Hoof Related Lameness, Hoof Problems

CORNS – CAUSES AND CORRECTIONS

The discovery that your horse has developed corns, or indeed has corns that will not go away, must be recognised as a warning sign that something is not right somewhere in the hoof. This information will help rectify the problem and should enable you to start on a programme of preventative maintenance.

Corns occur back in the heel area at the junction where the bars meet the hoof wall – this is called the buttress of the heel. That v-shaped pocket is called the seat of the corn area and if the horse has corns there will be a reddening of the sole tissue that looks like bruising.

Often there will be no reaction to the hoof testers when they are applied to this area, often there will be no increase in the digital pulse to indicate hoof trauma but the horse just looks uncomfortable when working.

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Hoof Problems, Other Horse Health Issues

STRINGHALT

Stringhalt is one problem that I rarely come across. This is a nervous reaction of the hind legs – the horse involuntarily snaps them up, almost to the belly, when the leg is lifted. Stringhalt is triggered by a neurological disorder in the brain which acts on the nervous system, seeming to act only on the back legs. It is suggested that Stringhalt is the result of toxicity from eating certain weeds, possibly Capeweed. To all appearances, when picking up the back leg you get kicked. Unfortunately farriers often admonish the horse and belt the heck out of it because it has kicked them. As it is involuntary, the horse has absolutely no control over Stringhalt. However, once realising that the horse has Stringhalt, it is still a major problem to shoe these horses, as they pull the leg up so high it can’t be worked on. To get the horse to stretch its leg backwards is very difficult as the minute you ease on it, the leg snaps forward and kicks you again. It can be a very dangerous situation but there is absolutely no point getting upset with the horse. The … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems

ATTITUDE PROBLEMS RELATED TO HOOF CARE

In considering attitude, we must consider both man and beast because in so many ways our feelings and reactions are similar.

If we have a sore foot we immediately begin to walk crookedly and in no time we feel pain in our lower back, shoulders or neck, and we become distressed and grumpy.

So by understanding the human reaction we can assume that the horse’s bad attitude and distress could also be the result of trauma in the hoof.

The first course of action should be to check for an accelerated digital pulse in the lower leg. To do this place thumb and fore finger either side of the area just above and behind the fetlock joint, note the pulse, then compare it with the opposite leg. Also feel for heat in the hoof wall area, any increase in temperature or pulse usually indicates impending trauma in the hoof well before … Continue Reading ››

Hoof Related Lameness, Hoof Problems

HOOF-RELATED BACK STRAIN

Hoof-related back strain is a syndrome that is affecting both horses and riders in all forms of equine pursuits. It has always existed to a lesser degree; however it now seems to be showing up more frequently and is a problem that must be eliminated. One cause of this hoof-related back strain in horses is incorrect hoof/pastern angle in the front feet, resulting from either long toes/low heels, or from high heels/short toes. This drastically alters the natural normal gait of the horse, so many riders then accept the fact that their horse is rough to ride and assume that the saddle must be the problem, or that perhaps they should have tuition with a riding instructor because the horse seems to be erratic in his movements or disunited. Often this course of action leads to the discovery that the horse has muscle soreness in his upper body, anywhere in the neck and shoulders or along his back or over the hindquarters, and then the owner enlists the aid of a vet or the chiropractor. This is really only a bandaid cure because the real cause of the problem is quite simply in … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems, Hoof Abscess

THE HOOF ABSCESS

Many horse owners and riders are unable to recognise the symptoms that indicate the beginnings of an abscess.

If detected early, most abscesses can be treated in a simple fashion and the horse can be returned to work within hours. However, if an abscess is missed for a day, it will build up pressure within the hoof and can cause more serious associated problems and take weeks to fix.

There are four types of abscesses that can occur in the hoof and long before they become visible, you will have noticed a change in your horse’s attitude or a slight change in the regular gait, or unevenness; often they will rest one leg and point the hoof. You must be aware enough to notice these changes - it is your duty of care.

If you suspect an abscess, look for a digital pulse in the suspect leg (this is an … Continue Reading ››

Hoof Problems, Heel Problems

UNDER-RUN HEELS

Under-run heels are identified by their appearance as being extremely low and acutely sloping forward, to the point where they have no weight bearing ability. (Pic 1). The low-heeled hoof is usually accompanied by a long and concaved hoof capsule at the toe due to the tubules bending under the pressure of their excessive length. A percentage of under-run heels is caused by bad conformation i.e. long sloping pasterns which encourage pressure at the heels, causing them to collapse and roll under. Others are related to the lack of proper hoof maintenance, such as not trimming these hooves before they grow too long or then not trimming them to the required correct hoof/pastern angle, which reduces the pressure at the heels. The long-toe low-heeled horse becomes unsteady in its gait or stumbles and will tend to over-reach with the hinds coming through and hitting the heels of the front hooves, because the long toes slow down the movement of the front hooves. The initial treatment should be to shorten the toes as much as possible and re-trim every three weeks for about three successive periods after which time the heels may … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems, Heel Problems

CONTRACTED HEELS

Contracted heels can be the end result of many different factors. They are not typical of any particular breed or conformation and may occur anywhere. Sometimes it begins from birth when the foal has very upright pasterns; this condition then allows the heels to grow longer than the toes causing a very upright appearance.

