Vertical Cracks from Toe almost to Coronary - both front hooves

Posted by Sandy on July 03, 2003 at 22:36:57:

Hello:

My now 16.3h 5yr-old Hano gelding has big (#3), well-balanced, very hard white hooves. He has been shoeless most of his life and naturally wears his hooves very evenly all the way around.

At age 4 he was sent away for his 60 days of initial undersaddle work and returned with vertical hairline cracks in both front hooves from toe to about 3/4" below hairline. Not sure what they were caused from - change in nutrition or increased work or the footing. He has no other cracks and hardly ever a chip even though we have fairly rocky ground. I put front shoes on him for the better part of last year in an attempt to have the cracks grow out, but no change. With no improvement, I've pulled the shoes again last fall. Now with all this wet weather, it seems like they are a bit wider than before.

Any suggestions for getting rid of these cracks - they seemed to be purely cosmetic before, but I'd like to get rid of them if possible. I saw an article somewhere where a method was suggested to make a small circular "brand" at the top of the crack to help it from spreading - not sure about that though.

My farrier is quite experienced, but I havn't pressed him on resolving this. Will speak to him for suggestions on his next visit.

Thanks!!

Follow Ups:

Re: Vertical Cracks from Toe almost to Coronary - both front hooves Ray Miller 22:27:18 07/04/03 (1)
- Re: Vertical Cracks from Toe almost to Coronary - both front hooves Sandy 23:02:55 07/07/03 (0)

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: Hello: : My now 16.3h 5yr-old Hano gelding has big (#3), well-balanced, very hard white hooves. He has been shoeless most of his life and naturally wears his hooves very evenly all the way around. : At age 4 he was sent away for his 60 days of initial undersaddle work and returned with vertical hairline cracks in both front hooves from toe to about 3/4" below hairline. Not sure what they were caused from - change in nutrition or increased work or the footing. He has no other cracks and hardly ever a chip even though we have fairly rocky ground. I put front shoes on him for the better part of last year in an attempt to have the cracks grow out, but no change. With no improvement, I've pulled the shoes again last fall. Now with all this wet weather, it seems like they are a bit wider than before. : Any suggestions for getting rid of these cracks - they seemed to be purely cosmetic before, but I'd like to get rid of them if possible. I saw an article somewhere where a method was suggested to make a small circular "brand" at the top of the crack to help it from spreading - not sure about that though. : My farrier is quite experienced, but I havn't pressed him on resolving this. Will speak to him for suggestions on his next visit. : Thanks!!

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