Cracking Hooves!!!

My 6 year old quarter horse has horrible feet. He goes barefoot all year round. And recently this summer cracked his foot massively. Here are some pictures. It finaly cracked off. And the farrier just filed what he could down to make it some what even and the good thing is that he isnt lame. But. I don't want this to happen again. Got any tips to make it not crack like this again? Please Help!!!

If these pics were taken after the trim then your farrier needs to remove more wall at the toe especially. Here are a couple of pics of how my trimmer does my horses.. These 2 shots are different horses, one shows the sole and the other shows how to back up the toe to remove the cracks from ground contact and assist in breakover.

My horse has pretty good feet, but I know people who use supplements to help their horses hooves out. You could also buy a rasp and keep his toes short enough in between visits. I don't know if it will help but you can try using a hoof conditioner..

I reccomend Rainmaker
http://www.statelinetack.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=SLT180132

If it is a continuous problem, then shoe him. However, I think if you keep him trimmed short between visits, he'll be less likely to crack.

Rasp:
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/...5RUAK18GBV3WR3

Make sure you get a handle too, and wear gloves. Your best asking your farrier advice, but trimming hooves with a rasp isn't too difficult. He also might sell you an old rasp and handle..

These pictures were taken before the farrier did his feet. And also if you can see in the pictures the farrier burnt a c shape into the front of his hoof to stop the crack from cracking more horizantaly.

If the hoof cracks, chips, flares, etc. then that means there is too much hoof and the horse is trying to get rid of it. It doesn't look like your farrier rolls the toe, which is a bad thing in my opinion. Maybe you could look into having one of Pete Ramey's certified trimmers trim your horse's feet. We follow his "method" and our horses hooves look fantastic!

Do you have any post trim pics? I'd love to see them.

IMO, if the hoof is usually as long as the pictured one before the trim then he needs to be trimmed more often. Keeping the wall short is how you prevent cracks and chips. The hoofwall broke off due to it being too long and the leverage forces it to self trim.. Or you end up with flaring, which is worse than self trimming, btw..

Ok. After his foot grows out we will def. Do something different. And no I don't have any pictures after the farrier did it. I will get some though. I will put some up asap!! Thanks

Hmm, Looks like there is a seam. Is that what was supposed to be the burn mark? Off to the left of the missing chunk, right? Just from the pic, looks like a combo of the hoof getting a little too long and an old abscess blowout that kept going.

I don't really see that it looks like a nutrition issue, but it's hard to say from a couple of slightly fuzzy pics.

Appy T...is that Gypsy's nose I see? LOL

Of course it is! 100 points for you!. Lol She was checking wth I was doing down there.. Silly suspicious mare.. LOL

Yes that is the burn mark. And he never had an absess before. It just started out as a small crack going horizontal and just kept spreading. I was just thankful that he wasnt lame on it and that we could finish our show season. Ahah