Filling old nail holes?

[Dances with Hooves]

I have drifted away from the practice of filling the old nail holes with wood putty. In part as I have noticed that no clinicians seem to do this. Am I and they lazy and are there health benifits to the horse that follow from doing this?

Geoge

[Rick Burten]

I have always used wood putty to fill both the new and old nail holes. I started doing this because it gave a "finished" look to the show horse feet. I soon realized that it had a couple of other benefits for me. It allowed me one more look/feel of each foot to make sure that everything was in order. and, it keeps the environmental junk from having easy access to the hoof, and it also closes any conduits for whatever evaporation might occur from within.

I think that most clinicians do not use wood putty during clinics because they are, for the most part AFA CJFs , and using anything on the foot during a certification is a no-no.

Personally, I intend to continue to use wood putty(I've gotten my clients so used to it that if I didn't do it, I'd be getting phone calls all night long--funny what they think is important, isn't it?), and when I give clinics(especially with farriers in attendance), I always explain the non-use during certification, and how that does not impact what I do on a daily basis.

Rick