# horizontal crack



## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

Hey, question for you guys....

Willy has a horizontal crack just beneath his coronary band that runs most of the length of his hoof and continues under the bulbs of his heel. He has no pain, is not lame, and has no other issues with his hooves.

He recently has moved onto pasture for the spring/summer, so he is getting more grass than usual, and I had him on a selenium supplement for a month on and off. My farrier is boggled by it, and the vet says not to worry. Just curious - have any of you experienced this? They both say not to worry, and just keep an eye on it. But of course, I'm worrying...

I haven't been on in ages, and I hope everyone's well-- any thoughts are appreciated.


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## barefoothooves (Sep 6, 2007)

Could be a cut, could be an abscess blowout (but they usually aren't that large). Also, if you aren't careful, excess selenium can actually cause a horse to slough off his hooves, so don't supplement without a real need for it, as it's easy to reach toxic doses. Some areas have plenty of it in the soil and grass, making supplementing selenium a dangerous practice.
Try to keep the area clean and dry, if possible ("yeah, right", I'm sure you're saying. ) It shoudl heal okay. I saw a horse that did this last summer and it went into the heel bulb on a hind foot, and the frog and one bar sloughed off,but the sole thickend to compensate and the bar is growing back.Never had any sign of infection. I was off on maternity leave when it happened, so I didnt' se the actual wound, I'm just dealing with the after affects. It was a cut on that particular horse.


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

Thanks...I live in northern California, just south of the OR border, and the selenium levels are pretty much non-existent. The local vet makes a mineral mix to compensate...I only had Willy on it for about a month, but I'm still suspicious. He is completely fine in all other areas...I'll be talking to the vet again today....thanks for your input.


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## happygoose123 (Jan 19, 2009)

thats exactly what my horses front hooves did at first. he had no pain at all so i didnt really worry about it. once it got about half way down he started to limp and it jsut got worse and worse from there. He had corronitis. if you could post some pics it would help alot and ill tell you if it looks the same as to what my horses hooves did. i hope for you and your horse that its not, pics would really help!

sorry if i scared you, i could easily be wrong! Lol!


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## happygoose123 (Jan 19, 2009)

also we dont know what caused it for chucky but the vets said that alot of green grass could cause it, and you said he is getting more grass than usual!


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

barefoot and happygoose- thanks for your input.

I will post pics tomorrow-ones today didn't come out well...I've decided to take pics everyday to document changes. 

When I went out to see him this morning his coronary bands were rubbery on all four because the pasture was wet. He has always gotten "pruney" bands during wet weather and I haven't worried about it since they immediately dry up afterward. Is this normal? Now I'm second guessing.

The coronary band on the hoof in questions does not look different at all- no scabbing, peeling, inflamation...nothing. But, like happygoose said, her horse had the same experience. I'll go ahead and post pics tomorrow. Thanks again for the input.


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

The worry with selenium is still there even if you are using a "vet mixed" supplement because you may have more selenium from other sources---concentrate or grain-based feeds, hay depending on where it is from, etc. 

I would get some blood drawn and sent off to check his selenium levels just to be sure.


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

Thanks for the advice, Ryle. Here are pics from today:

First and second pics are the hoof in question, the others are for comparison...he was out in pasture all day and it rained quite a bit- when his hooves get wet, his coronary bands swell a lot and become really soft. Anyway, I brought him in to dry them out, and I think I'll keep him in until I find out what is going on. Is it possible he is acclimating to the weather change (rainy as hell here in NorCal, and very dry other days due to season change) and being out on more grass? Do you think this is grass related? Is he in danger of founder (yikes!)?? Any advice is gladly taken---


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## happygoose123 (Jan 19, 2009)

its hard to tell if it was the same or not. it looks pretty similar. just be very carefull. there isnt anything you can do about it but chucks were kinda like that and as they grew down, the weight caused the hoof under the crack to separate casue nothing was holding it on. this sent his EXTREMELY lame!!! once the bottom part of the hoof was cut off (after it died) he wasnt sore anymore so he was only sore casue of the pressure (like a fingernail that has ripped off i guess). just keep the crack very clean (maybe even keep it wrapped and keep him out of the rain) so no stuff gets in there and damages the inside or gives him seedy toe or something, keep him out of dams and dont put him in a paddock with lots of grass. i would also take out any carbohydrates out of his diet. this is jsut what i would do until you find out what is wrong. just incase it is the same, better to be safe than sorry! to me, it doesnt look like nothing to worry about!!! but i could be extra parinoid casue of what happend to chucky. i would get a few differnt vets to look at him. i had 4 vets in total look at chucky! only 1 of them said he had a chance!!!! chucky is getting better now but it has been about 6 months and he still has a few months of recovery to go i think. so yea, just keep it very clean is the main thing! and start calling some vets!! good luck with everything!!!

i havent got any photos of chuckys feet when they just happend but here is a photo of his foot about 3 months after it happend, just for you reference. it wasnt always that separted, his wieght was pushing it out more and more as it grew out. its not a very good pic sorry.


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

Thanks for your picture (ouch!) and thoughts...

I'm going to a hoof lecture tonight by Gene Ovinick - I'll be showing him pictures of Willy's situation and see what he says. In any case, I checked on him today- still perky and happy, no pain or sensitivity. Vets will be out in a couple days for vaccines; I'll have them look at him again then. For now, he seems fine...

Any other thoughts?


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## barefoothooves (Sep 6, 2007)

Doesn't look like a cut/wound. Would for sure keep him off that supplement in the mean time. As that grows down, be sure to keep his hooves trimmed, so you can avoid what happened in the pictures to the other poster's horse, where the hoof gave way, though it's going to be hard to keep it from doing so, since it looks to go around the whole hoof. Bandages may not help, and may just hold in extra moisture and make it weaker, and provide a better environment for fungi, so I would probably not put any wrappings over it. The hoof wall is separating from itself, so any extra leverage on it will make it worse, and not trying to pick at shoes here, but they increase force on the hoof wall, and aren't going to do squat to help that hoof stay attatched.

