Page 101 - Speedhorse June 2020

EQUINE HEALTH
“Horses can easily injure the coronary band if another foot comes up and lands on the coronary band—which may bruise or slice it.”
LONG-TERM EFFECT ON HOOF GROWTH
Even if the laceration is not very deep, it may have a long-lasting impact on future hoof soundness. If it doesn’t heal together perfectly, it may leave a weak spot in the coronary band where hoof growth is impaired. This may create a situation in which the horse will be prone to hoof cracks in that area for the rest of his life.
“Hoof growth may be impaired in the future, though some of these damaged areas improve with time,” says Cassells. “As the hoof starts to grow, a lot of these defects will grow out. Most of the time these horses will be able to perform and function normally in daily life and in competition, especially if they have appropriate shoeing to protect and stabilize the foot while the hoof wall is dam- aged and still growing out.” Special shoeing can take the pressure and stress off that area and allow it to grow out normally, without risk for separation.
“Proper farrier work will be paramount
in the future if there is a damaged hoof wall, but in my experience these horses tend to do very well. We just need to keep in mind that as the hoof wall grows out, there may be some
changes that must be done with trimming and shoeing in the future,” says Cassells.
The hoof horn grows down from the coro- nary band, and this area is responsible for the character of that growth. If there is too much disruption there, the hoof may be left with a chronic wall defect and an area that is not as strong as it grows down. “Horses can heal very well in that area, but we need to make sure that everything is lined up properly for optimal healing,” says Peters.
“With some of these injuries, it can take anywhere from 10 to 12 months for them to completely grow down and grow that new hoof capsule. It may still leave a hoof wall defect/weakness that may or may not be a potential problem for that horse’s later perfor- mance. Some of the weakened areas or defects that occur from a wire cut or any type of lac- erations may require inventive farrier work to help support that hoof for a while afterward.”
It is good to have your farrier on hand from the beginning to collaborate with the veterinar- ian if there is a lot of hoof wall involved. If the hoof wall is unstable, you need an appropriate shoe to support it—and eliminate any pressure that would tend to spread that area as it heals.
The hoof wall can take up to a year to fully grow out. Even then the hoof may end up with a mild distortion in that area.
Jillian Mills, DVM, DACVSMR, Presidio Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Encinitas, California, says the foot may need careful shoeing for the rest of the horse’s life to ensure there won’t be any stress on that weak area of the hoof wall that might cause it to crack and separate.
“If the damage affects the quarter, the horse may be prone to quarter cracks and you have to account for the heel of the foot growing at a dif- ferent rate than the rest of the hoof wall. This
is what generates the shearing forces that create the crack. It can cause reopening of the injury or a quarter crack up by the coronary band. If this happens, there will be bleeding which may result in clinical lameness,” Mills says.
The farrier will have to do some creative therapeutic shoeing to eliminate those shearing forces. “A lot of the time we try to unweight the back part of the foot on the affected side in order to alleviate the pressure that would create shearing forces on the hoof wall. This foot will require diligent management and may require special shoeing.”
“The foot may need careful shoeing for the rest of the horse’s life to ensure there won’t be any stress on that weak area of the hoof wall that might cause it to crack and separate.”
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