At one time or another, you may have inadvertently quicked a horse's hoof from trimming with the hoof knife or driving a nail.
If this happens, you of course want to remedy the situation. James Randall of Sumerduck, Va., has been shoeing for more than 45 years. He finds that how you treat it is influenced by where you are located and what type of foot you are working on.
For example, if a New England farrier who is working during a frigid winter bruises a foot with a knife and the sole bleeds, it can often be halted with a hot shoe or a product like Quick Stop. If the sole isn't touching the shoe surface, the situation usually will improve. "If you cut the whole foot too short, a leather pad and some packing will fix the problem," he recommends.
He finds that it becomes a bigger problem if the farrier lives in a warm, moist climate like his area of Virginia, the problem can often worsen. He reasons that the increased opportunity for bacterial growth creates a higher risk for dangers like infection. "In this case, you must medicate the foot with iodine and put a pad on with iodine-soaked cotton over the bruise. In most cases this will stop an abscess from forming," he recommends.
For more input on quicked feet from farriers, check out the January/February 2011 issue of American Farriers Journal.
