# Odd Hooves



## NordicJuniper (Jun 9, 2009)

I saw a thread a while back about hoove coloring on horses. I know that horses with white leg markings usually will have light hooves on the legs that are marked and dark hooves on the others.

Well Junior has really odd hooves indeed. I took pictures of the front and back to show them off.


















I am aware he has a crack in his hoof, it doesn't hinder him and we are trying to fix it.


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

My TB mare also has the same striping on her hooves. So did my old TB mare. And my lovely old boy Iceman had them too, he was an arab cross.

All my best horses have had stripey hooves unless they had a sock then it was cream like your boys one is


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

If you keep his feet trimmed more frequently, and trim the area under the crack shorter, so it has less contact with the ground, it will grow out better.

Striped feet usually coinside with Sabino, IME, or Appy genes. Does your boy have any other white markings or roaning? His sock looks a bit "sabino-esque".


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## MaggiStar (Mar 19, 2010)

Stripey hooves are a characterisitc of the arab.
My girl has 3stripey hoves


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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

You know, nothing to do with the stripes, but my mare had a slight crack started and my farrier rasped a groove right above the crack and it stopped the crack from going any further up. It eventually grew out. I have an arab and I didn't really see if she has stripes on her hooves. Guess I'll be looking again.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I think it's more of a sorrel thing. My guy Rafe (BelgianxQH) has the same striped hooves on the front and so does his Belgian momma. My old guy Flash also has it and he's a registered QH.


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## NordicJuniper (Jun 9, 2009)

The only other white marking he has is a snip and a very very very tiny star. I just found it odd that he has three striped hooves despite not having ermine spots or anything to explain it really. 

Oh and he is a Thoroughbred. His lines are Thoroughbred for five generations that I know of.


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## CheyAut (Nov 26, 2008)

Not unusual at all on chestnut horses.


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## CharliGirl (Nov 16, 2009)

I have never seen striped hooves like that on a TB before. Your guy's feet are nearly identical my appy gelding Kubie--I think they look really cool! 

My pinto arab pony has big, thick black stripes on his hooves...his legs are all completely white, so I'm not sure how that happened.


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

Not just a chestnut thing. My Old boy Ice was a grey, he was part arab crossed with who knows what.
And my other TB mare was black and she had them, I wonder if I can find a picture of her hooves.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

CessBee - Do you know your guy's base color though? He could have very well be a chestnut.


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

NdAppy said:


> CessBee - Do you know your guy's base color though? He could have very well be a chestnut.


wouldnt have a clue in the whole world haha. Would have loved to know more about him, I miss him so much now.
But I also do know that he was a broken coloured one before he greyed out becuase when I washed him I discovered patches of pink skin that where in irregular patterns, he looked so funny when he was all wet.


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## ErikaLynn (Aug 3, 2010)

I ride a white horse that has 3 black hooves and one white one, I think it's weird since she doesn't have socks.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Erika - I am guessing that your horse is a grey and that under the grey she does have the one sock.


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## ErikaLynn (Aug 3, 2010)

NdAppy said:


> Erika - I am guessing that your horse is a grey and that under the grey she does have the one sock.



Yeah, I figured that...but all her legs are white. I thought it was neat.


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## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

That would be because of the grey.  Grey wipe out all color, so you would not see where a sock, or really any white marking, is. Only was really is when the horse is wet.


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## smokeyblue910 (Dec 1, 2010)

Well, I know a horse that has cracked hooves. They were very funny looking and big his owner said it's called flat feet which meens don't ride your horse on hard ground. I don't know if your horse has but it's just an idea.


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## NordicJuniper (Jun 9, 2009)

He is going into retirement now anyway :] So his hard riding days are over, he is looking for a nice trail/light riding home now. 

His hooves crack because of his TB lines. TB's are notorious for weak hooves, he has almost no hoof wall and if he is shod he has to have special shoes with pads and clamps. But he does fine, no limping or lameness as long as he isn't ridden on gravel or super rocky surfaces.


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

Cessie is a TB, and to clean up her hooves, i put her on a biotin supplement and within a few months the crack was gone.


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## KawaiiCharlie (Nov 17, 2010)

my tbs hooves are pretty much the same, only the stripes are alot darker :s hes chestnut & has no black or white markings on his legs at all so im not sure why his hooves are like it.


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## Sarahandlola (Dec 16, 2010)

My TB is bay and she has kinda stripy hooves. They are grey and white stripes.

So TBs hooves are weak? Lola's are ok now but what can I do to prevent them from cracking etc?


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

That crack actually looks like an old coronet band injury to me which will cause the hoof to grow like that permanently. It's not unusual and shouldn't pose a problem as long as you have a good farrier. The location of the crack and abnormal hoof growth will mean that the hoof is slightly weaker in that area and if you plan on doing lateral work you may need shoes to support it.

As for the coloration, plenty of horses have hooves like that, nothing to worry about that's for sure!


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

NordicJuniper said:


> His hooves crack because of his TB lines. TB's are notorious for weak hooves, he has almost no hoof wall and if he is shod he has to have special shoes with pads and clamps. But he does fine, no limping or lameness as long as he isn't ridden on gravel or super rocky surfaces.



