In a normal hoof, you're going to always have some little superficial cracks. Changes in
the hydration level of the foot, your moisture content will result in superficial checking
and cracking on the hoof. That's normal. Once you get accustomed to what's normal for your
horse, you learn to ignore those to a certain extent. But then you need to look for those
that are more serious and are at the ground. I think it's especially important, too, if
you see any crack that is following the horn tubule, and you'll see these little lines
that go down the hoof. If you've got a hoof that has pigment, it's easier to see those.
This pigmented hoof is much easier to see, and you can see, that's kind of a blind crack
right here. Basically, it's a crack waiting to happen. So, it's a structural flaw or weakness,
you'll see this very often on healthy feet. But, if they don't get maintenance regularly,
if they're allowed to distort, then that's your opportunistic region for that crack to
come in.
One of the things that we work with constantly is changes in moisture content within the
hoof wall. And we can't control that a whole lot, it's climate-based, it's environment-based,
and we try to minimize that as much as possible, try to regulate moisture in the hoof. Nevertheless,
it's going to have superficial checks and cracks, and the more it shifts from wet to
dry, the more you're going to see superficial cracking. It's kind of like your hair would
do if you went swimming every day in the summer. You get little split ends that you wouldn't
have otherwise. So, you get that superficial cracking, but it's superficial, it's on the
surface. And you don't really worry about those, except for reminding you that you need
to regulate moisture more and that you need to stay on top of your maintenance. If, however,
it's a superating crack or a crack that goes through the hoof wall, then you have to be
concerned. So you're looking for a crack that, or you're hoping not to find, a crack that
goes through the entire hoof wall, because then you have a structural issue. If you have
something like this blind crack, it's not an issue at this point, it's just a potential
problem. It tells you you need to stay on top of your maintenance, that you need to
work on balance, that you need to work on hydration, but you don't need to work on that
crack. You need to work on all of the other issues to make sure that it doesn't become
a problem.
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The real problems, the real issues with cracks are the penetrating cracks that go throughout
the hoof wall. And they weaken the integrity of the hoof wall and it's ability to support.
There are a number of things that are going to contribute to a hoof cracking. Conformation
is an issue, balance is an issue, moisture is an issue. So, you've got conformation,
balance, moisture - all of those mean that you've got to work on maintenance. And balancing
that hoof is the most important thing you can do. That means regular hoof care. In some
cases, if you're dealing with a crack and trying to recover a crack, you'll see a lot
of situations where you'll have a veterinarian and a farrier working together. They may do
something as radical as lacing - using stainless steel wire and lacing the crack. But, one
of the things that you do need to be careful about is to make sure that you don't trap
material behind that crack. If you use an acrylic patch or any sort of patching material
to try to mend that crack, you have to make sure that you are not trapping any moisture
and bacteria behind there that will create an infection. And this horse actually had,
you can see the remainders of a patch here, where he got patched and patched, and the
patches actually drove the infection into the hoof. So you have to be very careful that
you're not driving infection in and holding infection or creating an opportunity for infection.
The crack needs to be, in general, balanced, unloaded, and maintained.
Paying attention to cracks, recognizing the difference between superficial cracks and
cracks that affect the integrity of the hoof wall, it's important stuff.
Stay with us as we look at more hoof health concerns here at SmartPak.