Here, Ashker explains how her experience as a five-star eventer helps with her upper-level Grand Prix dressage movements and vice versa. You can also watch a video of her demonstrating this concept below.

From Drop Jumps to Pirouettes and Piaffe

“In eventing, especially when coming down to the head of a lake or dropping into water, you have to create balance in your horse. You can see in the video as I prepare for my left half pirouette turn, I stay behind my horse so he can more easily lift his shoulders for the turn. And then I ride him out. We repeat it one more time. I take my time and am very patient as I continue to stay behind him to keep his shoulders lifted.

“In piaffe, it’s the same idea. You want your horse’s shoulders to lift, not his head. There’s a big difference. And in order for the horse’s shoulders to lift, his back and rear need to drop. You horse can’t do this if you’re ahead of him all the time.

“Here, I’m going to demonstrate my position. You should always be able to draw a straight line from your shoulder to your hip and down to your heel. It’s very similar to our takeoffs over some cross-country jumps because it requires us to naturally balance our horses. The jumps actually help us do this. In dressage, we obviously don’t have jumps, so we have to use our position and posture to achieve that balance.

“In the piaffe, it’s a very light aid with the hand. Then, my legs alternate to ask my horse to lift his front legs. There’s a very fine line here between throwing him out of balance with my position. I continue to stay behind his motion to allow his shoulders to lift, and I might allow him to travel just a bit to keep the steps the same.

“In summary, if you do both eventing and upper-level dressage, be proud of being an eventer. Improving your position on cross country will only make your position that much better in your dressage work, no matter your level, and it will be more supportive for your horse.”

About Laine Ashker

Five-star eventer and dressage professional Lainey Ashker has competed in numerous FEI competitions at the five-star level, including the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials CC14* and the Defender Burghley Horse Trials CC15*. The horsewoman, who trains out of her Keystone Acres farm in Chesterfield, Virginia, also won the National Eventing Championship (Advanced Level) in 2013 aboard her long-time mount, Anthony Patch. More recently, she won her first CDI in May 2023 aboard her upper-level dressage horse, Zeppelin.

For more with Laine Ashker, click here.

This video is brought to you by Absorbine.

“Everyone knows ShowSheen. It’s across all disciplines and is in everyone’s tack trunk because it’s great for shine and detangling,” she noted. “But I wanted to provide you with a little tidbit that I learned from a top five-star eventing groom.”

Tail care is a must at Ashker’s barn, and to get the best effect, she thoroughly sprays her horses’ tails with ShowSheen. Then, starting from the bottom, she uses her fingers to work the product into the hair all the way up to the dock and allows it to dry before brushing.

“This activates the detangling portion of the product, so that when you do go to brush out your horse’s tail, you won’t break any hair, which can eventually make the tail look thin and sparse,” she said. “This horse specifically has a fake tail, so I really want to avoid pulling or breaking those hairs, too. I also use the same treatment on my horses’ manes because of the great detangling effect it has on the individual hairs.”

In addition to using ShowSheen keep her horse’s manes and tails glowing and tangle-free, Ashker also applies it to her horses’ coats to bring out extra shine for the show ring. “I apply it to their coats when they’re still a little wet,” she said. “I think of it like a leave-in conditioner when you’re coming out of the shower, and it really creates that nice shine.”

Watch Ashker’s video below to learn how you can use her tips to keep your horse’s mane, tail and coat healthy and shiny.

About Laine Ashker

Five-star eventer and dressage professional Lainey Ashker has competed in numerous FEI competitions at the five-star level, including the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials CC14* and the Defender Burghley Horse Trials CC15*. The horsewoman, who trains out of her Keystone Acres farm in Chesterfield, Virginia, also won the National Eventing Championship (Advanced Level) in 2013 aboard her long-time mount, Anthony Patch. More recently, she won her first CDI in May 2023 aboard her upper-level dressage horse, Zeppelin.  

