Q) my horse had a wall separation. I cut it out clean an dry it, then i patch it. The first patch lasted 4 weeks now the 2nd patch wont stay on it only stayed on for week an half. Do you have any suggestions?.

In this edition of "Ask the Expert," Chris Gregory discusses patches.

Chris Gregory of Heartland Horseshoeing School gives us the answer:

"What sort of patch did you use?  Do you know why you had the separation?  Why did you want to patch it in the first place?  Was there any lameness?  All of these are important questions to help find the answer.  With the urethane products, it is a chemical bond.  As such, it has to be clean and dry.  With the acrylics, it is a mechanical bond.  It has to be clean.  The product also has to be thick enough to cure.  I used to try to feather out my SuperFast so that I would use less, and it would not get hot enough to cure."

Q) We have used the same farrier for the past four/five years for our four horses. The past year, our horses have been losing shoes between scheduled shoeings. In the latest incident three of our horses have lost shoes since they were re-shod one month ago. Two of the horses are at the trainers, and one is at our barn Why are our horses losing shoes all the time now? Thanks.

In this edition of "Ask the Expert," Chris Gregory discusses the why horses may be losing their shoes between shoeings.

Chris Gregory of Heartland Horseshoeing School gives us the answer:

"Horse lose shoes for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes it is the farrier's fault, but not always.  If you consider what a shoe goes through during the life of a shoeing cycle, it is amazing that we don't lose more shoes.  That being said, I would look at all the variables to consider what might be happening.  Do the horses have as good a feet as they had in years past, or did the diet or environment get changed?  Do you know where and how the shoes came off?  Has the farrier changed their shoeing style?  Is the farrier hot shoeing and clipping the horses to help the shoes stay on?  There is no way to give you a direct answer to this question, but with a little detective work, you may be able to figure out the cause. Thanks for this question, and please keep them coming."

Q) My horse has been quicked by the farrier. Now what?

In this edition of "Ask the Expert," Chris Gregory discusses the "Q" word.

Chris Gregory of Heartland Horseshoeing School gives us the answer:

"When a horse is quicked, it is the same as you getting a cut or small puncture on your hand. Horses are usually nail quicked by a nail that is driven into the sensitive structures, or sole quicked by cutting too deep with a knife. Horses can also have punctures or cuts from sharp rocks or other hazards in their environment. If the injury does not get infected, then there is not a problem, and it should heal fine. If it does get infected, then it can be a big problem. For a horse, when it gets infected, we have an abscess. I will cover abscesses in a later entry.

Quicking a foot is a problem that is going to happen to anyone that shoes enough horses. The margin of error that a farrier has to avoid entering the sensitive structures is very small. Add to that the fact that the farrier is working on a large animal in less than perfect situations, with potentially abnormal or unusual conformation. As such, it is going to happen.

The important thing for the farrier is to let the owner know that it has happened, and to treat the exposed sensitive structure. If it has been done with a nail, the product Hot Nail by Hawthorne’s Products is an excellent solution to put in the hole. The farrier should remove that nail, leave the hole open, and put a few drops of Hot Nail into the hole. In the event that it is a sole quick, Hot Nail is fine, or place a pad on the foot with a medicated packing under the pad. No one should panic.

For the owner you should insure that the horse has an up to date tetanus vaccination, and then watch for signs of infection and lameness. With an abscess, the horse will be sore enough that it can be non-weight bearing, or a grade 4 on the Obel Lameness Scale. If a problem develops, call the farrier and they can deal with it. Since the farrier should know the exact location of the problem, there is a better chance that they can drain the abscess without having to do as much knife work as someone that does not know where the horse was quicked.

Thanks for this question, and please keep them coming."