grit stick in white line - what to do...?

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Beatrice5

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After abscess problems of last few weeks I am being meticulous about picking out, scrubbing and drying soles of my 3's feet twice a day.

Today I noticed my filly has a piece of grit stick in her white line and i tried to dig it out and it just went in deeper :( so I stopped. It is well and truly stuk in deep :(

Help ?
 
Hot poultice to draw it out, ideally animalintex.

If this doesn't work, call your farrier!

Good luck and hope you get it resolved x
 
How did you try to dig? Just with a hoof-pick? If so, try something thinner and more precise, that you can get at the edge of the grit without pushing it deeper or digging a hole. I find a thin-bladed pocket knife usually does the trick. Just be careful.
 
will try again tomorrow just worried about it getting any deeper .

Second worry - I had my corral re stoned and they used scalpings instead of clean stone.......now we have a lot more grit to contend with? will they harden up to this or should I get it surfaced with sand or woodchip?
 
Hot tub with Epsom salts and if that doesn't work, poultice. Do NOT poke about in the white line with a hoof pick, or anything else.
In future, brush the hoof with a stiff brush, or leave it alone.
 
Okay will try poultice but not hopeful as it appears welded in and now a good few mm's in :(

Think my farrier will be getting an SOS call.

Thoughts on corral surface appreciated as now worrying this may be a regular occurance :(
 
Beatrice5 barefooters deal with grit 100% of the time, so I doubt if you need to change your surface. I use 2mm grit on standing areas in my field. It's not an issue, but pushing it might make it one! It's one great use for a horseshoe nail, digging grit out of the white line.

I wouldn't recommend poulticing to get it out and especially not with anything wet like animalintex. It'll just make the foot soft and could allow a way in for infection that isn't currently there.

Just get a nail and get the point in behind it and pop it out.
 
I've just re-read your first post and I can't believe that you are serious. Washing and drying their feet twice a day???

That just isn't normal behaviour, you know?

Perhaps you need to be looking at dietary issues to toughen up your guys feet and tighten up the white line so it creates a better seal?
 
Believe me I have worried myself sick - farrier next port of call ! He is a man that talks a lot of sense - posted on here as it's too late to call him and know you guys are a wealth of knowledge and experience too.
 
Well, for me a bit of grit means extra grip :D I leave 'em in me! They soon flick out of their own accord... so far...
 
If the white line is compromised---which it sounds like this one might be---there's a risk of infection, which a piece of grit digging its way in deeper isn't going to help. I'd get the grit out carefully, and then soak with povidone solution or similar. If it's in so deep that you're really worried about causing further damage (which we can't tell, obviously, since we can't see your horse), then get your farrier out to show you what to do. I've never needed to poultice for grit in the white line, and this is a problem I encountered a lot in the early days with current pony. To prevent further rock collections in the white line, I used hoof boots for hacking until the problem resolved. In our case, it was probably laminitis-related damage that was growing out, from before I got him.

As to the scalpings, is that really sharp gravel? It's a new word for me...is your corral completely surfaced in sharp gravel?
 
hey, I have just re-read too, and I think you need to give yourself a break. Washing the feet will not help prevent abcessess - it may just tip the moisture balance too allow the hooves to become too soft and more likely to suffer problems.

Hooves are VERY tough cookies, and left alone, with good trimming when needed, and supported by a good diet, they can strut their stuff.
 
Okay - thank you for reassurance.

I just assumed once grit got wedged in it would track up automatically. She's not lame it's just my paranoia.

Yes the entire corral is stones with a large fieid shelter deeply bedded and mucked out thoroughly daily. They also get turned out daily for a few hours as the grass is very lush and tryng to avoid grass related problems.

The corral used to be woodchipped but it rotted down and I then worried about it being too wet and encouraging thrush etc. This summer we cleaned off woodchip and re stoned hoping it would be a better and cleaner surface for drying feet out after being in wet fields.
 
Forgive my ignorance, but I though poultices were also used to draw out foreign bodies?

My sons pony recently stood on some hedge trimming and we used a poultice to draw the thorn out and it worked a treat.