This video is brought to you by Absorbine.

For More:

• Learn how to beat the bugs this summer with Laine Ashker’s top tips for fly control here.
• Gallop a CCI3* cross-country course with Ashker in this high-velocity GoPro footage, where she shares her strategies for tackling each obstacle over the challenging track at Maryland’s Fair Hill here.

Beginning with her strategy for leaving the start box, Ashker offers advice on how she approaches each obstacle and combination on the course and provides tips on how she ensures her mare has enough gas to tackle the course with ease. She also notes which tactics worked and which jumps didn’t go so well and how she handles those situations in real time.

We’re sure you’ll have as much fun as we did galloping along with Ashker and Love Dance over Fair Hill’s intense cross-country track, including the infamous Maryland crab water jump, and we hope you gain some insights on how you can navigate similar obstacles on your next cross-country ride.

Ashker: Maintain Your Battery From the Start Box

“Going into this course, I was quite nervous for a number of reasons. My mare is a proper warmblood, so she doesn’t have a lot of blood, and this was by far the longest course she’s every done at about 10 minutes and the largest crowd she’s ever seen.

“Whether I’m doing Beginner Novice or the five-star level, I think of my horse as an iPhone battery from the moment I leave the start box. When I’m in the warm-up ring, the battery is charged to 100%. As I go through the course, there are going to be a few jumps that maybe aren’t so good and that brings our battery level down. So, my goal over each jump on cross country is to keep bringing that battery level back up, so that when I finish I’m back with 100%.

“On cross country, I enter the start box on a long rein to help keep my mare calm. Out of the box, my main goal is to set a good rhythm. When I was younger, I used to set the rhythm out too strong. Now, I think of starting like the slow tortoise and then finishing like the hare.

“The third jump on course is extremely technical with a max table to a narrow brush. After the table, I ride a straight line to the narrow. My mare got her eye on it at the last second, but she didn’t really know to look for it, so I was pleased as punch that she jumped that great.

“I jumped into the second combination on course—the sunken road—quite strongly and she got surprised by it. You can see that I fall forward. But that’s where my orange theory came into play. I was able to sit back and stick it and then kind of give myself a whack in the bum to make sure I’m staying behind my horse and not getting ahead of her on questions that are as difficult as that.

“There were a lot of maxed-out tables with ditches under them on this course. My mare used to be bit spooky at ditches and wanted to pause. But we can’t be pausing over those big tables, I so give her reassuring leg and a big cluck to get over it. But as we do each one on the course, she gains more confidence.”

Ashker: Ramping Up the Difficulty With Water and the Coffin

“The first water jump is a table from water to water. When horses jump from water to water, they’re slower off the ground and slower to land. So, as a rider, it’s very important to stay behind your horse’s motion. You see that I stay back to encourage her to ride across.

“Next we have the gallop jumps. My goal is to ride these as smoothly and as rhythmically as possible, so she doesn’t have to work so hard to keep charging that phone battery up to 100%.

“Now, we’re approaching the most nerve-wracking combination in the coffin. You have a big jump coming in and then a big ditch going downhill, and then you have to pick the left or right side depending on your horse. I chose the left, so I really brought my mare back to an aggressive show-jumping speed, jumped in and then really pointed her for two strides out.

“We couldn’t celebrate too much, because then we have the double corner to corner. She’s pretty good on corners, but she’s also never seen this many people, so I really wanted to get her attention on it, especially because, as you can see, it’s kind of hidden under a tree. I hit the flag with my knee, but that was totally fine. I was really happy with her honesty and for looking down the flags. As event riders, we train our horses to look for the flags.

“The terrain is part of what makes Fair Hill so difficult, so even though we have this stretch here where I can regain my breath and mental focus, we’re going uphill. And because she’s not a full-blood horse, I want to slowly build her confidence and stamina, so I don’t push her uphill. I let her pick the pace that she needs to go up it.”

