Several 1 inch horizontal cracks

[Larry Arnold]

My TB has recently developed several small (1-1.5") horizontal cracks on his hoof. They are about mid way up his hoof. My concern is that debris might get into these cracks and cause them to get larger or to become infected. My farrier says not to worry. I asked about putting some kind of sealer over the cracks and he said that it would probably just seal in any debris and the likelyhood of an infection would increase. I remember reading an article that indicated that some sealers have medication mixed in just for that purpose.

It is difficult to keep his feet dry due to the rain we've been having in Southern California lately.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Once I figure out out to attach photos I'll include them as well.

thx
larrry

[Gary Hill]

Keeping the toes well rounded will help with the little cracks you are talking about. Good Luck! Gary

[calshoer]

Those type of horizontal
blowouts" in the wall geneally do not cause any problems.
When they grow closer to the bottom of the foot, the square little section of wall below them will have to come off but it is usually not a structural problem .
The more important thing is that if they keep developing to figure out why. They can be from banging the hoof hard on something, or from a little abscess that travelled up under the hoofwall and blew out up at the hairline and is now growing down, or if they are way back at the heel, from run under heel conflrmation or imbalance that needs attention. Patty

[Larry Arnold]

Thank you all for the information.

Larry

[Phil Armitage]

Hi Larry my horse has the same problem. He has small feet for his size which does not help and the hoofwall and soles are thin. They start cracking like that if I go over on his shoeing schedule. It is a difficult one to balance though, becuase he doesnt grow too much in length, the growth seems to flare more and sometimes I end up going back into the same nail holes. I tried barefoot and it helps reduce the cracks but he can't stand the hard ground. Like Gary said dressing the flare and rounding the edges helps a lot. My horse has never been lame from it, but it does look bad at times. You could take a look at Keratex's web site, they have great info and there product the Hoof Hardner is pretty good. I like there ideas and products for maintaining healthy strong feet. I use the Keratex on my horse and it seems to help, his feet are not as brittle and are standing up mud and water better.