Hole in his hoof!

[MrsHutt]

H has suddenly got a hole in his hoof! It is about the size of a 1p, in the toe/front of his rear hoof. He doesn't seem lame at all and not bothered by it. It looks like maybe he kicked a sharp brick or something. People at the yard say that as long as he's not lame, not to worry (but of course, I do!!), it will just grow out. It does look quick big!

I wonder if anyone has any thoughts?

(Farrier will be there on Thursday, so I'll ask him to take a quick look.)

 

[ThePony]

Any chance it is an abcess hole that might have drained a while ago - did he have an unexplained lameness? A large stone getting lodged could leave rather a dent, esp if the white line is stretched or he has soft/damp feet? At the end of the day, if there isn't heat or sensitivity there then whatever caused it is no prob for your boy!

 

[ArabianGold]

This is odd, my friend in the stable next to me has had exactly the same thing with her horse.

She has had to bring him in each night, wash it out and stick cotton wool in it as she was worried it might get infected in the mud..

Be interested to hear what the farrier says.. I will ask my friend what the problem was with her horse and how she thinks he got his.

Interesting how these things appear..

 

[Alphamare]

Sounds like nothing more than a chip. It happens! It's absolutely nothing to worry about as I am sure your carrier will tell you tomorrow. Since your horse is due then he will probably be able to trim most of it away anyway. Horses feet tend to chip when they get too long. This is how they self trim in the wild. (one of the ways anyway, the other is the wear due to use)

 

[Alphamare]

I read your post as it being on he side of the hoof. You are not clear, is the hole in the wall or the sole?

If its in the sole an abcess won't just open up by itself, they burst out he coronet band if left alone. However it could be where a stone has been in the white line. Possibly seedy toe, but don't let anyone on he net scare you!

The best person to talk to is your farrier!! We can't even see the hole, nor are you cler where on the hoof it is!

 

[Grumpy Jewel]

My mare is sporting what look like 2 burst holes on her two front hooves! They randomly turned up I'n summer and are growing their way down. One could be to do with an abscess, but the farrier did dig one out of the sole, but the otherfoot was fine, yet has one too! She's not been lame on either since they arrived so iv left them alone and, touch wood, they have been ok.

 

[Spiritedly]

One of my ponies had something similar and the farrier said it was probably from an abscess....he had been slightly lame about 3 weeks earlier, but had no heat or swelling and his feet looked fine and only it only lasted for about a day....has yours been lame at all in the past few weeks?

 

[Alphamare]

Grumpy jewel they sound like abcesses to me. Only when the coronet is damaged (like an abcess bursting) do holes grow down the hoof, in the exact place the damage happened. Even a cut to the coronet could do it.

Sounds like your horse recieved some damage to the coronet band! The holes will grow out entirely soon

 

[MrsHutt]

Sorry, my description isn't very clear - it is on the front of the hoof (not underneath), through the actual front wall. It is about 1cm from the bottom of the hoof. It just suddenly appeared!! He has always had very good feet - no trouble to me or the farrier!!

I've had another look today and it does look like he has kicked something or maybe a friend has trodden on him! It looks like it has been 'poked' in! He hasn't been (and isn't) lame at all and even with me messing him about, isn't bothered! (had a lovely hack out this morning, and was fine - although nearly blown to kingdom come!!)

Farrier is coming to the yard for his regular Thursday visit, so he will have a look at H then. I think he will probably be able to clean it out and 'fill' it with some sort of acrylic or something! My concern would be mud/bacteria getting in.

Thanks for your thoughts - I will post what the farrier says tomorrow (and if I can remember the camera, will put up some pics)

 

[dressagedreamer]

one of my geldings developed a crack in his hoof, front near on offside sort of mid way, my farrier had a good look and it was a hole we think that was caused by an abscessed that went undetected. He had (horse not farrier) shown no lameness at all and it is healing well, no problems with it at all

 

[HorsieGirl]

Hello, i know a horse which appeared with exactly the same problem last week, except its on a back hoof. Of course my friend was very worried and called out the vet and the farrier. The outcome was that the horse had stood on his coronet band around 4months ago damaging it. This caused an abcess in the hoof which moved down the hoof as it grow. The pressure built up and caused it to burst through the hoof wall. The horse wasn't lame during any of this! The horse was unshod but is now shod allround to support the hoof. She has been told to ride as normal and to turn him out aslong as it isn't really muddy.
Hope everything ends up ok