Q: How do you deal with a quicked foot when you’ve actually drawn blood with your hoof knife or from driving a nail?

A: If I draw blood with a knife, I clean it up with Betadine or a 10% iodine solution. Then I apply blood-stop powder and a piece of gauze and wrap the foot with Vetrap, putting duct tape over the whole thing. I go back over the next couple days to re-clean and re-wrap the hoof until it starts to heal and toughen up. For a quick, I squirt turpentine down the nail hole to stop the bleeding.

— Brian Cook, Washington, Ill.

A: Everyone who has driven a nail has quicked a hoof. The old saying is, “The only person that never made a mistake, never made anything else either.”

First, determine if the blood is yours or the horse’s. If it’s from a nail, withdraw it immediately. Observe the walk and, if possible, a trot. If the horse isn’t sore, observe it closely for a few days. In most cases, the horse will suffer no ill effects.

By removing the nail immediately and treating any wounds, there is very little chance of developing an abscess. The horse (and the farrier’s pride) will recover quickly.

— Barrie Hulse, Pomfret Center, Conn.

A: Pull the nail and squeeze peroxide or any antiseptic into the hole using a syringe. Do not drive the nail back into the same spot.

If the knife has cut the sole really badly…