Horse going to lose 1/4 of her hoof - help!?

K

kgj66

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 February 2009
Messages
150
Visit site
Hi.

Quick background-
A couple of weeks ago my horse had an accident where she got her hind leg stuck in a cattle grid. After a few terrifying minutes she got it out, leaving her with a lot of cuts and bruising, including a very deep wound on the outside of her cannon bone.

The farrier and vet were there yesterday and now that the wound is healing well our focus has turned to her coronary band where there is a deep slice above it. On closer inspection by the farrier the wound has gone into the coronary band. Farrier has said that we just have to wait and see what happens but he thinks that as it grows out there will be a deep crack and eventually the hoof will break off. The wound is from where the coronary band meets the heel to 1/4 of the way around the hoof.

Has anyone out there dealt with losing part of the hoof - farrier has said that he can make a bit of hoof whilst it grows out/ can use hoof boots etc but it will probably take at least 10/11 months for it to be anywhere near normal again.

Currently I am using seawater to clean the wound, lathering with Botanica(as recommended by vet), and keeping the hooves as moist as possible with NAF hoof moist. Recommendations for keeping hooves moist welcome!

Just really looking for others experience, how they dealt with it and how long it took to get right.

Thanks in advance.
 
I used to livery on a yard where one of the horses had a keratoma removed. A section off hoof wall was taken away to access the tumour. He had a dry poultice or hoof boot on to keep everything clean while the new hoof grew out. However his coronet band was undamaged, so the hoof grew down fine. I don't know if the damage to the coronet band would effect the new hoof growth or not.
 
Floss had an area of scarring on a front foot, round the coronet. From the heel running about 1/4 way round the outside. The foot here grows differently, the wall is wierd, thin and shelly. She is shod nomally just not nailed into this bit. My farrier says I should not take her barefoot as the weak bit of hoof will not stand up to any sort of work. She has been like ths for most of her life and it doesn't cause her any problems. She is frequently barefoot behind but is having shoes on this week after nearly year as the dry spell has left her footsore, even with very little work.
 
Hi,

Not exactly the same situation, but thought my experience may help you...

At the end of February my horse had a nasty accident in a trailer when we were on our way back from a jumping lesson. I think the breast bar came down and he panicked and somehow managed to pull off both is back shoes, ripping open the toe of both hind hooves. Basically the front 1/3 to 2/3 of the wall and sole of both feet were no longer attached and the sole could be virtually bent back revealing the "inner workings" of the foot. The damage was that bad that you could see the pedal bone inside.

Having developed infections in both feet, one of which erupted through the coronet band, he spent 10 days in horse hospital. It has been touch and go since then, but regular trimming at hospital, reverse shoes plus soaking in salt water has managed the massive holes in his feet and got rid of the infection. I have been feeding him a good hoof supplement (Hoof Mender by Equimins), Soya oil and an egg yolk every other day and he is now well on the way to recovery. The massive holes are now closing, and he has grown so much foot (this horse NEVER grows much hoof) that he is allowed out in a small paddock with dressing on to protect the wounds. Having said that he has lost two massive pieces of pedal bone from each foot-on the left it is about 30%-my vet has described him as a medical miracle-but hopefully this shouldn't affect him too much in his ridden work as he has been "replacing" it as he has gone along before finally rejecting the pieces of bone out of the wounds in the toe.

From the research I have done online, the type of injury Ted has is very rare and the prognosis guarded. I would support your horse nutritionally (hoof supplements etc.) and work closely with your vet and farrier. As I said earlier, if Ted can pull through this fingers crossed your horse will too.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the replies guys, it's good to hear some similar stories.

Farrier has advised that we don't give any hoof supplements just yet until we see what nature does. There is a chance that it will recover and the hoof will join up, and he said if we speed up the growth process there would be limited chance of this. Once we see what it is going to look like as it grows out a bit then it will be 'supplements r us' if needsbe!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top