Wet, wet, wet

We tend to lump all winters together as one but, for the horse’s feet, a warm, wet winter presents far more challenges to hooves than a dry, cold winter. “The hoof is a fantastic biomechanical unit, but the ingress of fluid in and out of the hoof does it no favours,” Stuart explains. “Too much moisture impacts the integrity of the hoof and softens it, meaning the chance of infection from bacteria is increased, leaving the horse vulnerable to abscesses, thrush and white line disease.” A really cold, dry snap can be beneficial for bacterial infections because bacteria prefers warm, wet conditions in which to flourish, so a spell of dry, cold weather can give you the opportunity to get on top of rumbling bacterial infections. It’s worth remembering, however, that cold, frosty snaps can bring their own problems, too. “Horses can get bruised soles on hard, frosty ground and distinguishing between a bruise and an abscess is not easy because they both present in a similar way,” explains Stuart. “Some bruises turn into an abscess because a haematoma being kept at body temperature is like a natural agar plate, which turns into abscesses.”