hi new here :) can someone help me cracked hooves??

[wildpoppywild]

hi there i'm new here and i'm hoping someone can shed some light on a problem my pony has just encountered??

i have a highland pony with brilliant feet, hard as nails. they do get dry in the dry weather but we use effol hoof ointment which keeps her feet looking great. she does get little cracks in her feet every year at this time but they usually come to nothing.

however she developed a wee hoizontal crack on her right hoof which i didnt think much of due to her history of cracks. when i went up one morning her hoof had spilt from the crack all the way down her hoof. so theres like a wee (well pretty darn big) flap of hoof, its still firmly attached at the other side.

she isnt lame (still running about like a looney) and isnt bothered about me touching it in anyway :s she was standing on a stone early which was like caught on the flap but she wasnt bothered at all :S ive never seen a crack like this?? has anyone had it happen to them?? what could of caused it??

any useful comments would be greatly appreciated

PS farrier has been called obviously and is coming out as soon as he can next week

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Hi welcome *waves*

Not really sure that I understand how your ponys hoof has cracked - can you take a piccy of it and post it? I would say that the best thing would be some kind of biotin supplement - not sure whether effol is oil or water based as I always use good old cornucresine. TheFarrier on here will probably be the best person to help - you could send a PM just to make sure.

 

[Donkeymad]

Hello and Welcome

Sorry to hear your pony has a large crack in her hoof. As MrsMozart suggested I would PM TheFarrier on here as he is a Registered farrier and is the best one to give hoof advise.
Again, as MrsM said, can you take any photos?

Oh, and we need photos of the whole pony, as well as the cracked hoof

 

[wildpoppywild]

yeh its really hard to explain lol!! never thought of taking a picture earlier. its literally a horizontal crack that has now spilt from one end down to the bottom of her hoof

heres a wee pic i just drew to try an explain

 

[wildpoppywild]

oh and also i was just speaking to my mum about it, and she reminded me about the absese she had. it burst out at her coronary band could it be to do with this??

 

[TheFarrier]

Looks like an old cut or abcess to the coronet band that has grown down withthe hoof wall and another crack has obviously risen up the hoof to meet it (you said there was a stone in there which is probably the cause of the flap itself)

Normally horazontal cracks are nothing to worry about however from your picture it looks like a substantial part of the hoof surface so calling the farrier out was the best move and if you are worried just take some duct tape and tape the flap down to prevent it ripping off on anything and possibly causing damage to the more sensitive structure. (this is of course the worst case senario) but this type of chipping is very common even if on a normally smaller scale

 

[TheFarrier]

[ QUOTE ]
oh and also i was just speaking to my mum about it, and she reminded me about the absese she had. it burst out at her coronary band could it be to do with this??

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the most logical explination for the horizontal crack.


Thanks Little_donkey and SlinkyUnicorn

 

[Nailed]

that is down to either an abcess breaking out at the coronary band.. or from the horse striking the hoof..

two things that will help are to keep an eye on it, if the pony goes lame, then call the farrier.
if she does go lame, the farrier can use resiin or a nail (very old method)to support the wall.

to be honest, it shouldnt cause toomany problems, but may make nailing on difficult as it grows down (if pomy is shod)

lou x

 

[wildpoppywild]

even tho shes not sore or anything i cant help but worry, will it be able to sort out??

 

[Nailed]

'thefarrier' me n u are gunna full out over you nicking me job lol!!!!

well said though. hehe..

lou x

 

[TheFarrier]

Like i said if you are worried just duct tape it up until the farrier sees it. Your farrier will choose his own method of dealing with the crack depending on the severity of it, i cannot judge without a picture

this type of chipping is very normal and nothing to worry about

 

[wildpoppywild]

would you mind if i PM'd u a pic tomoro??

your all being very helpful thanks so much i worry like crazy bout my pony

 

[TheFarrier]

Not at all

 

[wildpoppywild]

thank u sooo much

i'm trying to remind myself tht shes still running around like a looney and galloping about lol!!

 

[Nailed]

its natural to worry. trust me, i've had a year of worry.

loux

 

[wildpoppywild]

my other horse is a TB and she's a constant worry and bump or scrapes turn into something major, i wish i had just stuck to my highlands lol!!!