# White Line Separation - Cause? Treatment?



## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

I had my first experience with white line this past year with a student's horse. The farrier had her use Clean Trax soak, then desitin diaper cream for a week after. They trimmed her often and did a second round of Clean Trax after a couple trims.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Yes, pics would be good. Cause? Well you answered that by saying she had some flaring due to being left a bit too long between trims. Instead of 5 - 6 weeks, can you bring her down to 4 weeks? If this is not usually an issue, I expect she is getting the proper nutrition she needs already.

And yes, keep it clean and apply medication. Wash with a stiff brush using sunlight dish soap water, or lysol water; rinse, dry and apply medication of choice. I personally use athlete's foot cream/antibiotic cream/zinc oxide evenly mixed and apply every time I do my horse's feet.


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## DressageIsToDance (Jun 10, 2010)

Sorry, I think I might have been confusing in what I said - she isn't getting too long between trims, the trim before the last they didn't take enough off. This time they did. And yes, she is getting proper nutrition. She is also on a joint supplement that also is for hoof/coat. Turnout with grass and free choice hay.

Edit to add:

With that being said, if it becomes necessary I could bring her to 4 weeks of course.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Same difference -- too long between trims, or too long after a trim -- amounts to flares which amount to pulling on the white line which leads to WLD.


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## Kymbadina (Oct 29, 2010)

I believe being overweight can be a factor too? My gelding developed white line(I was told because he had shoes on and moisture got trapped underneath) I said pull the shoes he said no(I had wanted them pulled previous trims) so I said thanks for your services I won't be needing to make a new appointment. And I found someone else. Pulled shoes, dropped some weight to get any strain off his hoofwall. Set on a 4 week rotation and kept his white line very clean. A wire coat hanger can make for an excellent tool to get in the white line and scrape(better than a hoof pick) thrush buster and now he's white line disease free with no separation 
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## DressageIsToDance (Jun 10, 2010)

She is overweight as well, but I have her on track to shed pounds. Shes not obese but she is still too plump.
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## ChemE (Oct 21, 2011)

DressageIsToDance, I have been experiencing the recovery of WLD with my horse since last July/August. I bought him last July and WLD was diagnosed with the first trimming of my ownership. The separation went nearly 3/4 up to the coronary band and about 1.5 inches wide. Farrier and Vet worked together to remove the affected area and told me to apply Blu-cote and keep it dry. He was not sore/lame from the removal of the dead hoof. Farrier put on a bar shoe for additional support and we went on to jumping (very small jumps). Previous owner would go 8 weeks between shoeing and I heard that he was always long in the toe. I've done so much research on this topic. I suspect that in my case, the long toe put a strain on the hoof wall and that made it start to separate and allow the anaerobic fungus/bacteria to enter. 

I advise to work with your farrier and vet to carve out all the separated area and treat with antiseptic (blue-cote or thrushbuster, etc.). This is important to expose the bacteria/fungus to air to kill it. I have also put my horse on "Replenishment Level" of Farrier's Formula Double Strength to grow his hoof out faster. I have seen a remarkable improvement and growth of his hooves and frog! We suspect that by his next shoeing in February, that the entire carved out area will be removed and he will be whole again  I can post pictures if you'd like. Good Luck!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Hi,

Separation is essentially due to laminitis &/or mechanical forces causing damage & separation. 'WLD' is the same as thrush - an opportunistic infection that finds a nice environment within the separated hoof. So to treat it all, it's important to treat the cause as well as treating infection, because once in there, if you ignore the infection, regardless what else you do, if conditions are right it can just eat away at the healthy tissue faster than the horse can grow it.

While 5-6 weekly is a good schedule for many horses, many benefit from & some do require more frequent. You talk about the trim before last being too long, saying 'more flar than normal'. This is a sign that it may be due to infrequent enough trimming, if she normally has flares - that means there is separation/stretching & the walls have let go their firm lamellar attachment with the pedal bone.

Without pics & more info, can only give very rough idea, but basically I would be trimming the walls right back & bevelling/rolling them strongly to relieve ground pressure from acting against the laminae. I would also keep on top of the infection, whether that included resecting, soaking, whatever.


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## DressageIsToDance (Jun 10, 2010)

Well, she really doesn't have any flair at all normally. I guess I didn't have the best choice of words there.

