Posted by Gary on September 01, 2003 at 23:31:16:
In Reply to: Re: Liming stalls........ posted by Patty Stiller on September 01, 2003 at 17:56:23:
: : : : : : : : : Is there any research out there that points to a negative impact of using lime in stalls as far as hoofwall integrity is concerned? A customer of mine limes heavily (no bedding) and I can't help but think this might be having a negative impact on her horses' feet since most of them are averrage to poor in hoof quality.
: : : : : : : : : Any input?
: : : : : : : : I have always wondered the same thing. The accepted method of disposing of an unwanted corpse is to bury it with a sack of lime so how good can it be for a horses feet?
: : : : : : : : : Derin
: : : : : : :
: : : : : : : When I first moved to this area 34 years ago there was a cement plant south of town that by their own figures was dumping 100 tons per day of cement dust out of their smokestack.I could recognize a horse living downwind of that plant by looking at his feet. Dry, brittle and crumbly. I would guess that lime would act in much the same way.
: : : : : : : Jack
: : : : : : Who hasn't that has worked with horses not cleaned and mucked out stalls? To strip a stall and then spread out lime with the shavings and bedding on top is an OK thing to do! Heck I have OLD TIMERS that use lime on proud flesh that works wonders! I use lime on the bottom of my stalls and my horses feet have no reaction to it because of the bedding on top. I would never use it without the bedding! Cuts the urine smell and kills the bacteria in the ground! Of course good husbandry is followed! JMO, Gary
: : : : : I lime my stalls maybe once a week sometimes every two weeks and not heavy and as Gary said it is under the shavings. I have never had a problem. I did have a client once that a vet noticed the horses feet were in bad shape especially the frogs and blamed the problem on lime, they limed very heavy everyday and used very little shavings. I was told it burned there feet and was doing damage. Thats the only time I have ever heard anything negative. I guess as the old saying goes, to much of anything can be bad.
: : : : : Phil
: : : :
: : : : Hello Phil, Heard along the way that liming stalls can cause a mare in foal to lose the foal. Other than that when used with a little common sense it has some benefits.
: : : : steve bromley
: : : One of the worst things for a broodmare is to be stall kept, turnout is the overall best thing for a mare in foal. JMO. Gary
: : When we add lime to our gardens and pastures it's to change the ph balance (right?)....so I assume it does something similar to horses foot, which may be why the horses feet are falling apart. Skin with it's ph out of balance will get yucky too.
: : Eileen Hughes
: The worst,chronically rotten feet I ever see are those that spend ant time in stalls with no bedding. In my opinion it is criminal to allopw an anuimal to be confined to a small space whrre urine may pool in/on the floor with not absorbant material. Satalls without beddign are a huge pet peeve of mine and I hate workign in those barns vecause of the stench, even if they are cleaned daily they reek of ammonia. I doubt it is the lime but rather the concentration of urine etc in the in floor of such a small place that ruins the hooves.
: I used to lime my race horse stalls every week or more, BUT they were mucked thoroughly every day, as well as 'top picked' ever night. They were bedded at least 12 inches deep in straw in the center, and a couple of feet or more banked around the edges so I could toss clean straw onto the matted down center later in the day. Our race horses had good quality hoofwall despite daily baths and so on.
: I always recommend to my clients if the horse must spend any time in a stall that it be bedded to a depth enough so the foot cannot touch the dirt or rubber floor through the bedding.
: If they cannot feel the floor through the bedding when they walk in it, it is probably enough. And when they learn how to clean bedded stalls efficiently, it uses no more bedding to maintain it than using a puny thin layer and having to strip it all every day.
: Patty
Where are all the real Horsemen? It seems now days owners out number Horsemen! Also it seems like people are just too busy to do the husbandry part of owning a horse. I'm sure we all have more than our share of owners that keep their horses in less than clean stalls ,or pens or stys! Maybe the world is getting too fast for these horseowners? Just wish they would take time to muck their stalls abit more! Thanks, Gary