Usually if it's a dietary thing, I would anticipate seing it in all 4 feet, but perhaps it just affected the most stressed hoof, or there was some sort of trauma to cause a flare up in that hoof. Keep us posted on the vet's diagnosis.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

Take him off the selenium.. He should be getting plenty from hay or feed. There is nothing you can do about it now except for keep his feet done regularly every 4-6 weeks and provide a well balanced low starch diet.. If you want to feed a supplement to make sure he is getting what he needs feed an all-round supplement. Good nutrition is crucial to good feet! I wouldn't ride him until his hoof regrows which will be 9months - a year.

Sorry this happened to your horse! That sucks.. (


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

Wow, I am hearing so many different diagnosis. I am completely freaked at this point.

What causes a hoof wall separation? Why isn't he showing any signs of pain? I am totally freaked.


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## happygoose123 (Jan 19, 2009)

as i said chucky didnt show any sign of pain or discomfort until it started to do the above (about 3 manoths after it happend) and he was his normal happy perky self!!! we kept his hooves as short as possible but that didnt seem to help at all. it took chucky's hooves 6 months to fully grow out, so unless there are other problems that come with it like chucky, you could probly ride him again in 6-9 months. and as i said, wrapping would help it as long as you keep it dry and clean. it will just help support the hoof. i would take his shoes off cause as above posters said, they put more pressure on the hoof wall. i dont knwo what casues it sorry, but a theory with chuckys hooves was too much of something to do with green grass or a toxin of some sort (from a plant or a bite). 

dont be fooled by no signs of pain, chucky was in no pain at all what so ever until about 3 months into the ordeal.


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

Well, a little update.

I'm a freak.

No really, so the deal is that Willy lives in a temperate rainforest, and me, coming from NJ, does not fully take this into consideration (even after 5 years). So, in other words, the climate here in Humboldt is WET for several months. In any case, Willy's hoof issue consists of a swollen coronary band that dries and gets wet, dries and gets wet, consistently for several months. The crack is part of the coronary band peeling off. His hoof is not cracked, and none of them are cracked. Phew! I went out today and most of the excess "cuticle" had peeled off (pretty dry here for the past two days) and all looks normal. Hilarious. 

Thanks for your input. All's well. Now I will go pass out from stress exhaustion.


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## happygoose123 (Jan 19, 2009)

HAHA LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well im soooo soso glad that its nothing bad and that he will be ok!!!!!!!! lol!!


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

It looks like his white feet may be developing the same crack. I do not like the angles and length of his feet either. I would find a new farrier and get his feet in better order. 

He looks like he's standing under himself in that full side photo. Does he always stand like that?

What exactly is he eating? Hay? Grain? Supplements? It could be dietary in nature.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

geewillikers said:


> Well, a little update.
> 
> I'm a freak.
> 
> ...


Good deal! Post some "after" pictures for us.

This makes me not like your farrier even more though, lol. He should have known what it was, or at least had an idea. I'd be farrier shopping right now if I were you.

Also, if selenium levels are known to be low in your area (or the area your hay comes from), then you can keep him on the supplement. They are for me, so I make sure to use a vitamin supplement that is high in selenium. If you're not sure, then I would discontinue the use of the supplement until you can find out.


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

You can/should get your forage tested for selenium levels. Then you know if you need to supplement or not. It has a VERY narrow range before it becomes toxic, so in areas where it is likely you are high/low its always a good idea to test.


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## zanytactics (Sep 8, 2007)

Aside from the fact that that crack isn't an actual crack, from the picture you took of the back of the heels looking down the the bottom of the foot, it appears that he has a thrush issue. That deep crevas that runs up the back between the bulbs of his heel is un healthy. You should treat that before it gets worse. I had a horse with the same thing. The longer it festers the higher his heels are going to grow and the more out of balance his feet will be. He toes are looking a bit long as well. Just an FYI, not trying to be rude or anything.


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will post pics of his feet ASAP.

luvstoride- I see what you mean about him standing under himself...haven't particularly noticed that before. I checked through all my pics and I don't have any other pics where he is doing that. 

Thanks for the thrush advice...I haven't noticed any black goo, or odor at all, but I do treat for thrush as a preventative measure. 

What is it exactly you guys don't like about his hoof angle? I think someone said they are too long? Willy's had the same farrier for about 5 years and is perfectly sound. I actually really like my farrier and he has an outstanding reputation in the area....just curious?

I will say that when the "crack" emerged it was very hard to tell what the heck was going on. I wouldn't blame my farrier for not naming it on the spot. In his defense, the vet had no clue either and our vet team is pretty amazing. Vet just said to keep an eye on it, and that it was no pressing issue- so did my farrier...and it isn't a pressing issue, so I can't be too put off by their lack of answers, right? Discuss?


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Standing under himself like that can be a sign of laminitis or founder. Laminitis can be slight enough to not cause lameness when ridden, but can cause slight changes in gait and/or resting position, and hoof health. If you notice him standing like that again, I would seriously look at his diet and try to get out to exercise him more. Even small amounts of grains or feed along with new spring grass can cause laminitis or founder. The "cure" is to cut out the grain/feed and increase exercise.


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## jensand305 (Apr 13, 2009)

finally an answer. I havfe been all over this forum looking for answers as to what is going on with my boys hooves. The weather has been wet dry wet dry here lately also and his back coronet cuticles seem to be peeling away from the hoof. I was freaking out. I will keep checkin this thread to see what the after photos look like. What ointments do you recommend to help with the dryness?


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