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Hooves peeling: dont know what is going on!

15K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  Clayton Taffy 
#1 ·
I brought my horse in last week and noticed he was limping a little in the hindend and so I gave him the weekend off thinking it would get better. Well today when I brought him in I noticed some mud on his hoof and went to go pull it off and it wasnt really mud, some of his hoof wall came off with it. I went ahead and pulled the rest of it off and it was very soft and wet almost where the hoof was coming off.

So I dont know what is going on, I've never seen anything like this before. He has heat in his foot and his leg is swollen. His heels are also very soft and wet also. He hasnt been standing in mud or anything and no diet changes. It seems like a bunch of different things could be going on but just not sure about any of them.

Anyone have any ideas?
 

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#7 ·
Hmmm...have you cleaned out his hooves and seen anything ...I am kinda at a lost ...I would call a farrier to check it out or look it up ...I still think it's some sort of infections cause that is what will cause heat and swelling ...it may be something that is small...I dunno ...I hope he gets better :(
 
#9 ·
They only thing I can really relate to is one of my horses has really tender and soft hooves , they crack and chip all the time . I'm having a hard time with them and have since I got him 7 months ago. I got a new farrier out and he commended some hoof hardening stuff that I got at the tractor supply . He did say I guess his hooves were to moist ? I dunno but I just started using the stuff so I hope it works cause he is really tender footed on top of it
 
#12 ·
getting used to new android, pics small etc so maybe missing something... Im unsure what peeling you mean. The hoof looks due for a trim & edges could be 'rolled' h which would stop the 'peeling' at bottom. Or do you mean the lighter area at the front top, below hairline? If top n just like skin, Id think its just waterlogged periople. If more than skin - hoof horn has actually ruptured there n cracked, id think an acute laminitis 'attack' recently. SopunDs like frogs n heels suffering from wet environ too. As horse is lame which may or may not be to do with the feet n peeling, good equine vet would be prudent.

PS annoys me a bit when ppl not check spelling n punctuation, use lost shorthand, but is difficult w this android sorry - hope i get thehhang soon!
 
#14 ·
Hmm, just had another look on my ol' trusty PC & can see it's not periople, or apparently abscess split. And noticed that you say he hasn't been standing in mud or such, so for a dry environment more puzzling - feet don't cope well with eternal wet/damp. I'd be thinking a fungal/bacterial infection too, &/or nutritional. Possibly selenium overdose or such??
 
#17 ·
No worries about the skin coming off at the top of the hoof. It's just the periople: It is a thin skin that covers where the coronary band and hoof wall join. It's just like the cuticle on your nails. In wet weather it swells up and turns whiter, and sometimes it peels off. You know how sometimes your cuticles peel off when they get extra soft? Same thing.

But the lameness and swelling is another issue. Your horse could have an abscess brewing, be fighting scratches that are hiding under the hair around the pastern, or some other issue. Your hoof has some bad flares on the sides so hopefully your farrier can address those too.
 
#21 ·
Well, I could be wrong but from the photo it looks like what I've seen many times before when the periople comes off. The hoof wall is intact underneath and it is not a problem. If you don't live in a very wet environment you may not have seen it before. The periople gets so soft that they will scrape their leg over something or have a boot on and it will do this.
 
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