Eight Equine Tips On Maintaining Health Hooves

Eight Equine Tips on Maintaining Health Hooves



Keeping your horse's hooves clean and healthy can be a challenge, and it is good to know what the criteria for a healthy horse hoof consists of. Furthermore, it is good to know tips on how to keep your horse hooves healthy.



A healthy horse hoof includes attributes such as matching angles of the hook and pastern, and a thick, solid consistent hoof wall, free of cracks and nicks. There also should be adequate sole depth along with a solid heel base and equal growth rings on the hoof wall. In addition, the front hoof should conform to an angle of 50 to 55 degrees. It is not necessary that each hoof be the same size, but just make sure you keep in consideration you will need two different shoe sizes.



Now that you know a little of what a healthy hoof should look like, you can remember the following scenarios and tips on how to fix these situations:



1. Fixing cracks in a hoof and preventing new ones: The first step in repairing a crack is to balance the hoof. This will prevent the crack from growing. Small cracks can be filled in with a special epoxy, which is a type of adhesive. A professional farrier should repair the larger cracks, which is a person who fits shoes on horses. Using the right size shoe for the horse's foot can prevent further cracks.



2. Repairing a hoof that has either a stone bruise or corn: A stone bruise or corn develops when the laminate of a hoof is bruise by sharp rocks. Stone bruises usually develop on the toe quarter of the hoof, while the corn usually develops where the buttress and the wall meet. Treatment would be to pad it temporarily until the bruise heals. It is wise for the horse owner to consult a veterinarian or do further research on the Internet as to how long the hoof should be padded. Padding a hoof for too long can result in the sole needing permanent padding, so make sure that the hoof is not padded for too long.





3. Treating a thrush condition: A bacteria condition of the sole and frog of the hoof is called a thrush. This usually happens in muddy conditions. The symptoms of this condition include an odor and pus that develops. Treatment of this condition would require thorough cleaning, application of thrush medicine, and packing, and may need to be done repeatedly until the thrush clears. Cleaning the hooves on a regular basis can prevent this condition from returning.



4. Treating a Canker: A canker is a chronic infection of the horn tissues that spreads from the frog to the sole of the hoof. This ailment consists of a white curdled discharge. The steps for treatment would be through a thorough cleansing and disinfecting of the hoof and then the application of an injected and/or topical antibiotic. One suggestion to prevent further and/or worsening recurrences is to clean the hoofs regularly.





5. Treating White Line Disease: White line disease is caused by a bacteria, fungus, or yeast that travels from the ground up through the white line to the coronary band. After it spreads in this way, an indentation forms between the hoof wall and the sole of the hoof. This indentation then becomes filled with a dirty and wretched looking fluid. The treatment of this disease is to first remove the infected area, disinfect the entire hoof, filling the affected area with an epoxy material and then finding a supportive shoe to fit on this treated hoof. In order to prevent re-infection, the horse's foot condition should be changed.



6. Treating Laminus and Founder: Laminus is the inflammation of the underlying laminae of the hoof. This forms first, and then Founder develops from the Laminus. Founder is the separation of the laminae and the pulling away of the coffin bone from the hoof wall. In more advanced stages of this condition, the interior of the hoof can become inflamed, the coffin bone can rotate, and the hoof can change shape and lameness and pain can result.



Since this condition is caused by an over consumption of carbohydrates, the first step is to cut down on the amount of grain feeds given to a horse and increasing mashes in the diet of your horse. This helps flush out excess carbohydrates and restores the proper amount of blood circulation to the horse's feet. The pain will also need to be treated and the horse should be also cared for by a farrier and a veterinarian. A damaged hoof of this nature may require corrective shoe fitting.



7. Treating of contracted or sheared heels: Contracted heels are ones in which a heel is much smaller. This is usually caused by the trimming and shoeing done to increase horse speed, especially in thoroughbred horses. Balance trimming and corrective shoeing can help prevent this condition. Sheared heels healed are heels in which the bulbs of a horse's hoof unevenly land on a surface. This happens when the hoof is not trimmed enough. To help eliminate this problem a corrective shoe can be applied. The bar shoe would be the best horseshoe to use in this situation.



8. Daily Maintenance of the Hoof: Some simple steps can be taken to maintain the health of horse hooves. The first step would be to inspect the horse's hooves daily. During the inspection the owner should look for any abnormalities such as slight lameness, puncture wounds, thrush or heat, or a possible infection. Another measure to take in helping preserve a horse's hooves would be to check for lodged stones in the feet after each ride.



The above inspection can also be done when picking out the horse's hooves, and it is also recommended that the picking of horse hooves should be done daily. All the above measures will help prevent stone bruises and cracks as well as bacterial infections. Other helpful tips to maintain a healthy hoof are to minimize the horse's contact with mud, regular shoe fittings and hoof trimmings, and avoiding constant changing from wet to dry ground.



If you take all of the above measures into consideration and practice them on a daily basis, you can not only treat a horse's hoof, but increase the longevity of the hoof as well. More information on healthy horse hooves can be quickly found on the Internet. Many web sites that pertain to horses will offer free educational information about maintaining the health of horse hooves as well as any other aspects of caring for your horse.