My mare has a hoof crack and we just cannot fix it!?

Question

We have a 5 year old mare that has a crack in her hoof that is moving up towards her cornet band. She is not sore on that hoof and there is no heat. She has had shoes on for the past 2 and a half years and we only take her shoes off in the winter time when there is deep snow.

We have talked to out farrier but he has not done much for her hoof except putting shoes on. She performs fine like I said, but this crack is not going away and is not getting any better and it worries me.

She is young and full of potential and I don't want to see this little mare ruined. If it is possible I will try to get some pictures up of her hoof crack.

We have tried Special Formula that is a food additive and it has biotin in it, we started in August of 2008 and still have not seen any changes in the crack. We have also been putting hooflex on her so that the hoof is not dry and brittle but it still did not make a difference.

She had somewhat flat feet so we used Venice Turpentine on the soles of her hooves to strengthen them, thinking maybe that might strengthen the hoof wall, but I suppose that was a silly thought, because it didn't work. However she is not bothered by her flat feet anymore (thank goodness).

Her hoof care is up to date and to our knowledge she does not do any rough playing out in the field.

We need this fixed, please if you have any suggestion, do not hesitate to post.

Answer 1

You can do a few things differently, but my first advice is to contact a certified barefoot trimmer in your area to work with you on this. Shoes will not help your horse's hoof. they impair the circulation needed to strengthen the hoof. A proper barefoot trim will get the hoof tissues perfused with blood, which delivers the nutrients and moisture to the hoof structures.



Hoof wall grows down from the coronary band. but new research has shown that lateral pathways also develop within in hooves when they are trimmed correctly. These allow for thickening of the hoof wall from the sides (inside the hoof) as well as the growth downward from the coronary band.



Farrier's Formula contains the correct amino acids and is recommended over all of the other products which don't. Hoof structures are formed from specific proteins (amino acids) and are built from the ones contained in Farrier's Formula. This information does not come from the company making the product, but from veterinary research. Soybean meal also contains these amino acids. Biotin supplementing has not been shown to have any beneficial effects for hooves. Unless a horse is deficient in biotin, which is almost never the case, it is a waste of money.



The hoof wall needs to contact the ground and expand and compress in order to function as it is intended, and shoes prevent this.



Hoof dressings do no good and can be harmful....they harbor bacteria and fungi next to the hoof wall, which is made of keratinized protein. The germs digest the keratin, making the wall soft. this is not good. You want the keratin to be hard and sturdy, so don't put anything on it.



The crack has to grow out from the top down, but the wall can be thickened and stabilized all along the length of the crack if the tissue can be perfused with blood adequately. the hoof has to function correctly for that to happen. Then the amino acids provided in your horse's diet and needed to build hoof wall will be available to form tissue, and with the right trim, the lateral paths will form to develop new tissue that can thicken the walls.



The soles should be allowed to thicken and form callus, and naturally shed. Using Venice turpentine is a temporary fix that does no good in the long run.



So, my advice is to find a barefoot trimmer. they are specifically trained in the art of trimming a barefoot horse, so your regular farrier is unlikely to possess the same skills and training.



EDIT....oh well......if you get the chance to learn how, it sounds like your area could use a good certified barefoot trimmer ! Maybe you can talk your farrier into getting some more training ???

Answer 2

Horizontal cracks are not typically a big deal as they usually are not deep. Vertical cracks are not very bad as long as you keep an eye on it and it doesn't extend up further toward the coronary band or result in a chunk of the hoof breaking off. The abscess probably has nothing to do with the cracks, but is just insult to injury. If it were me, I would treat the abscess like any abscess, soaking the foot and medicating as needed. And for the cracks I would think about a hoof hardener. Extremely cold climates can wick moisture out of a hoof just as fast as really hot temperatures, and that might be the cause of the cracks - or at least the horizontal one. Hoof hardener might help "lock" in some moisture. It would also be a good idea to check with your vet at the earliest convenience to see if there could be anything else wrong, or if they recommend a supplement to help keep the hooves healthy. Edit: I would be cautious about taking the shoe off depending on how bad the vertical crack is. Frozen ground - especially if it is rough and uneven in spots - can be just as harsh as large stones. And if the vertical crack is halfway up the hoof, the hard ground and the pressure of the horse walking can actually cause the crack to get worse, or break away a large chunk. Then you may end up with a really bad problem. In the situation you are describing, the shoe may be protecting the vertical crack from getting worse.

