weird hoof problem

[digitalangel]

Hey all :)

well things are progressing well with Nigel - he is still stiff and he was a little 'hoppy' the last time i rode him but i found a rub from his tendon boots that i think were causing his unevenness in trot


Anyway, he threw a shoe the other day and i was cleaning his hooves ready for the farrier and noticed cracks on 3 out of 4 of his hooves, just below the coronet. they dont look deep but they do look nasty.

heres a picture of what i mean

http://www.blogstudio.com/johncoxon/fronthoof.jpg

has anyone else seen this before? my farrier seems to think it is nothing much to worry about but to make sure i put disinfectant on it but im a neurotic mummy and im wondering if it is something more serious.

There was also a bit of heat around the heels on the off fore ( which is one of the ones with the weird cracks ) but i also noticed a reddening around that area on the hoof and in any case its gone now.

any ideas people?

[coss]

The hooves look a bit rough round where the shoes are but other than that they don't look too bad IMO. I would however be concerned about the heat and the reddening but if thats gone all good and well :)

[digitalangel]

its not the shoes im worried about its the dirty big crack just below the coronet! :^D

[coss]

ok, i'm ill and cant see it :o can you edit photo to point to it :o:o:o:o

[galadriel]

I don't know how well the picture shows what's there--or how well I can interpret it... It looks to me a lot like what happens to my horses' coronet bands when they're in constant damp, and their feet and coronet bands are constantly saturated with water.

Horseshoes.com is a good place to post hoof questions :)

[MelanieD]

Is it the thing parallel to the coronet band you are worried about? That's just a growth ring. Not sure if I can see some very fine cracks coming down from the coronet band as well or if it's just fur, if it's not possible to tell if they are cracks then they probably aren't that bad!

I'd be more worried about the chipping around the bottom, looks like some infection getting in through old nail holes so disinfecting there (borax, milton and hibiscrub all good) would be a good idea.

[Wally]

Don't worry, looks like an average shod foot to me, with all the little cracks and puffy coronet band they get when it's wet.

That raggedy ground surface can be taken off at the next shoeing. Don't worry, you get horizontal flacky bits at the top of the hoof.

[rohan]

Its like wally says my babys cornets look a bit like that the white stuff is like a thick skin that comes off eventually but (i cant really see any major cracks around the band ) I found using vasline a great way to keep his hooves in good condition. Every time he sees the farrier he says his hooves are in great condition by the way he goes bare foot all the time now as when i did gget him shod he kepted falling he found the shoes to slippy on any hard wet surface .

[Jessey]

I can't see the crack you mention int he picture :o But is it a long crack that runs round the front of the hoof, at the top of the hoof wall running horizontally around the foot?

If so I wouldn't be too concerned, wet feet and toes getting a bit long can apparently cause that ( so a farrier told my friend) just keep it clean (disinfected) and ensure you keep the time between trims a little shorter than usual or at least dead on time. Personally I would also try something like Keratex Hoof Hardner to try and prevent spread or more occurances :D

J x