thoroughbred you’ll ever meet. The one time I tried using a boot on my horse, (because he had abscessed) he stayed lame for what seemed to me an unusually long time, especially since the abscess had popped. Finally, I called my vet. She looked at the foot and saw that the boot had rubbed him just above his heel. She said, “You know, a rub like that will make a horse lame as any abscess would…” With that, I removed the boot and about a day later, my horse was sound.

And because of that incident, I’m resigned to wrapping my horse’s hoof.

So out come the duct tape and the baby diapers, and all the futile attempts at making the duct tape stay stuck to the hoof wall while keeping the diaper secure to the bottom of the foot. Nothing ever worked for me.

Then, one day at the barn, as I struggled yet again with wrapping, one of my fellow boarders showed up. Coincidentally, she happens to be a veterinary technician at the nearby large animal hospital. She watched me quizzically for a bit and then asked, “Want to know an easy way to do that?” She then proceeded in her efficient vet tech manner to show me how the Pros do it.

And I’ll share it with you.

First, with scissors, cut the baby diaper so it is approximately the size of the bottom of your horse’s hoof. Next, take the duct tape and cut six strips, each about 10 – 12 inches long. When you cut the first strip, stick one end of it to a flat, relatively clean surface – walls work well, so it hangs vertically. Stick the next strip right next to the first one and make sure it overlaps just a bit onto the first strip. Then stick the third strip onto the second strip. (So when you’re done, you’ll have three strips of tape stuck together, overlapping each other.) The fourth strip you’ll stick horizontally across the first three strips, about halfway down the length of them, making sure you have about the same amount of tape left at both sides of the strip. You’ll stick the fifth strip onto the fourth strip and the sixth strip onto the fifth one.

When finished, your six strips of duct tape should resemble a cross or a plus (+) sign.
Pack the hoof with your packing of choice, cover the bottom of the hoof with the diaper, and then take the tape, sticky side towards the bottom of the hoof, and place the intersecting portion of the tape onto the diaper. Now, press the ends of the tape up onto the hoof wall.

Voila’, you now have a well-wrapped hoof!