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The hoof crack wont stop!

6K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Honeysuga 
#1 ·
HI! I have a 10 month old little girl and she has lateral cracks in her hooves. I have had three farriers out and all have said shes fine and they will grow out, but they just keep getting longer! One farrier put a groove right above the crack, but after the next trim it just came back. Ive tried keeping her feet wet and trimmimg them often and I bought some hoof treatment, but I dont know if that stuff really works...Anybody had horses with this problem? Im feeding her safe choice...Is there a better food for healthy hooves and hair. Because she also has a dull coat unlike a horse I had before on strategy that had a shiny coat and beautiful feet. Maybe its just a breeding thing. Anyway thanks!!!:)
 
#5 ·
Cracked hoof

OK..Ill try to get some pics..And I did some research and I believe I need to get some vitamin supplements with Biotin and zinc methionine. She also eats coastal hay because there is not much green grass here. Anyway they say its a long term battle fighting cracks so I guess just doing the vitamins and making sure the right farrier is trimming evenly and often. Thanks!
 
#6 ·
If she is barefoot, try to bevel or mustang roll the wall really good all the way from the toe to the quarters to relieve any pressure there is on it, that could help.

I wouldnt shoe at ten months, the last thing you want is more pressure on and holes in her weak walls and notching around the cracks wont help, it just weakens the wall more.
 
#8 ·
If she is barefoot, try to bevel or mustang roll the wall really good all the way from the toe to the quarters to relieve any pressure there is on it, that could help.

I wouldnt shoe at ten months, the last thing you want is more pressure on and holes in her weak walls and notching around the cracks wont help, it just weakens the wall more.
^^I agree!

I would take the wall below the crack back really close to the white line, with a serious roll to the edge. That way there is no pressure from the ground on that area of the foot. Have your farrier or trimmer show you how to touch it up between trims. You'll want to touch it up once a week or once every two weeks until it grows out.
 
#7 ·
What kind of hay are you giving? Good health starts with hay! Make sure you're buying the best quality hay you can find for your horse. A grass type hay is best, or Timothy hay. I feeda local mix that is about 70% Bermuda with local grasses and clover mixed in. My horses do very well on it.

I prefer to feed my own "feed", rather than something storebought. Most of of the feeds on the market today are full of high starch, high sugar fillers and byproducts, without a lot of quality nutrition. It's like feeding your kids or yourself cereal and frozen dinners. They're okay, but not as healthy as homemade ;-).

With the grass hay, I feed Alfalfa pellets (1/2 to 1 scoop, 2-3.5 lbs), a vit/min mix, and flax meal. I have horsetech.com custom blend me a mix along with high levels of amino acids, 10 mg of biotin per serving, high Vit E, and some pro-biotics. Each serving has 2 oz of flax (about 1/2 cup). All ingrediants are humane-food-grade and very fresh! It costs me $0.87 per-day per-horse to feed (about 1 measuring cup a day).

I use apple cider vinegar to mix the powdered supplement in with the alfalfa pellets. However, you can use water or oil if your horse needs extra fat.

Since switching to this "all natural" type diet my horses's coats have improved, their feet come in strong (vet and farrier RAVE about their feet!!), their attitudes have improved (calmer, more willing, better work ethic, etc.), and my mare's heats aren't so "mare-y" lol. We have very little rain rot (and it's been a BAD year here in Arkansas for it) and almost no thrush anymore. I will never go back to commercial horse feed again...

If you want an off-the-shelf vit/min, I can recommend a few. All worked well for me, I just wanted to have one bucket, instead of the flax & vitamins separate. Plus I wanted more Amino Acids (only the first one has the high levels in it that I like).

Equine Products Inc - Top quality equine supplements - the 1oz serving
Uckele Equine Nutrition
Platinum Performance Equine Wellness - also has "joint goodies" in it
SmartVite Maintenance Grass Pellets from SmartPak Equine
Grand Vite from SmartPak Equine
Select II from SmartPak Equine
Daily Omegas Plus - Multi-Purpose Supplements from SmartPak Equine
LinPro from SmartPak Equine

For the flax I recommend Horsetech.com's NutraFlax or Omega Horseshine.
 
#9 ·
Lateral cracks? Do you mean quarter cracks? If they keep coming back, then obviously the trim isn't correct. The quarters are possibly being left too long, and by the way, grooving just above the crack just that section of hoof wall thinner and doesn't work very well. A deep crack won't be stopped by a horizontal surface groove. That would be like stopping a fault line in the earth's crust by digging a trench 3 ft deep.
The wall at the quarters should be trimmed to match the sole plane, which may leave the hoof with an area that when the hoof is on the ground, looks like there is an arch. If there is too much pressure there, the something has to give, an in your horse's case, it splits.

About the nutrition, you should have your hay/pasture analyzed for nutrients before you add any supplements, and be sure forage is the biggest part of the diet. Only feed grain as a calorie supplement when your pasture/hay can't keep up with your horses needs.
 
