Cracked hoof- whip shoes off?

kirstie

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This is going to be an essay- apologies in advance!

My horse has recently developed two cracks on the inside of her near hind hoof. They are both towards the back of the foot, one is about and 3.5cm long, horizontal and about 1.5 cm from the edge of her hoof where her shoe is at the back of the crack and about 3-4cm from the bottom of the foot at the front of the crack.

The second crack is right at the back of the foot, about 1cm long and meets with the back of her shoe- so under her heel.

The second crack is newest, I noticed the first about 4 weeks ago and the second about 2 weeks ago. My farrier shod her 2 weeks ago and said that the cracks are due to how she is placing the foot when she is working. She is shod every 6 weeks.

There is a change line across her foot just above the second crack, which is the higher crack on the foot.

When I look at the foot straight on, it seems to me that it looks like the foot is trying to flare out on the inside and the shoe is preventing it, hence the cracks.

From the beginning of the summer, her work load has increased, she has been going really well and her work has become more challenging, really asking her to engage and start to take her weight back. She has always found it harder to engage her near hind, which I have been working on to stregnthen her and get her working correctly.

My thinking at the moment is that where she is starting to use herself more correctly, she is changing her way of going and is putting more pressure on her hind foot, hence the foot wanting to spread, the shoe restricting it and cracks developing.

My other thoughts are that there may be issues further up, and she is compensating and the pressure is showing through the cracks...

I have recently added linseed to her diet, she has 8-10lbs of haylage a day when she comes in from the field and 16lbs of good quality hay overnight. 2x scoops of alfa A, 2 scoops high fibre cubes, 1.5 scoops sugar beet, suppleaze gold and 200g of linseed a day, split over 2 feeds. She is turned out 7.30am- 2.30pm daily on not good grazing, the field is very wet at the moment, which I do not think is helping. I have also been putting antibac on the cracks 2x a week.

She is 17hh Trakehner, 9 years old, 10 this year, I have had her since she was rising 4. Her feet have always been small for her size.

My gut instinct is to take her back shoes off in 4 weeks time when she is next due to be shod. I am going on holiday for a week straight after, so she can have some time to adjust and then I can pick up work with her again.

Any advice would be really gratefully received. I have never really had issues with her feet before, apart from one puss in the foot about 3 weeks ago.

Thank you!
 

JillA

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I had Reg's shoes taken off hen he arrived a couple of years ago because they were cracking quite badly. Farrier was dubious but had to admit a few months in that the feet were much improved.
Allowing them to flex and move makes all the difference (coupled with a low sugar diet) IMO but Reg was on field rest for other reasons, so work wasn't an issue. Now his feet are great and he hasn't worn shoes in the meantime - but he hasn't worked (he has metabolic issues). Worth a try if you can manage the intro period and the cracks aren't going to break away leaving the foot badly compromised (wraps might be worth thinking about?)
 

Exploding Chestnuts

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Yes, wondering just what size these feed scoops are, is she getting enough minerals in her diet,to be honest, with this problem I think I would add some pro hoof.
Also get a good equine vet, to discuss, maybe with the farrier, you will almost certainly get resistance from both to removal of shoes. does the farrier do wraps?
What caused the pus in the foot, was it the same foot?
Maybe remove for holiday, and re-assess when back in work.
In the meantime I would not do quite so much work to see if it helps.
 
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kirstie

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Thank you both for your responses.

She had an abscess 3 years ago when I was off with a broken back and wasn't able to look after her. I had her on livery whilst I was out of action and had her back shoes removed as she wasn't going to be ridden and I needed to cut costs as much as possible. It was end of winter, she wasn't really lame but not quite right, I think if I had been looking after her I would have picked up on it much sooner. She ended up at the RVC, the abscess was huge, as was the vet bill. She had to have quite a lot of her foot cut away. I can't honestly remember which foot is was, but it was a hind foot. I have a feeling it may have been the same foot. It has put me off taking her shoes off to be honest.

The other 3 feet are in beautiful condition, no cracks or issues at all. The farrier commented on how much tougher her feet are now compared to how they were when I got her.

The feed scoops are stubbs scoops. I could get her a vit and mineral supplement. She looks amazing at the moment as well, I constantly get comments about how well she looks. Her weight is very good as well.

With regard to the wraps, I am not sure if my farrier does them- I would have thought he does.
 

amandap

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Horizontal cracks tend to be due to abscesses blowing at the coronary and will grow down with the hoof and out eventually.

Minerals status is important for hoof health in general.
 

Pinkvboots

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I have had countless trouble with my 16.3 warmblood mare very similar to yours, mine started on the front foot with two large cracks and a flare starting on the inside, my farrier advised to remove the shoes for at least 12 weeks and her feet did recover no more flares and one crack grew out, however the one at the front got worse and she ended up getting and infection up high in the foot and it affected the tip of the pedal bone, she had the bone and infection scraped out on the 18 th Dec and is now on box rest recovering.
This is a horse that had two abcesses last year so that could have also contributed to the infection, I have put her on the top spec hoof suplement and I am sure its made a difference, her other feet look better although she still has one small crack on one of her hind hoofs but it small and I am dealing with it, as I am now paranoid about any holes or cracks because of what happend with the front one.