So separation is from laminitis, WLD is thrush essentially? So is this to say this is just WLD or is this caused by laminitis in my case?

My next appointment is set for 4 weeks though, this time. I'll talk to them about her possibly needing trims closer together.

I have pictures finally though. I picked them out and pressure washed with the hose.



































ETA: And I do realize there is wear on the toes. Those are the hinds, and this has been addressed by a vet and the farrier, and she does this in the pasture, not under saddle.


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## Kimmylikestojump (Dec 20, 2011)

Pete Ramey writes about white line disease thrush navicular disease hoof balance

Amazing article on WLD and WLS. I like the approach that Pete takes here, using diet, environment and a good basic rolled trim. He also goes into (great) detail about why WLS happens. Its a little lengthy (you should see his videos! LOL) but worth the read.


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## DressageIsToDance (Jun 10, 2010)

I read it, very informative. I can't help but feel like the wet conditions near the water trough in her pasture are the culprit though...being that she's never had this happen until now, and it happens right after she gets moved there. Her diet has nothing in it that could cause it. It's very low fat, and she gets nearly no grain. Just enough to feed with her supplement. Plenty of hay.

She was overweight from being on 24/7 pasture, which I did because she had just come from a barn where she was in for 20 hours a day and it was driving her nuts. She started to get a little too pudgey, so I took her off that and had her be in 12 hours, out 12. She gets plenty of exercise (3-4 days a week moderate and correct work), so she's also building muscle as she loses weight.

Either that or the trim is bad. I've tried to educate myself more on feet, but I keep hearing all sorts of different opinions. If it's a bad trim though, I would love to know so I can try to find a better farrier. I'll get more pictures of her feet so maybe you guys can help me.


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## Kimmylikestojump (Dec 20, 2011)

Lots of knowledgeable people on here...and we all seem to be freaks that like to look at feet! LOL How old is the trim in the previous pictures?


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## DressageIsToDance (Jun 10, 2010)

About a week and a half, give or take.


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## Kimmylikestojump (Dec 20, 2011)

Well, to me, a non-expert, those feet need a better roll to the wall. There is a significant flare on both fronts. The wet conditions aren't helping things but this flat footed trim isn't helping either. Right now, it appears as if the outer wall is the primary weight bearer. With white line separation, I would like to roll that wall to distribute the weight a little more evenly. 

Again, I am not an expert, I'll leave that to Missy and Loosie. I just think that this trim isn't helping. I wouldn't necessarily tell the farrier to go...maybe just ask if he could round things off a bit more.


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## DressageIsToDance (Jun 10, 2010)

I will do that...last time they said to me, "If we take off any more, she'll bleed"...so I suppose if that really was the case that was all the flare they could take off.

They've only been doing her since October though. I honestly haven't had too many trims I've been happy with since I've had Amber, although I must say her feet have improved greatly since I bought her despite this. She's been barefoot about a year and a half.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

She won't bleed by increasing the roll on the wall. Perhaps look at giving her some Hoffman's minerals, if she doesn't get them already. They made a huge difference for my mare.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Hi,

Need other angle pics to tell much about balance, flaring, etc. But it does look as though the quarters have been left a bit long for what she wants - farriers often do a flat trim from heel to toe instead of following the sole plane. As that's where the problems are, I'd take these areas right back, roll them well & if necessary, open them up a bit, to better treat them.

It's hard to tell from that angle pic, but it does look like there is very little if any wall height above the sole at heels & toes and continuing to rasp the ground surface of a thin soled hoof can indeed end in blood. But bevelling the disconnected/stretched wall to approximately where the (rolled) healthy footprint would be will help relieve the flaring & enable it to grow out without touching the sole depth or otherwise getting close to live tissue.

You mention the excess toe wear is normal for the horse, which could indicate heel sensitivity. It's important to treat thrush here, including cutting off any daggy or diseased frog tissue, but otherwise I think the frog's best left alone & the way it's been carved, if that is a regular thing, could make her 'tippy toe'.

If the vast majority of your paddock is dry, I wouldn't think one puddle is a problem at all.


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## DressageIsToDance (Jun 10, 2010)

She drags the toe, but doesnt tip toe. Her self carriage is completely differnent from pasture to under saddle!
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