#10 ·
Cracked hooves...

Here is a pic...sorry its been raining so her feet are muddy. BUt thats the longest crack there is. Anyway everytime the farrier trims, he cant get the whole crack. And he did say that he was rounding them last time, but Ill ask him to specifically bevel them. She was done 5 weeks ago, so Ill go ahead and have him come out this week. I bought some vita crumbles today and also started a tablespoon of corn oil as per the horse lady at the feed store. I know the corn oil is more for her coat though. Thanks to everyone and Im going to do some more research about changing her diet....oh and she eats an irrigated coastal hay down here in Texas. The vet said that her cracks are just from the weather we have had the last 6 months and to just add the biotin. Thanks again!!
 

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#11 ·
Go study hoofrehab.com for starters. It's generally because hooves have been left too long &/or badly balanced that causes cracks. You may be diligently getting the farrier frequently enough, but he's not taking enough off. Or perhaps the walls have started to flare & there's nothing to come off the ground surface, but he doesn't relieve the flaring. I agree diet/nutrition are a big part of healthy hooves.

I don't agree with painting goop on the feet as a rule. I also don't agree with staples & the likes, or shoeing feet for this reason(not to mention shoeing babies), as this just peripherally loads the foot, forcing the walls to carry the horse and leading to other issues.
 
#12 ·
Just saw the pic. A couple of different angles would be helpful, including a sole pic or few. Can't tell much from just this one sorry.

It appears that her toes aren't flaring at all, but that her quarters may be a little, as they may be a bit long. The walls should be only slightly protruding the sole, and this should be a uniform length right around, from heel to toe. Generally a horse's hooves are 'scooped' at the quarters - that is, they should be slightly shorter at the quarters than heel or toe, following the sole plane. It is generally more prominent in back feet. If the farrier is rasping them level from heel to toe, there is likely to be unhealthy pressure at the quarters.

It also appears that her heels may be a little high, and if she is being stood up on her toes, this will lead to too much pressure there, which can cause toe cracks.

Another thing, especially if you're in a damp area, is that the cracks may have become infected with thrush. If you don't treat infection, even if the horse is being well trimmed, it's likely to eat away inside & make it hard for the hoof to become healthy.
 
#13 ·
It's hard to say from just one angle, but I'd say she needs a far more agressive roll on her edges for starters. At just the area of the crack, the trim should be even shorter to relieve the pressure there. You don't want the walls beside the crack to touch the ground and cause the crack to split more. Think of it as an upside-down "v" -- try it with your fingers and apply downward pressure -- see how your fingers want to spread out even further? So the hoof wall there needs to be pressure free for a while.

Your farrier will not be able to get the whole crack in one trim. It needs to grow out. You'll need 3 - 6 months for that possibly. I have also rasped outside of the wall on the surface of the crack. I honestly don't know if it helps or not, but it didn't seem to hurt. Maybe BFH or Loosie would have input on that. My thinking was that it helped to eliminate any rough edges.
 
#14 ·
1 tablespoon of corn oil isn't going to do any good. Also, corn oil is high in Omega 6 fatty acids, which don't improve skin, coat, and feed like Omega 3's do. I would nix the corn oil and add flax meal instead. Horsetech.com has a product called BioFlax-20 that is high in flax and hoof building goodies. You can even custom blend a full vitamin/min supplement in it if you want added nutrients. Or go with their Glanzen product, which has added vitamins and minerals.

Vita Crumbles are the "flinstone knock-off" vitamins of the horse world. They are pretty worthless. If you haven't opened it, take them back.

I would have the filly on a 4-week trimming schedule, really beveling the toe to take ALL of the pressure off of it when she walks. Those cracks won't grow out, ever, unless you do. My mare had a similar crack and it finally started growing out when we switched to a Ramey-style "natural" barefoot trim. Now her feet NEVER chip or crack!

Here are a couple of good examples. Print these out and show them to your farrier. If he/she won't trim like this, find someone who will.
New Page 11
Healthy Hoof - Solutions for Barefoot Performance
barefoot_Breakover

A related article (print this out too, though don't hurt yourself trying to understand it, lol. I do my own feet and this one is a bit "deep" for me even...)
BREAKOVER        2-15-05

Another related article (warning, cadaver feet pictured)
New Page 6

Good article on nutrition:
New Page 14

Foal trimming recommendations:
More Topics
 
#15 ·
From just in the pictures, it looks like he may be "rounding" them, but not beveling really at all. This is what a beveled hoof looks like

Nose Leg Neck Foot Fur

*note there is no place where the wall touches the ground i.e. no pressure to keep the crack going in your case...

I would definitely check out the hoof rehab site that has been posted and also Barefoot for Soundness, it explains about wall pressure, cracking, flaring and other problems, I found it very helpful.
 
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