Hoof Query

[NoviceNic]

My daughters Shetland gets her hooves trimed every 7 weeks. I have noticed that inbetween the wall and the sole there is a gap. Granted it is only small but I havent noticed it before. I am looking in my horse care book and it looks as though this area is called the white line. Is this normal to have a gap?? Is there anything I could be putting on them to help?? The farrier never mentioned anything was wrong. I guess I am just curious as I havent picked up on it before. Thank you..

[Wally]

Is it where the wall is growing away from the sole?

If there is a gap and it is black and crumbly and stinks then that sounds like White Line disease. If there is just a small dip, or groove and it's clean and hard then it's just where the wall is growing and the horse is making the wall grow out the way as he walks.

AS he is going shoeless the farrier may be leaving the wall a bit longer to walk on, if he was going to be shod, most likely the farrier would trim this right back before fitting the shoe.

[Santi]

I would guess your farrier is leaving the hoof wall too long.
Is there any flare on the outside of the hoof? i.e. is the hoof completely straight from the coronet to the floor or is the hoof starting to get slightly concave, wider at the floor?

Alot of farriers don't really do a barefoot trim, the pasture trims they do are ok but bare hooves respond to the enviroment differently than a shod hoof. If the hoof wall takes the weight of the horse it will flare out at the base and the white line becomes 'stretched' which i think is what you are seeing. It will get worse if not corrected and can cause breakage of the hoof wall, either in chunks or cracks running upwards.

Try another farrier or even better a barefoot trimmer or equine podiatrist (www.equinepodiatry.net) just stay away from anyone doing a Strausser trim (thats the system the RSPCA are trying to get banned!!).

[Wally]

Sadly a lot of farriers don't consider mere Shetlands worthy of their time and trouble as trimming them and shoeing them is a right pain in the bum (and back) Shetland ponies' feet are just too close to the floor! ;) ;)

[NoviceNic]

To be honest it is a struggle to get any farrier out in this area let alone a barefoot farrier. They are like gold dust around these parts of the land. I havent noticed a smell or crumbling. But as I took her and my daughter out for a hack today I noticed that her hooves are chipping. This is quite unusual for Bonn as her feet only usually chip when they need trimming. I am wondering if her hooves are too dry and need a little moisture. I am going to ring the farrier up and see if he noticed anything unusual. I will be able to send a photo to him.

[MelanieD]

Chipping could be from being left too long, that's how hooves trim themselves when they get too long. If they are chipping quite high up, like higher up than the level of the sole, that could be white line disease weaking the attachment of the hoof wall.