I would speak to your vet and farrier about the flares and see what they say, all I can say is it did improve my horses feet in only 12 weeks, the vet also said if the flares are not corrected it then causes an imbalance in the foot,and that the chances are the infection was there well before her shoes came off as she was going lame on and off before all this started, my horse also has quite small feet for her size and frame, I just wanted to tell you of my experience as any holes or cracks can let dirt and bacteria in and cause major problems later on as I have learnt, and as someone else has mentioned feeding a good vitamin and mineral supplement or something meant for the feet would be a good start.
 

kirstie

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Thank you for your replies. I am confident that the cracks aren't due to an abscess, my farrier has said that it is how she is placing her foot down during work. The other 3 feet look very healthy, no issues whatsoever.

I am going to look and get a vitamin and mineral supplement asap and will research specific hoof supplements. I did think that Liseed would be enough but will do whatever it takes to resolve the issue and promote future health.

I am really concerned that something may get into the cracks and I will end up in a situation as pinkvboots. I am hosing her feet daily from the field and applying antibac twice a week but am very aware that it only takes the tiniest bit of grit to cause a massive issue. I am also worried that going out in a soaking wet field everyday will worsen the situation and increase the likelihood of the cracks increasing because of the horn softening and an abscess developing.

I have phoned my farrier and left him a voicemail asking him to get back to me and see what he says. I will call my vet after that.

I do have pictures of the cracks but no idea of how to post them.
 

cptrayes

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Your farrier can fill the cracks with resin if they are infection free, or you can pack them. There are various products, my friend has one by Red Horse.

I don't agree with the farrier who says flares unbalance the foot, unless they are dietary in cause. It's my experience that horses grow extensions in order to balance a body or leg that is not straight. I think your guess that the shoe is preventing her from balancing that foot, resulting in stress cracks, is likely to be correct.
 
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amandap

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I think your guess that the shoe is preventing her from balancing that foot, resulting in stress cracks, is likely to be correct.
I have never seen (or heard of) horizontal stress cracks, are they common? Just sounds odd to me as the tubules grow vertically so between them is a weaker point than across them?

I do agree if the hoof is unbalanced, shoeing wont help her find the balance she needs.
 

cptrayes

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I have never seen (or heard of) horizontal stress cracks, are they common? Just sounds odd to me as the tubules grow vertically so between them is a weaker point than across them?

I do agree if the hoof is unbalanced, shoeing wont help her find the balance she needs.

Sorry, I completely missed the point that they were horizontal.

My answer is therefore partly rubbish!

Horizontal cracks are, as someone else said, of course far more likely to be abscess exit wounds or old coronet band injury of some other kind.

Thanks for sorting me out Amanda :)
 

amandap

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Sorry, I completely missed the point that they were horizontal.

My answer is therefore partly rubbish!

Horizontal cracks are, as someone else said, of course far more likely to be abscess exit wounds or old coronet band injury of some other kind.

Thanks for sorting me out Amanda :)
Oh, I was hoping to learn something new! lol
 

kirstie

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I have just re read my original post, in the OP it says she had an abscess 3 weeks ago... It was 3 years ago!

Apologies for any confusion!
 

Pinkvboots

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Your farrier can fill the cracks with resin if they are infection free, or you can pack them. There are various products, my friend has one by Red Horse.

I don't agree with the farrier who says flares unbalance the foot, unless they are dietary in cause. It's my experience that horses grow extensions in order to balance a body or leg that is not straight. I think your guess that the shoe is preventing her from balancing that foot, resulting in stress cracks, is likely to be correct.
Flares on the hoof can cause the hoof to be unbalanced, it was the vet that said this to me not the farrier, I was already aware of this anyway as my other horse had an unbalanced hoof some years back which was caused by a flare on the inside of his hoof, if you google it there is plenty of proof.
 

cptrayes

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Flares on the hoof can cause the hoof to be unbalanced, it was the vet that said this to me not the farrier, I was already aware of this anyway as my other horse had an unbalanced hoof some years back which was caused by a flare on the inside of his hoof, if you google it there is plenty of proof.

Did your x rays show that it was flare causing the imbalance? I would love to see them if you can post them.
 

amandap

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Abscesses in hind hooves often go un noticed. One of my horses had one years ago and the only way I knew was when I saw gunk coming from the coronary band then the tell tale slit grew down. Another grew a slit but I didn't notice anything!

Of course your horse may well have something else going on but don't discount abscesses as cause of the cracks.

To post pics I use photobucket (free) and post img link from there. I don't know other ways I'm afraid.
 

kirstie

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Thank you for the responses, I am taking them all on board.

I am going to try and post pics, I haven't done it before, so I'm sorry if it doesn't work or if they are huge!





 

JillA

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If you copy and paste the IMG code in the lowest box under the photograph it will copy the actual photo rather than just a link - you need to delete everything before and after the (I don't know why yours has the additional stuff, mine just has the IMG code)

[IMG]http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab161/KJN1231/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps3ff93a80.jpg
 
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cptrayes

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Because the heel is so under run, I think that could be a stress crack as your farrier says.

