Horse care tips

Hooves that swing between wet fields and dry stables are more prone to abscesses. Brushing off dried mud rather than hosing it can help.

Learn to find your horse's digital pulse when all is well. A strong, bounding pulse or heat in the hoof wall can be an early warning of laminitis.

Rings on the hoof wall that are wider at the heel than the toe can be a sign of past laminitis. Mention them to your vet and farrier.

Keep to a regular trimming or shoeing routine. Leaving more than eight weeks between visits may contribute to laminitis.

When you pick out feet each day, also feel for heat and check the digital pulse. Call your vet if anything seems different.

Horse not in regular work? Ask your farrier whether removing its shoes — perhaps just the hinds — would suit it.

If you find a nail or other object stuck in the sole, leave it in place if you safely can and call the vet — they need to see where it went in.

Sudden severe lameness is often an abscess, but laminitis, tendon injuries and fractures can look similar. Get it diagnosed by your vet or farrier.

When bandaging a poultice on, keep it loose over the coronary band — you should be able to slide a finger all the way round between bandage and hoof.

If your horse keeps getting abscesses, ask your vet to look for an underlying cause such as PPID, thin soles or a dietary problem.

Pick out a stabled horse's feet every day, ideally twice. Clean, dry bedding also helps prevent thrush.

Ask your farrier to show you how to remove a shoe safely in an emergency. A twisted shoe can quickly cause a nail injury.

Riding in snow? A smear of petroleum jelly on the soles helps stop snow balling up in the hooves. Clean it all off afterwards.