Large Crack in Hoof

[AnnShh05]

Alright... well my gelding has a large crack in his right hind hoof. Today part of it chipped off but there is still a large crack there. Is there anything I can do to stop it from spreading? Someone suggested putting him on a hoof supplement which I'd be willing to research but I know it won't "magically fix all my problems" lol.

FYI: Yes, my farrier is aware of it. He said for now (because we would like to keep him barefoot) to watch it and see if it spreads by the next trim (should be in about 4 weeks). It looks like it has spread and as I said before, part of it chipped off.

Any ideas? The thought of shoes has been brought up- but he'd have to get them on all 4 if we decided to go that route. I'd much rather leave him barefoot but I'll talk to my farrier about that and see what he thinks at the next trim.

**This picture does NOT show the crack- it just shows a drawing of where the crack and chip are as of today. I am well aware that the trim is not very good in this pic- that has already been addressed and the pic is from a few months ago.***

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s176/milocalwinnings/righthindcrack.jpg

[Gary Hill]

It will grow down and off so until then maybe a side clip will help.

[AnnShh05]

He doesn't have shoes on right now... I prefer to keep him barefoot so my farrier suggested we watch it to see how it progresses between the last trim and the next one on August 30th. Do you think he's going to need shoes on because of the crack?

[caballus]

I am assuming that, from your drawing, the crack is a horizontal one. From some insult at the coronary? Abscess? Other injury? It will grow "down" as Gary said and if the hoof is well maintained with trimming then it shouldn't pose to be problamatic. It *may* chip off when it gets close to ground level but that's not *usually* an issue ... just round the wall off well, all round, to keep any added pressure off the wall on either side of the chip (if it does chip at all). But, can't say this with firm conviction without seeing photos of the actual hoof and even then ... you know there's no absolutes. Just keep the hooves well trimmed, balanced and leveled and keep a close eye on the growth.

Here is an example of a horse I pulled shoes from in March of this year:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/caballus/DCP_1267.jpg

The same hoof in early July:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/caballus/DCP_1428.jpg

You can see that it was a nasty horizontal crack but it grew down very nicely and the horse is "all fixed" now! *grin*

--Gwen

[calshoer]

If it is all the way INTO the heel and extends far enough around the hoof, at some point it may need a shoe for just a couple of shoeings until the heel gets grown down enough to become a large enough base to adequately support the back of the foot again. So don't be afraid to shoe him when he needs it for a while . If it looks like this one, consider a shoe for a while (not one of my cases, but a good example of this kind of crackthat was posted here awhile back ) Patty

[caballus]

Oh my ... even *I* would recommend shoes for a hoof like that! That's one nasty crack!

--Gwen