Ashker: Navigating the Infamous Crab and Final Combination

“Next we have the most exciting water jump with a max-height drop into the water to a related distance to two narrows. You’ll see how I rock my mare back so I can be powerful going to the very big and very narrow crabby crab coming in. I give a little stick on her shoulder and stay back and widen my hands for the narrow. And her stride is so big that with the three jumps afterward, it’s like clockwork.

“When I see the ears start to move with the horse, it indicates to me that maybe she’s getting a little tired. So, as a rider, you need to pay attention and rate that. This sport really teaches you to listen to your horse.

“On the final combination, you can tell she’s really listening to me. I’m talking to her and she’s very focused. But she doesn’t feel labored. I’m not having to kick her to go. Horses need energy to go, but they also need just as much energy to collect. You can see here how I brought her back and we had a really good shot in, but I underestimated how big her stride is. It was supposed to be a four stride, but I got there on three-and-half. So I gave her a good pat because she definitely saved us on that one. But that’s what eventing is all about—a partnership. That’s what makes this sport so great is that you know your horse inside and out.

“I was really proud of how she answered each one of the questions and finished on that 100% battery. The partnership and bond you experience on cross country is why I love eventing so much. I’ve had this mare going on five years now, and I do a lot of the grooming work myself and spend time with her day in and day out doing trot sets and gallop sets and the icing and aftercare. That really creates the bond and the partnership.

“No matter what level of eventing you ride at, both horse and rider must be extremely fit. So much goes into taking care of the horses—their nutrition, skin and coat health, their internal health. But taking care of my health and fitness is also extremely important, because that enables me to better help my horses.”

Ride With Ashker and Love Dance

From this awesome GoPro view, gallop along with Ashker and Love Dance as they navigate the challenging CCI3* cross-country track at Fair Hill last October.

About Laine Ashker

Five-star eventer and dressage professional Lainey Ashker has competed in numerous FEI competitions at the five-star level, including the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials CC14* and the Defender Burghley Horse Trials CC15*. The horsewoman, who trains out of her Keystone Acres farm in Chesterfield, Virginia, also won the National Eventing Championship (Advanced Level) in 2013 aboard her long-time mount, Anthony Patch. More recently, she won her first CDI in May 2023 aboard her upper-level dressage horse, Zeppelin.

For more with Laine Ashker, click here.

This video is brought to you by Absorbine.

Dressage trainer and USEF “S” judge Melonie Kessler answers a reader question about the advantages of going sans saddle every once in awhile, and then we look at eight bareback exercises that your can incorporate into your riding. Plus, going bareback is tons of fun and a great way to change up your regular training routine.

How Bareback Can Improve Your Riding

Q: I watch kids at the barn ride their horses bareback, and they seem to have such secure seats. It makes me wonder if I should start incorporating some bareback rides here and there.

— Becky E., Vermont 

A: Bareback riding has many benefits for both horse and rider. Getting back to basics by developing your balance through effectively following the mechanics of your horse’s gait is invaluable to the discipline of dressage. The blending of two beings into one in order to perform smooth, harmonious exercises is only achieved when the rider has complete control of her own balanced body.

As in other sports, riders must rely on strong muscles and supple joints in order to support their balance, but with horseback riding, one must be constantly aware of the movement of the horse through the most elastic, supple seat and steady, supportive leg aids. This is what is referred to as “feel.”

Developing your feel through riding without a saddle is the easiest way to learn to comprehend the natural movement of each gait. The horse moves differently in the trot than in the walk and canter. Bareback riding can help you learn to catch the beat of the trot (a two-beat gait), which, for many riders initially, is their biggest challenge. If you are able to catch the beat of the trot, you have learned to use the right amount of isometric muscle tension.

An additional way to practice suppling your seat and coordinating your timing is to straddle a large yoga ball and bounce gently to emulate the motion of your horse in a steady, rhythmic trot. Work to keep the ball in motion with the rotation of your hips as you practice “sitting” the trot.

