There's a very good reason to clean your horse's feet on a daily basis that has relatively little to do with cleanliness and a hell of a lot to do with having a broke horse. Can you guess what it might be?

How does one pick out a horse's foot? Shod or barefooted, it's basically the same method. Start at the heel by inserting your hoofpick under the debris and lifting up gently, working from heel to heel, until the frog and exfoliating sole are exposed. Next, carefully work the point of your foot hook into the lateral and medial sulci and thoroughly clean all of these areas. If the horse is barefooted, make sure that all dirt and whatnot is thoroughly removed from any separations (they usually start in the heel quarters). If the horse is shod, make sure that anything trapped under the shoe is removed; otherwise, the sole might become a weight bearing structure and that's not Good Thing.

Finally, use a wire brush to clean out all the dirt your hoofpick missed from the sulcii, between shoe and sole, and any in separations. If your horse flinches when you probe the sulcii or you notice a discharge and/or a foul odor emanating therefrom, you might ask your veterinarian what they recommend for thrush.

When folks ask me, I always recommend DURASOLE, but I'm admittedly a little prejudiced.