Posted by Steve Bromley on October 21, 2000 at 03:47:28:
In Reply to: WLD posted by JOhn Callanen on June 30, 2000 at 23:16:43:
: Everyone please help.
: New student, how can i recognize WLD,is there a condition that I could confuse w/ it,and what is the proper TX. of such. any helkp would be most valuable.
: Thanks for your time.
Hello John, I have not posted nor checked the board for awhile. This summer has been pretty busy.
For starters, to identify WLD - from the white line out about half the thickness of the wall the material of the wall will be crumbly and fairly easy to remove with a horseshoe nail. In some cases the void left where wall is/was crumbly is packed with mud, dirt etc. wedging the wall apart and causeing a crack. The crumbly stuff resembles the stuff you find in feet with seedy toe. In some cases involving the quarters or heels the outer wall has broken off or the heels are gone. This happens fairly frequently with donkeys and mules. I am located in the Pacific Northwest and some observations about environmetal factors follow - a little spot of discoloration thru the winter can in the spring when the temperature gets over 48-50 degrees F. can become a huge hole in a short period of time. Animals that are pastured in low lying areas that get a lot of dew are more likely to have serious cases than ones that are brought in, in the evening where they have dry footing.
TX - by that do you mean RX ( what can you do about it )? My current favorite (Dornach suggested it) is copper sulfate put into the void with cotton packed over it to hold it in, on feet that are being shod and on bare feet also. On really stubborn cases I add tea tree oil to the copper sulfate. OTHER things I use from time to time 7% iodine mixed 50/50 with rubbing alchohol (good for thin soled feet that are tender), lime/sulfur liquid (can be obtained at nurseries or hardware stores for trees with fungus) pack voids with cotton soaked with it swab on bottom of clean foot - stinks preety bad. "" Formaldahyde -NOT RECOMMENDED " Toxic and cancer causeing. I understand that it can eventually cause you to go blind. It changes the chemical composition of the foot material." In my opinion tea tree oil is much safer!!! Good Luck with your studies, there is a need for more farriers. May all the horse you get under be good ones. Steve Bromley