Does anyone know what this is?!

Lillybob

Lillybob

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A while ago I noticed this white spongey frog-like material growing down on my girls hooves but didn't think much of it as there wasn't much and he isn't warm, pussy or causing her any pain that I can see. She's fine with me touching it. Her general hoof health is generally good! She's never had an abcess or major thrush, she's not lammy and her feet are trimmer every 6 weeks but not currently shod. She sometimes gets sore soles but I doubt that is connected to this!
I don't know if I should call a vet or if i'm missing something and I can treat this myself but i'm sure this isn't normal! It's on all of her hooves but barely on 1 of them. Can anyone help me?

Sorry I only had pictures of her with wet/muddy legs and hooves.
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Thank you!
 
Fairly sure it's just the periople around the top of the hoof that can change in differnt weather conditions. I think wet weather can make them more noticeable
 
Looks to me like the coronet still attached as it grows out, my first horse had this and I used to use a sharp knife very carefull and remove it up the horn a bit.

Has it been rainy or is he standing in puddles or mud? A lot of times when the coronary band gets waterlogged, it swells up and gets really soft. It's a much lighter color than the rest of the hoof when it's waterlogged

I'm much less concerned about the white, which is very normal for rain-soaked feet,
 
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Ah okay so no reason to panic :) Is there anything I can do about it (creams or some form of removal) or should I just leave it be?
 
It's actually a good sign to have such visible periople. It's purpose is to protect the new hoof growth, a bit like cuticles on finger nails.
You don't need to do anything with it, it is only more obvious now because it has swelled in the wet.
 
The periople is the whole outer surface of the hoof; the coronary band is what is showing on your horse (and yes, it is just like the cuticle of your nails). It has just become more noticeable in the wet, and you should leave it alone, not cut it!
 
This is the periople, it is like a Gortex layer over the horn, in the shod horse it will go at best a 1/3 down the wall.
In the barefoot however it will often go down 2/3rds or more of the wall.
Magnesium plays a large part in it’s health so make sure the horse is getting a balanced amount along with the rest of the diet.
If you were to bring the horse in on dry conditions you would find the fatty tissue would retract and a separation line at the bottom of the periople, this is OK if the horse is not going to need any protection from weather conditions but I would advise that you do nothing drastic as this will lead to an inconsistency in tissue production and to the possibility of the periople not being able to perform it’s job properly.
At the heels it joins the fibro fatty tissue of the bulbs and needs to be as flexible as possible, on some horses you will see little flaps appearing due to the fact that they are not connected to the periople
 
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