More Bareback Benefits

After successfully being able to sit the trot without bouncing, you can learn to influence your horse’s gait by understanding the principles of a closed seat and thighs to slow or stop your horse, and then to drive the horse forward by opening your hip angle and pushing him with your seat and back muscles. As in bareback riding, there is no saddle to buffer the aids, and you will learn to use smaller aids to achieve a greater response. Remember, this can be a difficult lesson to learn as your horse is a very sensitive creature and your legs without the additional layer of the saddle between your horse and your body might frighten the horse and create a nervous, tight back, resulting in negative tension and bad behavior.

When you are ready to work on the canter, remember it’s based on the same mechanics as the walk. This means that you swing your seat from back to front, and the bigger the swing, the bigger the stride. Bareback riding will open your hip angles and allow you to feel as if you are sitting “in” the horse as opposed to on top of him.

Bareback riding can be a lot of fun and it is a great workout for the hips and lower back. As you learn how to turn, start and stop your horse from your seat, the pieces of the puzzle will start to fall together soon and you will learn why the seat is the number-one aid.

I highly recommend that anyone interested in beginning to learn to ride bareback start on a school horse with experience in this style. If your own horse has not been ridden bareback before, you will want to have a helper steady him until he is comfortable with the feel of your legs and seat. After he accepts your weight without the saddle, he can be taught to understand your muscles’ meaning as they contract and relax, and his response time will become quicker.

Lessons from a qualified instructor with experience is also important as the safety of you and your horse is always most important. As with all sports, it looks easier than it is, so take it slowly and steadily, and enjoy the bonding you will have with your partner as you embark on developing and refining your aids.

Melonie Kessler is a USEF “S” dressage judge and a USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist. She is a graduate of Pleasant Hollow Farms Horse Career School in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. A successful competitor and trainer through Grand Prix level, she trains out of Spirit Equestrian in Somis, California.

For Safety & Success Going Bareback

• Helmet: Always wear a certified helmet to reduce your chances of head injury.
• Enclosed area: It’s always safest to ride in an enclosed space while bareback. You might feel more comfortable starting in a round pen and then progressing to an enclosed arena.
• Suitable mount: If your horse tends to be hot-tempered, spooks easily or he’s otherwise unsuitable to ride bareback borrow a more suitable mount.
• Bareback pad: If your horse has pronounced withers, an uncomfortable back or you’d prefer a little added grip for security, start in a bareback pad.
• Start sans stirrups: In preparation for going bareback, practice riding at the walk, trot and canter without stirrups. You might have underestimated how dependent you are on your stirrups for balance.
• Grab mane: Get in the habit early on of grabbing your horse’s mane for balance or consider a neck strap. This will help keep you anchored until you develop a more secure seat.

Bareback Exercises to Get You Started

Bareback demands superb balance from both you and your horse. Your weight and any small shifts in your weight will feel different to him without the barrier of your saddle. When riding bareback, make sure to sit upright and directly in the center of your horse’s back. Maintain a slight bend in your knees and allow your legs to lengthen and drape naturally around your horse, making sure not to pinch with your knees.

The below exercises start off super easy and then get progressively more challenging, and for many, you can increase or decrease the level of difficulty depending on your balance, skill level and progress.

1. Toe-Touches

At a standstill, hold both your reins in your left hand; extend your right arm above your head, reach over your horse’s withers and touch the toe of your left boot. Hold the stretch for several seconds. (If you can’t touch your toes, go as far as you can until your balance and flexibility improve.) Now, reach up with your right arm again and stretch down to touch your right toe. Repeat with your left arm.

• Benefits: You’ll learn how to balance in the center your horse’s back while shifting your weight from side to side.
• Up the challenge: Practice at a walk.

2. Walk

Simply practice walking in straight lines to get a feel for your balance while your horse is in motion. Continue walking straight until you gain confidence.