This is not the case. I have mainly owned TBs and only experienced cracks when they first came to me. You cannot blame the breed of a horse with a crack like this.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

sarahver said:


> That crack actually looks like an old coronet band injury to me which will cause the hoof to grow like that permanently. It's not unusual and shouldn't pose a problem as long as you have a good farrier. The location of the crack and abnormal hoof growth will mean that the hoof is slightly weaker in that area and if you plan on doing lateral work you may need shoes to support it.


I would not disagree with this.
Is there a scar there?
But even with a scar the crack can be controlled by the hoof being properly trimmed

In this case it looks to me to be more of an issue because of the nasty flare that has been allowed to continue putting pressure and causing the crack.


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## NordicJuniper (Jun 9, 2009)

Ok guys his was never a "help his hoof is cracked" thread. I didn't ask for help with that. 

1. He is NOT my horse
2. I have NO say in his farrier work
3. I was ONLY posting pictures to show his hoof coloration

If he was my horse and I had a say in what could or couldn't happen to him I would then ask for suggestions, because he is not mine, I no longer ride him and he is being given to a new home there is nothing I can do. So please stop posting about it as it was never a question in the first place.

Makes me hate posting here because when someone posts about ONE certain thing people have to go on and on about something completely different. 

It could be from an old injury, there is no scar that I know of. My friend didn't get him until he was 18 years old, he is 21 now and he was abused before she got him. We don't know a solid report of his past. 

Oh and sorry for assuming it was because of his breed, almost every single Thoroughbred in my area has hoof problems...so I just assumed plus the farrier said it was an issue with bloodlines and breeding. And as you can see by looking at his other hooves he has regular farrier work, only that one hoof is abnormal in growth. But we have never put shoes on to try and correct it because it doesn't bother him and he throws his shoes after about a week of having them.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Oops, sorry. I guess I didn't read your OP properly and was distracted by some of the other posts along the way. Didn't mean to offend at all.


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## NordicJuniper (Jun 9, 2009)

sarahver said:


> Oops, sorry. I guess I didn't read your OP properly and was distracted by some of the other posts along the way. Didn't mean to offend at all.


Oh no I didn't mean your post. I mean the people that just come on here and don't post anything that has to do with what I originally posted about and just assume that it is their need to tell the poster what is wrong with their post.

Junior is going to a semi retirement home where he will only be doing trail riding and light arena work. Not sure what his new owners will decide to do for him. Anything concerning him is out of my hands though.

It only bothers me when people assume he is my horse and go about telling me what I need to do and blah blah blah, suggestions are fine but only when asked for in my opinion.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

Why would you not post pics of 3 hooves then? I don't understand the need to post a bunch of pics and then complain when there is an obvious problem shown. 

I understand it is not your horse, but it is distressing that you say the horse is no longer in heavy work. 
You have to understand that we do not make comments to try to be mean, but we make the comments because we care about horses.


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## NordicJuniper (Jun 9, 2009)

He hasn't been in heavy work since the crack occured...not sure why you assumed he was. Just because I said he is going to a light work only home doesn't mean he was in heavy work before, just means he is going to another home where he will have light work. 

Also in case you failed to notice I posted TWO pictures! One picture of the front set and one picture of the back set. It wasn't like I took four individual pictures of each hoof. So your idea of a bunch of pictures must be completely different than mine, two pictures is not alot...

I am curious as to what you expect to resolve by posting about a problem I already know about but one that I can do nothing to fix? I am aware his hoof is cracked but since he is not my horse which you say you understand then what is the point of hounding me about the problem? If I could do something about it I would but I CAN'T!

I care about horses just as much as you guys do, but it would be like you looking at a neighbors horse with a cracked hoof, because it is not your horse you can't fix it just like I can't fix his...

I only get defensive because I am sick of being told what I need to do on a horse that isn't mine therefore I can't do anything.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

It was this comment that made me think he was in heavy work



NordicJuniper said:


> He is going into retirement now anyway :] So his hard riding days are over, he is looking for a nice trail/light riding home now.


And I apologize, you did address his hoof problem in your first post, I did not think that you did, I missed that.


As he was not your horse I would have been really clear to say that in the first post. It is not my fault that I don't know you and have no idea whether he is your horse or not. If you don't say, and post a pic of a horse with a problem, I am going to tell you that, as you are posting pics about colors while there is a massive problem, I am going to assume.


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## NordicJuniper (Jun 9, 2009)

That post only meant that he used to be in heavier work, but that about a year ago and his hoof wasn't cracked at all then. Since then he has been in semi retirement pretty much.

Sorry I didn't post that he wasn't mine, it gets tiring having to state that in every thread I ever have about him and I sometimes forget to. 

I would just appreciate if people stayed on topic instead of straying into areas that are not being asked about. I notice it happen a lot on the forum.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

ok I understand it is annoying to say that alot, and I apologize for not being familiar with him or your posts. There are a lot of people here, we cannot all be expected to know you. However I aplogize is I was off or offensive in my comments to you.


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