Severe hoof crack

[mochaccino82]

I've got a 7yo gelding who since birth has had deep cracks that run down the center of both front hooves and begin at the coronet. They run strait to the end of the hoof. This horse has been thru 7 farriers all to no avail. Oddly this is not the first time that I have encountered this condition. I was hired to put 30 days on a 5yo mare who had the exact same thing. That was the first time I had ever seen anything like it and it was only in the front two hooves. After about 2 1/2 weeks with her, I had to stop because she had become far to lame very rapidly and it was putting too much stress on the cracks. I don't know if the add'l 150lbs with me and the saddle caused the lameness or if it was a symptom of the condition. A friend just left me with her horse now that she has moved, and he has got the exact same condition. Any idea what it is or treatments available for this type of thing? He's on a healthy diet of fresh green grass, aflafla cubes, sweet feed, and he is not over weight. Now that I've seen this twice, I know there has got to be others who have seen it as well. If you can offer me any advise or would like to see a photo, please contact me. Thanks so much! I have browsed the internet high and low with no resources for this issue.
~ Sarah :(

[Thomas_Ride&Drive]

A crack in a hoof is ordinarily an indication that there is something going on and going seriously wrong. Its indicative of too much pressure and often this is because of either trauma with either an injury or abscess or else because of poor trimming and hoof balance or something wrong with internal foot structures.

If its related to poor trimming and balance, then the crack may well give a short-term appearance of improvement but it will come back or continue until and unless something significant changes

However the fact the horse had them from birth is most concerning and extraordinarily rare and indicates huge conformational deformity.

Photos would help to get better opinion and advice?

[Brian Purrington]

I've got a 7yo gelding who since birth has had deep cracks that run down the center of both front hooves and begin at the coronet. :(

Are you sayin' this horse was born with cracked hooves....? :confused:

[calshoer]

If it has been since birth I am suspecting an abnormally deep "crenna" in the coffin bone (or a crease all the way down the front of the bone) and this may just be a corresponding crease in the wall that will always be there. Deformed bone+deformed wall.
I have seen this crease in a few "upright" ( club footed) Morgans. ....got any pictures?
Patty

[mochaccino82]

Thanks so much to all who have responded. I do appreciate your time and thoughtfulness. I have attempted a couple times to post pictures, but I get an error every time. If you would like to take a look, I can certainly email some pictures. please contact me at sarah.neumann@freeberggrund.com . I can then attach them to a reply email.

Take Care and have a great day :)

[Southerngurl]

Email them to me at traceyl(atsymbol)mtnhome.com and I will post them for you. :)

[mochaccino82]

I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who read and offered advise and guidance regarding my horse's hooves. I do have him on some biotin and my ferrier is out every 3 weeks to trim/file his hooves. He has got some custom corrective shoes on and will need to be in shoes all year long until his cracks have grown completely out. Living in northern MN, we will have to have him in winter shoes with pads as well. At the moment he is pastured in very soft and freshly cultivated top soil (black dirt) and that seems to be helping as well. He is on straight alfalfa bales, and gets about 1 gallon of Neutrena Vitality horse feed. I know he is feeling better because he actually runs in the pasture with the other horses and moves a lot more freely than he did before. I am super happy about this, and again I really wanted to thank all of those who have viewed and posted to my thread. Take Care :D :) ;)