• Benefits: You’ll learn how to balance and get in rhythm with your horse while he’s moving and you’ll start to understand how your movement affects his balance.
• Up the challenge: At the walk, incorporate wide turns, circles and half-circles to feel how your balance changes as your horse turns.

3. Airplane

At a standstill, extend both arms directly out from your sides and slowly twist your upper body from side to side. Now, place your reins in one hand and extend your free arm forward toward your horse’s ears; then, stretch the same arm back toward the top of his tail. Repeat with your other arm.

• Benefits: Twisting at the waist will help you balance while your upper body moves; the stretches will help you balance as your weight shifts forward and backward—and both will help stretch and relax your lower back, which will allow you more freely move with your horse.
• Up the challenge: Practice at a walk.

4. Paddle & Scissors

Tracking to the left, hold both reins in your inside hand and extend your right arm directly out from your side. Each time your horse’s outside (right) front leg comes forward, bring your arm up above your head. Reverse and practice to the right. Next, instead of extending your arm up when your horse’s outside leg steps forward, bring it directly across your body in front of your chest so the motion is back and forth instead of up and down.

Benefits: The arm movements while in motion will further test your balance.

5. Ground Pole Square

Use four ground poles to build a large square in the center of your arena, leaving around 6 feet between each pole. Walk a large circle around the entire square in both directions; then, practice smaller circles inside the square. Next, circle each pole. You can circle in the same direction at first; then, circle right around one pole, left around the next and so on.

• Benefits: You’ll learn to balance while guiding your horse around circles of varying sizes, and the specific tasks will help you and your horse stay focused while riding in a larger area.
• Up the challenge: Once you get comfortable at the trot bareback, you can also practice this exercise at the faster gait.

6. Trot

Once you’re confident at the walk and are ready for a new challenge, add some speed. To get a feel for the quicker pace, start by trotting a short, straight line, from point A to B (use cones or elements of your arena to mark points). As you feel more secure, trot from point A to C, and so on until you’re comfortable at the faster gait for longer periods of time.

• Benefits: You might feel a little unstable at first, but learning how to remain centered at the faster, bouncier gait will help solidify your bareback seat, preparing you for more challenging work.
• Up the challenge: Practice collecting and extending your trot and try posting to really give you inner thigh muscles a workout. Then, practice trotting wide turns and circles to get a feel for the faster gait as your horse turns.

7. Ground Pole Chute

Place two poles parallel to each other about 6 or 7 feet apart and walk through the middle of the “chute” using your legs to keep your horse straight. After several passes, have a helper gradually move the poles closer together so that each time you have to navigate a narrower space.

• Benefits: This will show whether you’re sitting in the true center of your horse’s back. He’s going to have a difficult time remaining straight if you’re leaning to one side or the other. If you lean left, for example, it will be easier for him to “escape” your weight by moving to the right; as a result, he might hit or step over the pole to your right.
• Up the challenge: You can also do this exercise at a trot or canter.

8. Serpentine

A basic serpentine, this pattern involves walking a series of connected S’s back and forth across the width of your arena. Pick up a walk along the fence line at either end of the arena; if you’re tracking to the right, slightly bend your horse to the right as you approach the end of the arena and then execute a smooth half turn so you’re now walking in the opposite direction. Straighten your horse back up; this time, as you approach fence, bend your horse to the left in preparation for a half turn to the left. Continue until you reach the end of the arena.

• Benefits: Even though it’s crucial that you remain centered on your horse while bareback, this exercise will teach you how to sit slightly to the outside of his back in order fluidly stay with his motion as you execute smooth, balanced turns. It will also sharpen your rein and leg aids, because it forces you to focus on setting your horse up for a new turning point with each loop of the serpentine.
• Up the challenge: Once you master this at the walk—and well after you’re confident trotting bareback—you can do this exercise at the faster gait. At the trot, make your turns wider at first and then challenge yourself by making them tighter

Over time, as you gain confidence and solidify your bareback position and balance, you can progress to canter work and even going over poles or small jumps. However, if you’re still new to going sans saddle, it’s always best to ride bareback under the supervision or your trainer or another professional. Above all, have fun!

