Hoof won't grow

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Horsemad1984

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I have a chestnut thoroughbred mare, she's 14 years old. One of her hooves is an absolute nightmare, it won't grow and it's tiny compared to the rest of her other hooves. She's been boxed now for 5 weeks without any improvement. The farrier and vet are baffled! The hoof grows but is dipping (hard to explain) so whenever there is any growth it just breaks off. Has anyone else experienced this problem?
 
Is she sound?
Is the hoof a club hoof?
Is she shod?
Are you feeding for horn quality?
Can you post photos (get the camera down and practically on the ground when you take them)?
 
It sounds like it is a club foot, as she is a mature horse it is better for the farrier not to try and make it match the other hoof. There is no point to try and aggressively trim the heel either as it will grow even faster and higher, you just need to find a good balance and forget about it. The dipping is generally called "flare", the chipping is self trimming because even though it doesn't look obvious the high heels mean the toe is long.
Lots of movements shoeless make the feet grow faster. You could try feeding biotin and a supplement with good levels of copper and zinc.

Here is a good article on possible causes of a club foot:
http://www.hoofrehab.com/ClubFoot.htm


ETA: NZJenny I suppose the boxing is to try prevent the chipping
Also, OP, I would change farrier (and vet)! If you are in Oxfordshire I can recommend someone, PM me if you want. My horse has a club foot too.
 
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