We live in central IL, where it is common to use cinders on the roadways in snowy weather. We've only had it done twice so far this year, but it dawned on me, how bad is it for the horses hooves? We do carriage rides on occasion, though this month proved busier than expected with such rides, and our barefoot team picks up little cinders each time. They have gotten very good at picking up their feet for me for a good cleaning after. I never fail to find little pieces of cinders jammed up into the white line area of the hoof and have to scrape them all out. No harm so far, but is their any serious danger? Is it any more dangerous than a barefoot hoof on gravel in terms of sole damage?

Thanks in advance.

Are you sure they use cinders? Where on earth would they get that quantity of cinders to spread on roads? In Wisconsin the road crews use sand in the outlying areas and salt in urban. But I've never heard of cinders being applied.

I had never heard of such a practice so I had to look it up. Some "cinders" are a byproduct of the steel industry, while others are from burning coal. A waste product that does have a few uses, including spreading on roads in winter for traction. Fascinating! I have no answer to your question, however.

Lameness caused by an abscess as the result of undetected foreign matter working its way up through the white line or even sole is always a risk if the hoof is left unprotected, i.e. if horses the horses are not shod and walk on gravelly roads. I guess with cinder it's not much different.

County uses cinders here in Kentucky alot and I can't say that you won't have problems with them but I can say that I never have. Shouldn't be any more serious than a piece of gravel. Would probably come out the top in a couple weeks

An old arena we used for roping and steerwrestling practice used cinders because it was cheaper than sand. Horses never seemed to have a problem, but I'll bet there's still a few embedded in me somewhere.

Coal is a huge industry here in central IL, and the cinders are a by-product of that. It is very common for using on the streets in winter here, though most drivers are less than thrilled about it. It's rough on tires and windshields come spring!

M. Burley, I can't even imagine falling on that as an arena base. I hope it was at least ground nice and fine. The pieces I pull out of the hooves are like little pebbles with sharp edges. I could imagine you lighting up like a Christmas tree if they showed up on an X-ray!

I was scratching my head over that too. Here in parts of Oregon, it's not uncommon to see "cinder" roads, but those cinders are volcanic and like razor blades. Even shod hooves without pads can go lame pretty quickly.

Barb

Out in this part of Colorado they use a volcanic rock called scoria it is dark red and full of air holes. I have not seen it cause it cause any major hoof problems except , I have seen it really dull nippers and hoof knives quickly. Every car or truck ends up with cracks in the windshield sooner or later.

We have been debating getting some boots for one of our boys anyway due to his having such soft, bruising-prone soles. Now, I'm already tired of scraping cinders out of the hooves after each drive involving any asphalt AT ALL, I think the price is totally worth it! We are having to use a custom company, as they are the only ones that provide boots for hooves this big, but they offer a lot of options for us. We can keep our boys barefoot, add the advantage of rubber traction where needed, complete sole protection on asphalt, and even put studs into the rubber for driving on wintery paths. I think we are gonna go for it.