Hoof Repair

[jumpingkanga]

Hi
My horse managed to half pull his shoe off a couple of weeks ago, so I pulled it off and the farrier came down and put it back on. But he now has a hole on the side of his hoof. I have seen lots of glues, repair kits etc on the internet but can anyone actually recommend one that works! It just needs to fill the hole until the hoof grows back.
Thanks

 

[hollyzippo]

My horse did the same last year. The farrier filled it with some sort of Silicone that was grey and smelt horrid! Worked quite well and by the next shoeing only a tiny hole and was shod normally

 

[debsflo]

for small repairs keratex do hoof filler that you have to mould and sets hard for bigger areas farrier has special filler that he uses dries hard but needs to be kept dry for 48 hours . i use cling film and duct tape. am expert as have warmblood with crumbly feet.

 

[Spot1]

Hi, there are several brands of good quality hoof fillers
(acrylic resins) available. The best are very easy to use, set in minutes and should last untill the hoof grows. They are not cheap, the tubes I use cost me about £30.00 each. Ask your farrier about filling your horses hoof, the hole will have to be prepared and cleaned properly prior to application. An applicator gun and mixing nossels will probably be needed (which you farrier may already have). You will have to include the costs of this in the total charge. You may alternatively want to consider just leaving the hole as it is, without any pics its hard for me to judge, but if its not causing lameness then there is a good chance it will just grow out without causing any further probs. Hope all this fills some sort of hole anyway.

 

[Nailed]

Can i just point out that if you were to apply any form of glue/filler to your horses foot you are in effect practising illegal farriery.

Speak to your farrier who will use one of numerous fillers to fill the hole until it has grown back, this will tak around 6 months.

Please dont do it yourself.. it can go wrong.
Lou x

 

[Fantasy_World]

Under the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975, as amended, only: Registered Farriers, Approved Farriery Apprentices, Veterinary Surgeons or Trainees, Persons giving first aid in an emergency situation, may practice farriery. You may only practise farriery on your own horses if you fall into one of these categories. Farriery is defined within the Act as “any work in connection with the preparation or treatment of the foot of a horse for the immediate reception of a shoe thereon, the fitting by nailing or otherwise of a shoe to the foot or the finishing off of such work to the foot”.

For others to do so is a criminal offence which can result in a fine of up to £1000, plus legal costs and a criminal record.

As far as I am aware this does not include the filling of holes in a horse's hoof. Therefore before making a statement that the act of doing so is illegal it would be more prudent to post any corresponding legislation on the issue whilst suggesting it is so that other readers can truly understand the issue.
Obviously if the filling was done by yourself prior to a shoe being fitted then advice would need to be gained from your farrier. In most cases I would suggest that the farrier either him or herself is the person who is most qualified to do the filling.
However it would not cause any due harm to any horse for owners to become more self aware of their horses feet, IMO.
Even if that involves the owner performing cosmetic or preventative measures against further damage or infection to the hoof, that is surely not a bad thing.
As long as the welfare of the horse is maintained and any veterinary care is sought as well as the appropriate farrier treatment, then I do not see there being a problem with an owner trying to take better care of their horses feet.
The same could be said about trimming and rasping. I know of friends who have trimmed a loose bit of hoof off to prevent further damage. I admit to doing it myself as one of my horses has gone barefoot and my daughter's cob will be doing the same in a few weeks.
My lad had very loose shoes on his back feet and had a chunk missing from one of his front where he had been kicking a door as well as going from a muddy field to a dry bed at night, which can weaken the hoof wall, so I believe.
Luckily he did not need any filling and it was trimmed and rasped off by my farrier but since then my lad has had the occasional bit of hoof at the bottom lifted up a few centimetres and to prevent further damage I have just trimmed it off with good set of wire cutters and then filed off any rough so it would not catch on anything and rip.
This is not an illegal practice and neither is the filling of hooves so far as I am aware.
If anyone reads about barefoot trimming you will see that what I have said is true.
The following statement in relation to barefoot trimming was found on the farriers registration council website :
Within the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975, as amended, farriery means “any work in connection with the preparation or treatment of the foot of a horse for the immediate reception of a shoe thereon, the fitting by nailing or otherwise of a shoe to the foot or the finishing off of such work to the foot”.
This means in practice that trimming which is not going to result in the application of a shoe to the foot of an equine is not covered by the Act and is therefore not regulated by this Council.
However, horse owners should be aware that although, simple trimming and rasping of horses’ feet is allowed by lay persons under the Act to permit maintenance of foals’ and other unshod horses’ feet. Where more radical trimming and reshaping of horses’ feet is contemplated there is the potential for creating severe lameness. Experience has indicated this is particularly so where such ‘therapy’ is not undertaken by qualified farriers or veterinary surgeons.

Caz

 

[Spot1]

Thanks Cazze34. I agee. These facts seem to have been muddied lately.