For More:

• To check out several bareback riding demonstrations and training exercises, watch this video series on EQUESTRIAN+.
• Learn more about the biomechanics of riding bareback here.

Generally, fly sprays contain natural and synthetic insecticides to knock down or deter flies on contact. Others like UltraShield Gold combine tried-and-true ingredients like pyrethrin and permethrin with fatty acids to repel flies while also disrupting their navigation systems to stop them before they bite.

“I love UltraShield Gold’s new formula because it totally disrupts the flies’ GPS so they don’t bite your horse,” Ashker said. “I use it on my horses in the show ring, on the trail, in their stalls, in the cross-ties and especially when they’re turned out.”

Ashker also finds the UltraShield Sport ideal for competing in the hot and humid Florida weather where she’s based due to its water-based formula that’s sweat resistant and repels dust.

“When I’m working my horses in either grand prix or four-star eventing they’re always going to be nice and sweaty, especially in Florida,” she noted. “I love this product—I call it the ‘Blue One’—because I know it’s going to last through all of my work. That’s important because I don’t want to have to keep spraying my horses while I’m in the warm-up.”

Watch Ashker’s video below for her tips on how to keep your your equine partner fly-free this summer.

About Laine Ashker

Five-star eventer and dressage professional Lainey Ashker has competed in numerous FEI competitions at the five-star level, including the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials CC14* and the Defender Burghley Horse Trials CC15*. The horsewoman, who trains out of her Keystone Acres farm in Chesterfield, Virginia, also won the National Eventing Championship (Advanced Level) in 2013 aboard her long-time mount, Anthony Patch. More recently, she won her first CDI in May 2023 aboard her upper-level dressage horse, Zeppelin.  

This video is brought to you by Absorbine.

For More:

• For Laine Ashker’s tips on how to create a healthy, shiny coat for the show ring, click here.
• For her winning recipe for hoof health, click here.

Here, she discusses her daily hoof-care routine and the importance of regular farrier attention and proper nutrition for healthy hooves. Ashker also shares how she utilizes hoof packing to provide her horses’ feet with extra support during times of stress as well as a few savvy hoof-care tips she’s picked up over the course of her extensive career.

Hoof Health: The Daily Drill

As simple is it sounds, the first key to caring for my horses’ feet is to pick them every day whether I ride or not. For horses on turnout, you never know what they might get caught in their feet. I’ve found that bar shoes, especially those with wide bars, tend to collect rocks, dirt and other debris that isn’t always obvious at first glance but could lead to potential bruising or chafing. Cleaning out their feet every day also gives me an opportunity to check for loose shoes, thrush, cracks or any other health issues that might be going on with their hooves.

In addition to daily care, my horses always receive routine farrier care. This includes regular trimming about every four to eight weeks, depending on the individual horse’s needs. Trimming is crucial for removing excess growth, correcting uneven wear and tear and preventing cracking and chipping.

I also ensure my horses are on a quality, complete diet with balanced proportions of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. If they’re lacking in any key vitamins or minerals crucial to hoof health, their feet will likely be compromised in some way. Biotin, amino acids, copper and zinc, for example, are all key nutrients for hoof health and growth.

If I suspect any of my horses aren’t getting adequate nutrients for hoof health from their grain alone, I might provide them with a supplement containing those specific ingredients. But there is no one-size-fits-all supplement plan for horses. So, it’s always a good idea to consult with your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist.

Climate Control

Smart management is also crucial to hoof health, and unfortunately, can largely depend on the climate in your area. A healthy hoof is dry and hard without being brittle. It should be pliable enough to expand and contract. This provides the more sensitive hoof tissues with protection from the environment.