Answer 3

You're doing great. That is almost all I can think of- my mare's hooves also crack. Our farrier clips the top of the crack so that it won't spread. I would get out a picture of it, but I am not home right now. Basically, he takes the end of a nail and hits it ONCE! Only once, because we aren't sticking a nail all the way into my horse's hoof. That creates a nick in the top of the crack- preventing it from spreading. I am not sure how well this will work on your horse- and for my horse, it doesn't cure it, but she isn't sore in the least bit, and we can still do anything. *touch wood, Really dont want THAT to change* But another thing is to just keep re-applying hooflex conditioner (it smells horid, and you apply it with a cloth) every day. That's what I use and it's starting to have affect. But, if you miss a few days, that's okay. Well... I don't know how to FIX it. has your farrier been telling you that it's a problem? Has he been doing his part to fix it, or does he just clip it and go in the winter, and clip, shoe and go in the summer/fall/spring?? If he clips and goes, I suggest getting another farrier. He should do something... but yes, if he doesn't do anything, ditch him. If he cares about your horse, and tries to treat it, EXCELLENT. Keep him. If you think it's hard to find a good farrier like that, it's even harder to KEEP THEM.

Well... My rambling about your farrier. Keep up with what you are doing, keep monitoring it, maybe keep a journal of what happens to it. It'll help later on if it goes on for too long!

Oh! And, if worst comes to worst, there's always surgical fixes. Pricey, dangerous, quick fix, but they need recovery!

Answer 4

You need to find a remedial farrier that will continue shoeing your mare as normal, but will tailor shoes to support the hoof, relieving pressure on the crack and no doubt, will treat the crack as well to prevent it reaching the coronet band.



My TB x mare used to have very severe cracks and although living in South Wales at the time, I would have a remedial farrier come from taunton every six weeks until the cracks had all grown out.



It isn't cheap as they have a lot more work to do than a normal farrier, but are very highly trained and experienced and will be the best at treating the crack and maintaining balance for your horse while this happens.



Good luck.

Answer 5

I have dealt with hoof cracks in the past and it depends on what caused the hoof crack. Was there some kind of injury to this hoof at that spot or close to it? One thing i have done is to take a hoof rasp and to rasp a deep groove across the top of the crack this stops it from going up further and then the hoof grows out. You might need to do this ever so often but it does work. If there is some kind of injury there to the hoof this might be a problem u will deal with forever depending on how much damage was done there inside. But try the groove across top of the crack and see what happens.

Answer 6

Some of the suggestions you already have are pretty good. Another, more drastic perhaps, way to help keep this from spreading (and you need someone experienced at doing this, not just a hilljack that thinks it sounds like something they could do) would be to dremel out the crack so that it's very clean, drill holes on either side of the crack and wire it back together so that there's no pressure to allow it to spread, and epoxy the whole repair. It will need to be redone as the hoof grows down, but it can help with particularly troublesome cracks.

Answer 7

This is JUST from my personal experience.. I have a mare that had a toe crack in one front hoof. Eventually it was both front. I did everything to stop the crack: scoring the hoof, screwing metal plates across it, numerous types of shoes, trims.. the list goes on. Did this for 2 years to no avail.. then one day... poof, out of the blue.. she went terribly lame.. took to vet had her x-rayed.. both coffin bones had begun to rotate. I was able to save her and she is ok now. So just on my experience with cracks that WILL NOT go away, and seem to have no reason for the crack(s),,,I will suggest you get her x-rayed..at least to rule out founder.

There was no heat and no sign of anything until she went lame. Also, check the soles of her feet for softness, use your thumbs and push. The farrier should have checked her with hoof testers. It sounds like you need a new farrier :-)

Best of luck and I hope all will be well with her

Answer 8

Go to the top of the crack and drill a small hole, the crack will travel no further. I can't imagine that your farrier hasn't done this...You might consider getting another farrier. You can then use poly or I use a hot glue gun to fill in the crack if I need to show or whatever. If after doing this, the crack appears to be traveling, get ahead of it and drill a larger hole, that will stop it, in fact, it; the only way that I know of that will. You can do it yourself...if you draw blood, no big deal, soak in Epsom salts and go on.

Answer 9

You're off to a great start. You might check out Farrier's Friend supplement.



If you're not satisfied with your current farrier, you might try finding a second opinion (if possible; I know farriers can be hard to find). It also can't hurt to ask your vet for ideas, or information on other farriers or routes. I've seen a number of methods used to address hoof cracks, but they all vary depending on the animal.



Good luck!

Answer 10

call down to ames Ia. the vet school has the latest info on hard to solve problems