Bible Verse: Psalm 32:9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you.

Stay close to the Lord and He will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.

Keeping horse hooves clean is important.  A tool called a hoof pick is used when cleaning out a horse’s hoof.  Often a horse will get small rocks stuck in the frog (the frog is the V shape on the bottom of a horse’s hoof).  Imagine you have a small rock in your shoe all day.  It would bruise your foot, right?  It is the same concept if a horse has a rock in its frog.  It is common sense to clean a horse’s hooves out before and after riding to make sure there are no rocks in the frog.  Thrush is also another reason to clean horse hooves out regularly.  Thrush is gray/black pasty debris that has a foul smell.  Thrush is basically a bacterial and fungal infection that thrives in a low oxygen environment and it needs carbon dioxide to survive.  Keeping a horse’s hooves clean will allow for plenty of oxygen.  Thrush is a very common thing and if a horse’s hooves are always dirty and never cleaned, the thrush can cause some big problems!  Thrush grows rapidly in moist and dirty hooves.  Cleaning your horse hooves out every day will ensure your horse is rock free and it will also help cutback on the thrush.  If daily cleaning of the hooves is not possible then clean them out every few days.  “Thrush Buster” works great if your horse has any thrush but if your horse has a large amount of thrush you may need a farrier or vet to look at your horse and to help you get it under control.   You can buy “Thrush Buster” at most feed stores or online.  Remember thrush is black, yucky, and smelly.  When you go to clean out a horse’s hoof you should be able to tell if it has thrush or not.