Help! Big crack in hoof wall??

[Lorian]

Hi

I have noticed today a 2 inch long horizontal crack in my horses hoof wall.
The crack is about 1mm wide and about 2 or 3 mm deep. The crack is quite close to the coronet band. Its on the outside of the hoof so he cant of struck himself and hes in a field on his own. There isnt any heat or swelling in his legs or hoof. He seems sound and happy enough walking and trotting being ridden. Im worried riding him will make it worse and im worried about it getting infected.

Does anyone know what this could be? How he got it? How to treat it? Can I ride him?

 

[cptrayes]

It looks like he has had an abscess without you noticing and it came out at the coronet band. The abscess was at least a month ago from the hoof growth and you can forget all about it. If you wash it out well with 3% hydrogen peroxide you can plug the hole with keratex hoof putty if you are worried about it, but it probably won't cause any problems if you leave it alone.

You can ride him fine, it won't cause any problems, it's just a thin line where he is missing attachment, the stuff above and below it are firmly attached to his pedal bone. The stuff inside won't be "live" - you can probably poke a scissor blade into it without causing him any discomfort, so don't worry about it.

 

[brightmount]

Agree with CPT, in fact my horse has had exactly the same issue recently, except at the time I thought it was a knock as we noticed bleeding at the coronary band during a SJ event. It subsequently opened up and looked a bit infected so the vet gave antibiotics and dermagel, and now it is growing down and looks just like your photos.

My EP thinks it was probably an abcess that burst out the coronary band, they can progress quickly without causing lameness, and the fact it bled during an event was just down to timing. He says we will know later on when it gets near the ground, as there will be a track line starting below the split, whereas if it was a knock there won't be. In any case he isn't concerned as it isn't penetrating live tissue at this stage, and neither is yours by the look of it.

When it gets near the ground, it may cause the hoof wall to chip away at that point and your horse might not hold his shoes as well. My horse is barefoot.

So hopefully it won't cause any problems and will grow out OK

 

[Lorian]

Thanks for your replies Just looked like such a big crack and it made me worry but you have put my mind at rest. I text the photo to my farrier too and he replied and said the exact same as what you guys have said. He said possible old abcess or knock from jumping or field and as hes not lame hes ok to carry on as usual. Hopefully the crack will just grow out now without too many problems. Thanks