# Need Help Preventing Ice Balls



## mylilchix (Jan 13, 2013)

We've recently gotten a Shetland pony.  We're in the midst of a cold, snowy snap and ice balls keep collecting in his hooves.  How do I prevent this from happening?  I've been cleaning them out daily and the farrier is coming out this week for a trim.  Any advice in the meantime?
Thanks for the help!!!


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## currycomb (Jan 13, 2013)

try spraying some cooking spray on the bottoms of his feet, or anything greasy. a good trim will help


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## escherer20 (Jan 13, 2013)

Does he have shoes?  I honestly can't remember ever having a pony get ice balls that was barefoot.  If he doesn't then a trim should do the job.  Sometimes horses will get ice balls for just a short time and then they fall out.  I have never worried about my ponies.  Cooking spray or shortening does help.


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## promiseacres (Jan 14, 2013)

My minis get them regularly with wet snows...:/ keeping them trimmed should help...(well not all off the but ones with smaller.hooves seem to) I have heard of but never tried the oil...


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## sawfish99 (Jan 14, 2013)

Pull his shoes.  You will fix a lot more problems than just the ice balls.


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## goodhors (Jan 15, 2013)

You probably are not using him enough to justify getting him shod.
But if you don't mind the expense, they have snow-rim pads that are
put on hooves, between the hoof wall and shoe, that DO work well 
for keeping snow out of the sole.  The pad is a tube that runs inside 
the shoe edge and flexes each time animal steps down and kind of 
prevents snow from packing in the sole.  We also have pin studs on 
shoes with a collar, "ice stud" model, for traction.  You NEVER want
plain shoes on your animal on snow, cold ground or ice.  He is likely
to slip and fall or injure himself as the cold steel slides on the cold surfaces.

There is also a "bubble" type snow pad, but they will get dirt and mud
underneath, as the ground changes from snow to mud and back again.
So animal ends up walking on a hardened bubble, not flexible like it 
should be.  Think Tennis ball half under your foot!  With no flex, the 
bubble pad doesn't throw out the snow packing either.

On bare hooves, you can do the lard on sole, cooking spray, vasaline,
but they only last for short times, less than an hour most times.

Ask Farrier if he can add a bit more "cup" to the sole when he trims, so
it is easier to "flick" the packed snow out when pony moves.  If pony 
only ever moves slow, walks quietly, they are just unlikely to have 
enough movement of the leg to get the flick action going and lose the snowball.
Our horses run and play, trot briskly about, so they are throwing snow
every stride, hooves stay clean on the barefoot ones.  The shod horses
also flick out the packed snow with the snow-rim pads inside the shoe 
edges.  Losing the snow really has a lot to do with how lively the animal
moves around.  My old horse needed me to chunk out her hooves daily,
since she didn't run or play much at her advanced age.  Especially if it was
a wet snow, good for packing into weapons for snow fights!  We have a
tool called an "ice hammer" which is from old times, made to remove 
hoof snow build up.  Works great with that pointed end, removing hard
packed stuff my hoof pick won't touch.  Pointed end used carefully just 
chunks out the icy build up.


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## mylilchix (Jan 15, 2013)

Thank you for the great advice.  Lil Bit doesn't wear shoes; he just has very deep frogs, especially on his front hooves.  Our farrier is coming out Friday for a trim, I'm hoping he has some suggestions.  He wasn't having any problems until the temps dropped below zero, and it started to snow.   With the cold weather he's standing around more, and  my kids haven't been going out to ride him.  I've tried cooking spray, but that only worked for a short time.  Every morning I've been going out, melting the ice with warm water, picking him, and then drying his hooves with a towel.  Our weather is supposed to warm back into the 40s this week, so I'm hoping that alleviates the issue.  Thanks again for the help!  I thought I knew a lot about horses, but this was a new one for me!  
Sonja


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## sawfish99 (Jan 16, 2013)

Barefoot horses should clear the snow on their own as needed.  Snow packing in around the hoof isn't normally a problem for the horse.  I would like to know what you mean by "deep frogs".  A picture would be great.  That could be a separate problem, or not, depending on the actual situation.

Your primary problem is likely related to the fact that the pony is just standing around.  This is related to your other post of the pony being alone.  The pony is more likely to move around with another pasture mate.  And yes, I think that is a good idea.  Horses are herd animals and the companionship is important to them.  Another smaller pony would probably be good for your setup.


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## mylilchix (Jan 16, 2013)

I'll see if I can get a picture of Lil Bits front hooves.  He is in need of a hoof trim, but the interior of the hooves is deep almost like a bowl.  The problem is starting to alleviate itself now that the weather is warming.  He does stand around a lot during the day.  I have started spreading his hay into smaller piles around his pen, so he has to move to get more.  Unfortunately, the recent snow has covered the grass patches he liked to get to.  Hopefully, now that we're getting back into the 30s and 40s, my kids can ride him more often.  It's no fun playing with the pony in below zero temps!  I am still looking into getting him a buddy.  Thanks for the help!


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## sawfish99 (Jan 16, 2013)

Hooves are supposed to have concavity to them, like a bowl.  Flat hooves are actually unnatural.

Where are you located?


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## mylilchix (Jan 16, 2013)

Out in Colorado.  Our farrier comes out Friday for a trim.  I'm hoping he can do a true barefoot trim on Lil Bit's hooves.  His hooves aren't too over grown at the moment, but the fronts seem deeper than I've seen before.  I think the other issue has been the snow is wetter than usual and the temps below zero.  The snow has been freezing on contact to any warm surface.  If he goes to the bathroom and walks back through it the snow will freeze almost instantly.  I've even been sticking to anything metal outside while I do chores.


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## allbyme (Mar 24, 2013)

Pick them daily or as often as possible. You can apply vasaline to the frog area( just slop it in there). Ya only gotta do this bout twice a week and it's cheaper at the Dollar stores.


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## MissMini (Sep 29, 2013)

Clean out hoof and use some Crisco...pqack it in the hoof well OR try spray Pam If your little buddy will accept the noise~~~~~good luck

MissMini


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## CritterZone (Sep 30, 2013)

It depends on what type of terrain the horse lives on as to the concavity of their feet.  Also, feet will change when their terrain changes.  A horse in the desert where they are on sand tends to have flat soles, where a horse in rougher or more varied terrain tends to have more concavity.  My sister brought me a mare last year who had lived in the desert for 7 years and her feet were flat.  Over the last year living on our clay and very rocky soil they have changed so they are more concave.  

Also, ice balls can and will form in unshod hooves.  All six of my horses have always gone barefoot.  When the weather is below zero and there is a couple feet of snow on the ground their feet pack with snow.  One of the few times I ever put hooflex on my horses feet is in the winter because it helps keep the snow from packing in.  My horses move around quite a bit, but that doesn't always help.  My horses don't live in box stalls, but they do have access to a dry barn with rubber mats so they can get off the cold, frozen ground.


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