Small,lodged bits of stone around edge of hoof-what to do?

[cariadbach10]

I am fairly new to barefoot, so think I am referring to Ernie's 'white line' - the section around the edge of the hoof!
When we hack out or he is led from the field he gets little bits of stone stuck in there and if they get lodged in I tend to pick them out but some of them don't half get lodged and require a fai bit of persuading! I'm presuming it's better to get them out than leave them in,yes?
Also, when I do ge them out they leave a bit of a hole!
I'm sure this is a common problem. I do pick his feet out twice a day, but sometimes its dark and if I miss a stone in this area by the morning it's well and truly stuck.

 

[Montana]

Definitely pick them out, or they can migrate upwards through the wall - not good. I tend to scrub the hole with milton solution, and pack with MSM cream or similar. Would love to know if there's any other suggestions though, I worry about this too.

 

[Roofio]

I get this with J some times. I get them out and scrub. They don't seem to have caused any problems so far.

However, a friends mare who had very poor feet and quite a 'stretched' white line had lots of mini abscesses form where each little stone had been

 

[jaydevon]

get a farrier to bend you a few nails. the end of them are perfect picks for bits of gravel,. in most cases a bit of stone wont hurt, but keep a close eye on the white line, thats normally where you get problems. think of the white line as if you cut a nail back to far it exposes an area that would normally be covered., its sore, pretty much the same for a horse.

 

[Gill]

I keep an old fork in my grooming kit and use that to remove them.

 

[colettybetty]

I use the end of the cork screw on my penknife. Keretex hoof hardener helps too.

 

[Widget]

Is this normal? Ruby went barefoot about 3 months ago and I haven't noticed this happen to her. Maybe I need to look closer!

 

[capalldubh]

I had this when the shoes came off first - his white line was quite stretched so things could get in. I have a pointy hoof pick, not the sort of blunt ended one, and I used it to whip the wee stones out.

His feet changed quite quickly, though and now there is nowhere for stones to get stuck - so just persist for a while, it will get better

 

[Yann]

I don't think all horses have this problem, it really depends what sort of condition the feet are in, whether there are flares stretching the white line and whether the diet needs to be improved. Regular trimming to keep wall length down (if that's an issue) and maintaining a good roll on the wall between trimmer visits will also help reduce the stretching forces on the area.

 

[cariadbach10]

He's being trimmed tommorow-the problem only seems to be on two of his feet and maybe the next trim will sort it out.I seem to spend ages with a head torch squinting to see if there's anything in there!

 

[colettybetty]

I don't think all horses have this problem, it really depends what sort of condition the feet are in, whether there are flares stretching the white line and whether the diet needs to be improved.

Funny you should say that, mine are barefoot at the back and I haven't had this problem for a long time. Going to sound like a rep for Baileys Lo-Cal, but they've been on it for a year now and the stones aren't a problem any more and Fox never (touch wood ) loses a front shoe, which she used to, frequently.