The result then, if it is not corrected, is that the frog loses its pressure contact with the ground, then it also begins to contract or shrink and this causes the hoof capsule to become even narrower across the heel. This whole shrinking process may have only taken a few months to get to what now looks like ‘donkey footed’ in appearance, but will take a lot longer to return to normal, with the aid of careful trimming.

Sometimes as a result of hoof or leg injury, the horse will begin to step short with one leg. This will cause the toe to wear excessively and allows the heel … Continue Reading ››

Hoof Problems, Heel Problems

QUARTERED HEELS AND HOW TO REPAIR THEM

Quartered heels come in many different variations, and always seem to happen to your best horse. Necessity is the mother of invention when attempting to repair these. I have never found any two the same but the basic principles of repair are always similar. The old method was usually to make a shoe which stayed away from the area of hoof which was affected by the injury. Because the broken wall behind the injury was not able to take any weight bearing pressure, the injury hopefully would then grow out. This method is seldom successful, it takes too long and the horse’s work has to be altered because of the lack of hoof stability and lameness. Trial and experiment over the years together with the use of a bit of modern technology has proven there are some more positive ways to achieve a better result. Basically there are two reasons for any kind of cracks occurring in the hoof wall; the first one is because the hoof wall has been allowed to develop flares or wings anywhere from the toe to the heel - this causes … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems, Seedy Toe

SEEDY TOE CAN BE CURED!

Seedy Toe is NOT a mysterious and unknown ailment. It never fails to amaze me how Seedy Toe can be seen so consistently by horse owners as the symbol of impending doom and disaster when it can be cured so easily. It also never fails to amaze me that so many farriers just ignore Seedy Toe. Invariably the horse owner will say ‘the farrier said not to worry about it, but it is getting worse’. I am consistently contacted at least four to six months after the problem should first have been identified. Seedy Toe, sometimes called White Line Disease, is a microscopic bug infection which enters this area of the hoof via cracks, injuries or separation of the hoof wall and regenerates very quickly in a non-oxygenated environment. Seedy Toe is a problem that is common to all areas of Australia and common to most breeds of horses. Detecting it is often a difficult task, as sometimes there will be no external signs visible on the hoof wall. A horse owner may only be aware that the horse has short periods of … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems, Seedy Toe

REVISITING SEEDY TOE

The cause, the effect and the resolution of Seedy Toe – also known as White Line Disease. THE CAUSE: It seems that weather conditions play a big part in the cause of Seedy Toe - lots of rain followed by warm days and good spring grass growth. These three things promote rapid hoof growth and very often that hoof growth can get way ahead of the maintenance trimming schedules; not only are the hooves growing fast but they are also quite soft and very flexible. The end result is flaring of the hoof wall, which causes it to separate from the laminae at the junction of the white line, hence the term White Line Disease (Pic 1). This condition allows dirt and foreign materials to be pushed up into that area of the sensitive tissue under the hoof wall which then causes aggravation, then inflammation, then infection followed by an abscess. Horses in flooded areas have even more problems with Seedy Toe if they cannot be moved to higher ground or into dry stabling or if the water is too deep … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems, Navicular Disease

NAVICULAR DISEASE OR BALANCE RELATED NAVICULAR SYNDROME?

I have lost count of the number of consultations over the last year where each owner has explained in great detail that the horse in question has to be shod with bar shoes and rolled toes or egg bars or wedged heels or something similar, because it was diagnosed with suspected navicular disease two or three years ago. According to each owner’s lament, the horse is tripping and stumbling and has never really been sound; even x-rays which are sometimes years old were never really positive. If they were positive and there is navicular degeneration, the previously mentioned style of shoes may be appropriate and should be continued with. So what is the problem with these vague symptoms? It is very important to fully understand the basic principles which may be causing stress to the navicular bone area and heels either side of it. As seen in Pic 1, the deep flexor tendon travels down the back of the leg and passes over the navicular bone then attaches to the underside of the pedal … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems, Founder

HOOF CARE FOR THE FOUNDERED HORSE

Founder or Laminitis is one of the most damaging ailments for the horse’s hoof. The causes are varied but the effects are always the same with varying degrees of severity. The two main causes are either an over-enriched diet coupled with a lack of exercise, or trauma to the horse through injury or sickness or stress. Founder can be found in nearly any breed nowadays but is still more prevalent in ponies, which have a tendency to be overfed and under worked for their size. Most pastures in the settled areas are far too improved for horses (they were developed for dairy cattle) and are too rich in carbohydrates; this causes a high pulse rate which causes the laminae under the hoof capsule to swell in the toe area (like a blood blister under a thumbnail) and instant lameness. The horse starts to try and walk back on their heels, because this swelling causes the laminae to expand, pushing the sole down and the hoof capsule to turn up. Trauma or stress founder has exactly the same effect; there are countless books on the subject written by specialists in this field, … Continue Reading ››