You don't need to worry about the crack, you need to get the cause, the under run heels and the brittle quality of the hoof, sorted as soon as possible. Taking the shoes off, with the right exercise and feed, should do that. This is a hind foot, yes? You would also need to be sure that she does not have any hock or back issues that are causing her to weight the feet wrongly.

High fibre, low sugar, mineral balancer from pro earth, and lots of walk work on abrasive surfaces, plenty of turnout.
Good luck.
 

Meowy Catkin

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If you copy and paste the IMG code in the lowest box under the photograph it will copy the actual photo rather than just a link - you need to delete everything before and after the (I don't know why yours has the additional stuff, mine just has the IMG code)

[/QUOTE]

Photobucket - in their quest to make themselves worse, with each 'improvement' - had a revamp and altered the automatic settings of their service. If you want to alter your settings back to the old default, so that you get photos, rather than links (IE you don't have to delete the extra code every time you want to post a photo) follow this link for instructions. [url]http://www.arabianlines.com/forum1/topic_new.asp?TOPIC_ID=54114&SearchTerms=photobucket[/url]


ETA - I've looked at the photos and I agree, the heels are very under-run. This is well worth sorting out for the long term soundness of your horse.
 
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Casey76

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I don't know, I'm still leaning towards abscessing. You can see that each of the two cracks are aligned with an event line, which would indicate some stress or insult.

How do her frogs look? I'm just thinking that both cracks originate very close to the heel, would it be possible that she has had a stone bruise or similar in the medial lateral sulcus?
 

kirstie

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Thank you for all of your replies. It is what I have been thinking in my head and youare all confirming it for me, thank you.

First step, I have booked the vet in for Friday and asked him to bring his x ray machine to either eliminate or confirm hock/ back issues and get his opinion. I have a gut feeling that this is the root cause to be honest, though am desperately hoping that it is not the case.

I'm going to properly look into barefoot and the diet. I know what it needs to be, however she is so fussy about what she eats, I think I may have a few issues. Will be a case of trial and error I think. I will take the back shoes off in February. I'll start introducing new diet asap.

Any further comments or advice are very welcome. Thank you everyone.
 

xgemmax

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I think you would be doing the right thing to take the back shoes off. In the meantime while the cracks are growing out, I would recommend artimud, made by red horse products. its like a paste that you can fill in the gap with to prevent further infections :)
 

Brightbay

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Thank you for all of your replies. It is what I have been thinking in my head and youare all confirming it for me, thank you.

First step, I have booked the vet in for Friday and asked him to bring his x ray machine to either eliminate or confirm hock/ back issues and get his opinion. I have a gut feeling that this is the root cause to be honest, though am desperately hoping that it is not the case.

I'm going to properly look into barefoot and the diet. I know what it needs to be, however she is so fussy about what she eats, I think I may have a few issues. Will be a case of trial and error I think. I will take the back shoes off in February. I'll start introducing new diet asap.

Any further comments or advice are very welcome. Thank you everyone.

Definitely two abscess exit holes. The fact that there are two, separated by a month or so of growth, and both on the same hoof, on the medial side, suggests something going on in terms of how the horse loads the hoof?

Although these look alarming, they do grow out with little trouble. If you remove the shoes, you may find that once they get nearer the ground surface, they crack off and look rather alarming. Oddly enough, they don't seem to cause any problems though - the hoof manages to have enough support from the heels and bars to stop the horse feeling it.

Definitely worth looking at (a) diet and (b) hoof balance though - and the farrier has been rasping a lot off the toe, too, so with shoes off this part of the hoof may get a little ragged looking for a while as the hoof wall has been thinned. The Forageplus website has a nice article on abscesses and cracks and minerals/nutrition that's worth a read :)
 

kirstie

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Thanks to everyone for their replies and advice.

Update: I had the vet up to tonight to have a look. Absolutely nothing wrong in her back or hocks, so very relieved about that.

He too commented on the under run heels and said that her foot balance is wrong, which has caused the cracks. He has taken pictures if them to send to a vet who is also a surgical farrier for him to have a look at as well, just to get his opinion.

He advised that taking back shoes off and going barefoot would be the best course of action, which is what I wanted to do. I can work her as normal but wants me to limit turnout while the fields are so dire, which I will do until the cracks grow out.

I've been looking at forage plus winter hoof and pro hoof, am currently trying to decide which to buy. Any advice welcome!
 

Exploding Chestnuts

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Thanks for the update ...... a vet who is happy with barefoot is a treasure indeed.
Personally I would phone pro earth for advice.
I put my boy on 50 / 50 pro hoof and benefit original when he had been neglected, and he needed gut support and hoof support.
 

cptrayes

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Wow what a great vet.

I think one of those has yeast in and one not. Personally, I would go for the one with the yeast in.
 

cptrayes

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Thanks for the update ...... a vet who is happy with barefoot is a treasure indeed.
Personally I would phone pro earth for advice.
I put my boy on 50 / 50 pro hoof and benefit original when he had been neglected, and he needed gut support and hoof support.

Do you mean you used a full dose of each, or a half dose of each?
 
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