cracked hooves

[NORTH FLORIDA]

My horse had a bad laceration about six months ago. The laceration was on the hind leg. He had to wear a cast and limp around for a while. The laceration healed nicely. I noticed a few months ago that his front hooves had a small crack from the ground up (grass crack). The farrier came out and trim his hooves but did nothing with the cracks. Now the cracks go all the way up and are getting wider, what should I do? I believe this all came from him putting extra weight on his front legs because of the injury.

 

[oscar p]

Have him shod on the front. The dry weather also plays a part.

 

[Alan]

A cracked hoof can be caused by different things, can be a crack due to dryness, could be a compression crack caused by a heavey inpact, could be a crack caused by a fungus, which is bad and needs attention quickly. There are many products out there that will help, both feed additives and applications. We use a great product called Rain Maker, you just paint the hoof with it. The feed additive needs to have Biotin in it. But don't rule out fugus, your farrier should have picked that up or told you what to do for the cracked hoof, you may want to give him/her a call.

Alan

 

[NORTH FLORIDA]

Can this be fixed? Will shoes fix it? What about a plate? Will filler hold it together

 

[Alan]

Can this be fixed? Will shoes fix it? What about a plate? Will filler hold it together

Yes all can be fixed, refer to my previous post....

A cracked hoof can be caused by different things, can be a crack due to dryness, could be a compression crack caused by a heavey inpact, could be a crack caused by a fungus, which is bad and needs attention quickly. There are many products out there that will help, both feed additives and applications. We use a great product called Rain Maker, you just paint the hoof with it. The feed additive needs to have Biotin in it. But don't rule out fugus, your farrier should have picked that up or told you what to do for the cracked hoof, you may want to give him/her a call.

Alan

Shoes will help also, but hooves grow very slowly it takes time.

 

[NORTH FLORIDA]

Can the shoes be removed once the cracks are gone?

 

[Alan]

Can the shoes be removed once the cracks are gone?

Yes, but if the cracks are wide you need more than just shoes. If it's a fungus you could lose the hoof, should have it looked at and apply Rain Maker and a feed suppliment with Biotin in it. I doubt that just because your horse did not put as much weight on one leg it caused the front to crack. It's must likely due to dryness, but again, sever cracks are nothing to mess with, your farrier should have said something, you should have the feet looked at.

Alan

 

[ETF]

Every farrier we've used will file a notch in the hoof above any serious cracks to keep them from propagating upward.

 

[kscowboy]

To be blunt , get a new farrier
Review your horses diet with your vet
be prepared to have your horse shod and reset every six weeks

It will take time , a good farrier , and a solid diet to repair that damage.

 

[msscamp]

Now the cracks go all the way up and are getting wider, what should I do?

Try to determine what is causing the cracks - impact/stress from the injured rear leg, dryness, or something else. If impact/stress from the injury - have him shod on his front feet. If dryness, try a conditioning agent or watering his pen. If something else - you probably need to talk to your vet, as that is out of my league.

 

[flaboy]

I know this is an older thread but I agree with the others here. I especially agree about the opinions on the farrier.

As a preventative measure in the future use some of the hoof (paint on) treatments. I use pine tar.

 

[NORTH FLORIDA]

Flaboy, I put shoes on him about 1wk ago. I've changed farriers, also. What does pine tar do for the hoof walls?

 

[flaboy]

Horses hooves should be dry and hard. In wet/damp times I use it to help seal out too much moisture. In very dry periods I use it to help keep the hoof moist and pliable. It is NOT something I use daily or even weekly. Keep an eye on them. Don't let them get too dry or too moist.