Would still be speaking to my farrier/trimmer first!
 
Sidney said:
Forgive my ignorance, but I though poultices were also used to draw out foreign bodies?

My sons pony recently stood on some hedge trimming and we used a poultice to draw the thorn out and it worked a treat.

Would still be speaking to my farrier/trimmer first!
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Yes they are!

OP, when horses get abscesses it is usually in wet conditions because the hooves are softened.
 
That sounds like a really good idea; pea gravel is what I've had recommended; would be interested to see a picture of your surface.

I've seen two types of situations in which the white line starts to be weakened enough to collect grit on a regular basis. First is what I described earlier, where laminitic damage was growing out from higher in the hoof. Where did your filly's abscess come out? The second type was from mechanical separation, where lopsided loading of the hoof wall caused the white line to be stretched on one side of the hoof (lateral). This type was less problematic, because the damage didn't extend very far up into the hoof.
 
I wouldn't be using a poultice either, and I'd seriously suggest you stop washing the hooves so much. If you're feeding a sensible diet the hooves will be well connected and the grit won't be able to travel up any further, unless you push it up of course. Use something smaller and finer to get behind it if you're that worried, otherwise I'd leave well alone and let it make its own way out.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Yes they are!

OP, when horses get abscesses it is usually in wet conditions because the hooves are softened.
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but that is when heat is increasing/directing the inflammatory response in a specific area. As (without any infection) there is currently no inflammation and no blood supply to the white line at the sole I really cannot see how this will work.

OP I do sometimes to a run round the white line for grit with my lad as I am not completely comfortable leaving it, either using a small sharp nail or a flat knife.
 
ester said:
but that is when heat is increasing/directing the inflammatory response in a specific area. As (without any infection) there is currently no inflammation and no blood supply to the white line at the sole I really cannot see how this will work.

OP I do sometimes to a run round the white line for grit with my lad as I am not completely comfortable leaving it, either using a small sharp nail or a flat knife.
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My point was that it is not a good idea to keep washing the hooves.


I would prefer to use a wire brush to get rid of grit etc. and there's less risk of pushing it further in.
 
Jury's out on how often grit actually travels up the white line, and whether this causes abscesses. It seems far more likely that horses who have white lines wide enough for grit to get stuck are more likely to develop abscesses as the hoof is already compromised.

We have road planings at the gate, and yes, sometimes bits of grit get stuck. I either do nothing (a short hack along the road is enough to get them out) or I pick out with a pointy, rather than a flat ended hoofpick. The horseshoe nail is a good idea, but we don't have any of them lying around :D

The more you soften the sole (wet field, lots of washing, wet poulticing), the more things are going to get stuck in the hoof. Pick out feet once a day and give 'em a brush with a wire brush, treat any thrush if there's thrush, but otherwise leave them alone :)
 
Pearlsasinger said:
My point was that it is not a good idea to keep washing the hooves.


I would prefer to use a wire brush to get rid of grit etc. and there's less risk of pushing it further in.
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but you were saying that poultices were used to draw out foreign bodies and would draw out the grit quite well, that's the bit I wasn't sure about physiologically.

I'd agree re the washing hooves. My lads white lines are pretty tight and have never had an issue pushing anything further in, mostly I think because it is so tight they can't :D and I just have never go round to remembering to get a brush ;)
 
Sidney said:
Forgive my ignorance, but I though poultices were also used to draw out foreign bodies?

My sons pony recently stood on some hedge trimming and we used a poultice to draw the thorn out and it worked a treat.

Would still be speaking to my farrier/trimmer first!
Click to expand...



My thinking is this -

Organic material swells and softens with a poultice and is then drawn towards any material that takes in water. A piece of grit won't swell or soften and will only be drawn towards a poultice if everything around it goes completely mushy and it either moves with it or drops out under gravity. Since poulticing it will soften the white line, then it will, in my opinion, make it more likely that an infection will get in, not less. That's why I wouldn't do it, but I doubt if you are alone and plenty of people would.
 
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