There are inexpensive, over-the-counter treatments for fighting common hoof diseases that work well

Horse owners, of course, should still regularly clean the horse’s feet by picking and brushing them out with a good hoof pick before the application of these products. However, the success of these topical treatments relies on the horse owner following the product directions as well as their farriers’ directions.

There’s another option, though, that improves treatment reliability — Kawell USA’s copper-alloy horseshoes, says Esco Buff, PhD, APF-I, CF, of Clearwater, Fla.

Benefits of Copper Alloy

Copper-alloy horseshoes act against hoof diseases like thrush, seedy hoof and onychomycosis (commonly known as white line disease) as well as other hoof- related diseases.

Kawell’s copper-alloy horseshoes are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their antimicrobial properties. They are proven to kill 99.9% of bacteria within just 2 hours of exposure as copper is a natural antifungal and antibacterial.

“It remains effective even after repeated wet/dry abrasion and recontamination. The natural process of copper tarnishing does not impair its efficacy either,” says Buff during the Kawell USA Hoof-Care Product Knowledge Clinic presented at the 2024 International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Copper has antimicrobial properties, as all copper does, but it’s a matter of degrees. If you’re using certain building materials, like on old homes, for example, they would put copper cupolas and copper ridge plates on to keep the moss from growing, help kill the bacteria, etc.”