Hey, I'm wondering if anyone has used hoof trimmings in dirt holes? I got a little herd and had their hooves done the other day and noticed the dogs eating them and was wondering if anyone has ever used them for yotes

I never have but I've heard they make good bait.

There's a way of infusing the clippings in water and or glycerin, that's very effective. Try the Archives.

Overrated.

Boone's got it right.

A western lure manufacturer made a liquid canine bait that fox & coyote loved below ground and above on grubstakes in my area. it was the worst smelling stuff I’d ever used, absolutely gut-wrenching stuff. Curious to have some idea of what it was made from I sent a sample to a good friend who is also in the lure manufacturing business. Hoof trimmings was his verdict!

It might be worth a try. We have horses that get trimmed often. And yes I would have to beat the dog to them.

Horse meat bait is way better.

Plus them hoof trimmings stink bad. FEE

Thanks everyone! And yes horse meat is great for bait. I had one go down about 15 years ago and filled the bait freezer.

Yes...he does.

Horse hoof trimmings that have simmered in a jar in the summer heat is by far the worst smelling crap I've ever handled. Think of sliding the lid back on your septic tank and sticking your face in the sludge.....

Lol alright. I'm not gonna let hooves simmer all summer, especially the summer we're having right now but I'll try a few fresh ones at a few sets. Thanks guys.

This is why I stress testing. There's guys on here I listen to when they talk coyotes and lures that may not have the same opinion. If the lure Seldom spoke of did have horse hoofs in it and he says it was a good one I'd fully believe it was. There's popular bases and ingredients out there that I think for coyotes that are over rated from my testing. I believe Russ Carmen stated in his book it was his opinion castor was over rated for k9s and I'd tend to agree. I've tested bobcat meat a bunch and as a whole I think it's over rated.

To be clear I use both in some of my formulations because they both have some value to bring to the table in the way I use them. I wonder if their availability doesn't lend itself to make them popular to a degree. I've never tested horses hooves. Did brew up a batch once but never got around to doing anything with it. Maybe that potent odor can add something as a secondary odor..???
There's plenty of ingredients out there that by themselves don't have a lot of intrest from coyotes but can add a little more intrest to a good formulation if used properly. A few top shelf ingredients out there that will add attraction to almost anything.
Best way in my opinion to really learn is to test. Particularly one step at a time so you see the effects of each ingredient. Last year I focused a lot of my testing on three ingredients. These ingredients by themselves have little to no attraction to coyotes but I'd read they have value as secondary odors. I tested them in some proven formulations. I ended up testing them with three or four different amounts of these ingredients in a formulation. Two I found a level they improved the formulations one never seemed to improve anything. Just never know until you put it in the right amount in front of enough coyotes.

Since I'm no longer coyote trapping there are things I can talk about more freely.
Swamp Wolf described EXACTLY what the Weiser Liquid Fox & Coyote Bait smelled like! below ground tests were dug up very well (on video) and when I tried it on grubstakes (on video) the coyotes would roll & rub and when they apparently had enough on them, would steal the grubstake. This happened the 3 times I tested it on grubstakes.

Now I'll discuss how it compared to 1 of the 2 top baits I've ever tested/used, Esch's Horse Whisper II Plus (Beartooth Trapr). Coyotes absolutely love to get this bait on them! The year I was testing grubstakes I set out a couple of grubstakes with HW on them with and without a camera. They loved it above ground as much as below, just easier to dive onto!! LOL The one difference between Esch's and Weiser's was they never stole then HW grubstake as seen in the photo. There is a video of HW on a grubstake near a gland lure test that i did in an area where the ground was such that I couldn't find sign. I never used the liquid bait on my line because I figuredI had the best of the best already but I knew if one of the other two bait manufacturers ever quit or stopped making, I could easily replace it with that liquid bait and never miss a step.

The year I tested grubstake baits I tested 12 baits from 8 manufacturers.
Horse Whisper II Plus

The other issue with the horse hoof liquid is when using stuff that smells that rough is I couldn't seem to keep it contained.....a little on my hands...some on my gloves....a smear on the trapping tote, a drop or 2 too close to the bedded trap.

And with that particular odor....all those accidental drops cause problems....with the coyotes, the wife, anybody else around you, etc...lol

IT IS THAT BAD!

Usually as a general rule, most, if not all materials with a putrid odor profile will cause rolling, scratching and digging reactions. Then comes the instinctual marking response in many cases and / or fecal marking near the area of the odor. Fresh trimmings drilled and staked down will create a much better interest in my opinion. Or several pieces wired together and staked down.

Knowing how to take advantage of such a material with that built in reaction can be used to one's advantage. Use such materials only in below ground level sets in small amounts.

Not for use at the set, but as a decoy interest area. Then set up wind with lure and baited sets. Scent post marking spots, dirt holes and walk thru sets. I use this tactic successfully every year but using a hot LDC of sorts with food odors built in.

As stated, any errors or sloppy behavior in use of a putrid fluid material can cause headaches at the set and missed catches. Contamination of equipment and gloves can run amuck on a trapline if you don't figure out the problem fast.

A few years ago a young fella that I'd been mentoring to trap coyote pulled into the yard. His truck stunkof skunk terribly. I ask him why it was so bad? He'd cracked a bottle of Hellfire that was in his pack when he tossed something on top of it. I mentioned that maybe he needed to switch allof his gear because it had to be contaminated. He said to me, "boy, don't that stink?" I said no, it's just strong skunk. Do you want to smell something that really stinks? He said it can't be worse than Hellfire!

I took him in the garage and got a bottle of Weiser's Liquid out of the freezer. I took him outside and just cracked the cap and let him have a quick smell. He took off running out into my yard and was bent over gagging but didn't throw up. When he had caught himself he said there's a septic tank in that bottle and agreed strong skunk wasn't so bad after all!! Kids!! LOL

Lol good story. I don't need to be gagging while I'm trapping and every time I use something that smells nasty I just end up catching possum.

Now that is a good story Seldom. I have had a few that near lost their last meal in my shop and I won't mention any names. All seasoned trappers so I thought from how they told me. LOL

I don't feel it smells that bad in there.

I don't recall ever catching a possum on horse hoof liquid, but if the coyote or fox didn't get caught....they always took a dump at the set...lol