Crack creeping up hoof

[dcp]

Hi all, Can you tell me how serious a crack on the outside running up the center of the hoof is? My horse is a companion and not in work. In the past couple of weeks it's certainly grew up the hoof but doesn't look too deep.

Thanks :)

[dcp]

Anyone got any thoughts on what to do and how worried I should be?

[xloopylozzax]

get a rasp and put a line across the top to stop it from growing upwards.

is your farrier due? are the feet over grown?

basically if you are worried and they are causing him to be lame/dirt is getting trappeed in it/signs of infection then ring your farrier.

[MagicSix]

Agree with above post - the horizontal line will stop the crack running any further upwards. I have had a lot of problems with cracked feet this year - I wouldn't be too unduly worried, it is actually quite amazing (well, to me anyway) how much an outside of the hoof be cracked without it affecting the horse. If you are worried abot infection, put hydrogen peroxide in it to keep it clear of any bacteria.

[xloopylozzax]

<edited> If you are worried abot infection, put hydrogen peroxide in it to keep it clear of any bacteria.

that will sting like god knows what- we only use peroxide on the soles and around the frog if theres any hint of thrush.
dettol/hibiscrub etc will be better i would have thought and not as eye watering!

[MagicSix]

Farrier suggested this for cracked hooves, always done it and I have never had a horse even flinch. Poured it onto a cut I had once and it only tickled:D. Miles more effective than hibiscrub

[Wally]

You can use bleach and peroxide on feet wihtout it stinging.....unless there's live tissue there.

[Yann]

Are the feet in need of a trim, ie going bell shaped / flared, or getting too long? That's a common cause of this sort of crack from what I've seen. For me notching the crack at ground level to reduce leverage would be prefereable to thinning the hoof wall in a critical spot tbh. That and addressing the probably cause :)

[MelanieD]

Milton is good for making sure cracks are free of ming, similar to bleach but just the bug killing ingredient without any of the less good stuff they can include in bleach. The main thing you need though is some good trimming since unless there's some damage its usually the shape of the feet that put pressure on the crack and keep it open.

[dcp]

Thanks for thje advice. He has had his shoes off for about 10 months and his feet have been looking really good I was just surprised to see this crack as he has never had anything like it before, and I would of thought with his shoes being off and him not working his feet would be the last thing I'd need to worry about. He has regular attention from the farrier and his feet don't look overgrown at all.

I shall clean his hoof with some hibiscrub tonight and I'm pretty sure the farrier will be out soon.

[juliecwuk]

remember that if the horse is not in work then the hoof wont have the neccessary stimulous from the ground which encourages good hoof growth and shape. if he is just turned out in the field then his hooves wont be growing as well without the stimulous and they will generally be softer and more susceptible to cracks. have you considered getting a podiatrist? a podiatrist has done wonders for my friends horse with terrible crack hooves (the farrier was leaving her toes too long - not visible to the untrained eye but the cracks were the visible symptom), it started as a crack then the outer wall started to come away in 1" wide chunks!

but also i agree with the milton. i have always used it diluted (1 part milton:4 parts water) and scrub my horses feet to get rid of things like thrush.