Wound above the coronet.(photos)

Hello Forum.
First of all i'd like to thank you for clicking on this thread to read my particular issue with a race horse that i'm having problems for a few months now.

Apparently Soho (5years old) has a wound right above the coronet, at start we thought it was from his training causing his back leg to hit his front left leg.

As it turns out with all the precautions we took and observation while workout we was mistaken ..it seems that the wound is caused by training in the track causing the skin to rip slowly each time.

In a single week the horse does trot once a day for 4times, 1day a short distance of canter and 2days of the week he would rest

We also gave him at some point a resting period of time around 1month so he could heal completely, but once he went back to training the wound would casually start to open again.

Its become frustrating for us and the horse that we don't know what to do we also brought 2 farriers that both seem to done some kind of special care with the hoof and a vet that gave us some medical prescription of antiseptics and skin care creams, but the results are the same and of course will get worse if we push the horse in to heavy training.

Any suggestions or questions are most than welcome.
Also uploaded few photos so you could get a better visual.
Thank you in advance

Please repost this in the hoof care section. We have some really good folks who might can help you out.

It looks like a cut, but sure doesn't sound like it. Good Luck, wish I could be of some help. I have no clue what it could be or how to treat it either.

I am hoping this bumps the thread back up and someone else will check it out and be able to help you.

ETA: Why do his heels look so odd? Contracted heels? I'd also think those feet are a bit long for any kind of work. Then again, I'm not a farrier.

I'm going to agree that that's about the worst pinched heel I have seen on a horse. I'd like to see about 1" between the heelbulbs. The frog on that hoof is useless and the hoof can not expand whatsoever. The hairline should be almost parallel to the ground not V shaped. Take care of that with a new farrier, time off and loose the shoes and I'd bet the problem goes away.

Would you mind if I moved it to the hoof care forum? It almost looks like a gravel to me. We have some real good folks on hoof care that might see something important.

PM me if it is OK to move.

If it were gravel, it would be growing out with new hoof growth. It's a chronic issue.

Ok what is a gravel? Can someone explain it to me or point me in a direction to find some answers? I googled but the info was strung out and vague...

I went back and looked at the pictures again...maybe not so much long and high as scrunched up?

Gravel is simply an opening in the white line that allows an infection. It travels up the path of lest restistance and will drain at the coronet. It differs from a hoof abcess which is a penetrating wound (nail) or bruise.

That is a majorly unhealthy looking foot, and I'm not talking about the cut. I would say the cut us just a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself.

I am not even sure how to describe it. A major case of contraction? Sheared heels? Club foot? It looks like the heels are super tall and the frog is trying to reach the ground (which is should) but there is a major "fail" going on there.

This will be a long-term project to correct so you need to find a farrier that can recognize the problem and know how to treat it (the hoof deformity, not the cut) and then be patient because it will take many trimming cycles to get the hoof back to "normal."

(Just my 2 cents. I am not a professional farrier but I have been studying shoeing and trimming for many years).

I wanted to say that myself but then everyone would accuse me of being a "barefooter."

It used to be that farriers would recommend horses be left without shoes for periods when they weren't in hard use (such as over the winter). It gives their feet a chance to de-contract and find their natural balance. Nowadays you can't even say that because people will think you are anti-shoeing.

Why hasn't the vet pointed this out?