"blow out" on hoof??? opinions?

Hi there, I have had this horse for over 2 years now, when we got him we were told he came down a fence post, and would always have the "bump" above his hoof.

We had him x-rayed several times in the last 2 years ( as he will be lame one day and ok the next) all the vets have told us the same thing, theres nothing broken, chipped, or inside still. They have no answers for his lameness.

We ran him all summer without any problems, in august we dropped him back off at the farm to rest while we finished our last few races of the season. When we came back, and as the winter has progressed, he seems to have gotten worse.

Anyone seen something like this before, or know how to treat it? It almost looks like something blew out the top part of his hoof.my boyfriend is a farrier, so we know it isnt from being shod.

That looks like a pretty nasty wound on his leg above the hoof.
Leg looks swollen that might be what's causing the lameness.

As for the hoof looks like a abcess blew out there.

I took this pic about 2 weeks ago, the cut and wound above his leg is pretty much healed now, but the hoof looks the same.

I was also thinking abcess, but it almost seems like the whole hoof is colapsing now..... the sides anyways (best way I can think to explain it is when a balloon starts to shrink)

I'm not a pro, but the only advice I can say is that his hoof looks flared all the way around. If his cornary band was damaged then he may always have scares growing down his hoof. I would recommend trimming like a barefoot trimmer.
Pete Ramey
Bare Foot Horse
is very good for rehabs and I also like this website
WHAT IS A HEALTHY HOOF AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE
For the wound above if its leaking ,I would keep hosing it and keep it clean, I would put vasaline around the wound, so the draining doesn't scald the skin.
The hoof need to grow out.
I like Loosie and a number of other people on this site, hopefully they will post for you. They will probly want pics of under the hoof as well.

The fact that there appears to be solid hoof below the split is interesting. Is this a recent picture? This means he is capable of growing a normal hoof if its been 2 years.

Considering the horrid bell shape of the foot and since we can't see the sole, Id be wondering about fungal infection in the white line, abcessing and separation issues more than a growth defect at this point. Without more info, id say that is what is going on here. Possibly a nutritional factor also. Growth lines originating from the coronet will be apparent all the way down the foot.

Unless this is an old picture taken before a whole capsule grew out after the initial injury, I don't think it is a growth defect but rather infection from poor hoof form. This foot needs some TLC and proper trimming even despite the cracks. Its very flared. Im wondering if there are X rays online we can see?

IMO, it can likely be grown out MUCH better than shown here with some knowledgable trimming and fungal treatments.

The hoof still looks like this, and has since about september 2012. This picture is about 2 weeks old, the area where it "blew" out has been moving slowly down from the cornet band, like it is growing out.

When this picture was taken we had not trimmed in a while, as we were not sure if he was going to heal, getting a proper trim is not an issue my boyfriend is a farrier so he does all our horses.

Did he have a blowout on his pastern too within the last few days? If not, then I'd be taking him to every vet I could until I got a real answer. The wound on his pastern is not what a wound should look like 2 years after injury. Couple that unhealing wound with the appearance of multiple abscess ruptures periodically down the front of the hoof, that tells me there is something much more serious going on...especially with the recurring lameness over the last 2 years.


And you were running him like that?! No wonder he has been constantly lame.

The cut was healed, and there was no blow out in the hoof until Sept 2012.... he only ran until Aug.
He was lame on again and off agian last spring, so we didnt run him. We excercised him lightly in the summer (june) ... no lameness so we started running him. The lameness started again in sept AFTER he was no longer running or being excercised. This is when the the wound appeared and the hoof issue.

Show us more pictures after a fresh trim including the sole. Im not disparaging your BF or his skills, but there are other issues with this foot that are trim related besides this blow out. Farriers often get second opinions from others when they are faced with something that are not sure what to do with. Its not a big deal. This horse probably needs something a little different than what he knows how to do.

Did you have X rays?

OK, since we know that htis isnt old, its likely infection from an abcess or white line disease or a combo of these things resulting from likely separation in the white line as the foot is very flared. Bell shaped is not healthy. The old thing about the fencepost has no bearing on this issue. This is something else.


I am going under the assumption that the wound is unrelated and acquired seperatly from the hoof issue? Or at the same time? If at the same time...It could be related.

4 different sets, and always came back with nothing. Before we purchased him, in the spring, summer, and this fall after this happened.