While hoof conditioners can be extremely beneficial for dried-out hooves that are cracked and brittle, overuse of conditioner can result in a hoof that’s too soft and moist. And the wetter the hoof, the more susceptible it is to a host of issues. One of the worst things for hoof health is constantly changing from wet, muddy conditions to hot and dry conditions.

The Power of Packing

Similar to the strain my horses’ tendons, ligaments and joints undergo during high-impact sports like cross country and show jumping, their hooves also experience stress. After a strenuous jumping or cross-country workout, I always ice my horses’ legs. This helps their joints, tendons and ligaments recover. But, over the years, I’ve also added hoof packing to their daily care routine.

There are different types of hoof packing containing a variety of ingredients, depending on my horses’ specific needs. Some packing can help harden soft hooves; others work to ward off bacteria. I personally love Magic Cushion’s packing formula. It provides an analgesic effect to ease soreness in the frogs and soles. Plus, it can help balance moisture in the hooves.

I find it especially helpful as a precaution when the footing is a little firm or dry. Packing has also proven helpful for maintaining long-term soundness for many of my performance horses.

Hoof Packing 101

Here are Absorbine’s directions for the most effective way to pack your horse’s feet with Magic Cushion, whether they’re shod or unshod:

Packing a Hoof:

• Ensure your horse’s feet are clean and dry; packing products will not be fully effective on wet or damp hooves.
• Magic Cushion has thick, sticky viscosity, so wear rubber gloves to apply it to avoid making a mess.
• Depending on the size of your horse’s hoof, soften a small amount of the product (about the size of a golf ball) with your hands and roll it over the bottom of your horse’s hoof.
• Pack and spread the product over both the frog and sole, so it’s about a ½-inch thick.

Light Effect, Shod:

• If your horse is shod, allow him to put his foot down directly on shavings or dirt to coat and secure the packing material.
• The product will be effective for 12 hours and will generally wear off from 12 to 48 hours.

Strong Effect Shod or Unshod:

• Cut piece an impermeable plastic layer, such as a feed bag or plastic wrap, to match the approximate size of your horse’s hoof.
• Pack the hoof as directed above.
• Place the impermeable plastic layer over the packing material.
• Wrap with layers of gauze if your horse’s feet are very sore.
• Wrap with vet wrap or duct tape for additional durability.
• The product will be effective for up to 24 hours.
• Clean out and repeat with fresh packing as needed.

Hoof packing material’s thick viscosity is key to its effectiveness. But it can also result in the product seeping onto the heel bulb and hair near the fetlock. That can be both annoying and time-consuming to clean off—and to be honest, just isn’t fun for anyone. To combat this, I simply coat my horses’ heel bulbs with Vaseline. It acts as a protective barrier and prevents the packing material from sticking to the heel and fetlock areas.

Hoof Health: Final Word

While these tips have worked well for me over the years, they might not be right for every horse in every situation. So, it’s always wise to consult with your veterinarian to determine the right course of action for your horse’s specific needs.

Hoof packing, especially, can be beneficial for most horses. Eventers, show jumpers, endurance and extreme trail riders, reiners, and equestrians in other high-impact disciplines often pack their horses’ hooves to relieve soreness and improve performance over hard ground, rough terrain or any less-than-ideal arena footing. It can even benefit horses who don’t participate in demanding sports.

If, however, your horse shows signs of lameness or chronic soreness—or his feet seem tender after every ride—it could be a potential warning sign that something else is going on. In this case, I always recommend consulting your veterinarian, farrier, and if necessary, a lameness expert to rule out any underlying conditions. This has always proven to keep my horses healthy, happy and able to perform at the top of their game.

Learn More About Hoof Health & Packing

• For additional tips on hoof packing, click here.
• Learn more about how moisture can affect your horses’ hooves here.
• For more advice on keeping your horse’s feet healthy and strong, click here.