hoof separation--***PHOTOS added page 3***

Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

barnbum

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Messages
2,481
Reaction score
27
Location
Finger Lakes, New York
The farrier stopped trimming Rosie when the foals started getting trimmed by him, about 5 months ago. Hubby trims/rasps all but the foals. I noticed Rosie has a space between her hoof wall and the soul, so I had my farrier check her today. He said her hoof is separating a bit and it is most likely caused from her stomping flies this summer. He said Mark has done a nice job trimming her, but to fix the problem, he trimmed more at the separating spots and filed so the fronts are more rounded. He said she needs to stay trimmed short for a bit. So, the plan is Mark will rasp her hooves every few weeks, and Rosie is back on the list for the farrier to trim every eight when he comes for the foals. He said to call him any time and he'll come out to check her.

I've never had a horse with this before. I'm hoping it won't be a problem. I'll have to really keep the flies off next summer--leg wraps, maybe.

Has anyone had experience with this issue?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not saying it can't happen, but the stomping of fly thing seems a bit out there for me. I do have one with separation of the wall,,,due to IR and founder.

I would check into it a little more if I were you. Never hurts to have a second opinion.
 
Actually you have read about this on the forum before and just didn't realize it. Hoof separation, where there is a space between the hoof wall or horn and the sensitive inner structures is also known as laminitis. What your horse is experiencing is slight laminitis caused by flares in the hoof wall from excess length which puts pressure on the laminae and pulls them away from the hoof wall. That is why it is so important to deal with flares immediately. This can easily occur due to stomping flies as that puts extra stress on the feet and you do tend to see more of it in the summer but then that is when the hooves grow particularly well too and the flare must be present.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
hoof wall separation can be caused by white line disease. my gelding gets it once a year. the hoof wall needs to be removed in the spots where the separation is and the feet kept clean and dry. usually the white line will appear dirty.stomping at flies DOES NOT CAUSE separation in the hoof wall!! some horses are more prone to this. donkeys tend to get it more often. (also referred to as seady toe) no worries just some little bacteria that gets into the white line.

Taylor
 
No, it's not seedy toe. I researched this after the farrier left and there's no infection at all--but an absess is what could happen if something gets stuck in the opening. I'm reading my "Complete Horse Care Manual" and the seedy toe description doesn't describe what's going on with Rosie. She's not lame at all--has no discomfort from this. The farrier said in some horses this clears up, and in others it's an issue all the time.
 
Ijust wanted to suggest a second opinion as when I had my horse at Purdue University, they told me many times a hoof problem starts with the inside of the horse and is often over looked.

Hope it's simple.

Good luck
 
A seperation like that can be from white line disease caused by a fungus. I have had two mares with it, treated with a thrush remedy my farrier uses and keep the part of the hoof that had seperated trimmed short so no pressure was on the wall there. They both are now normal...think of it like the fungus some people get under their toenails that makes the nail come loose! Neither horse has had a recurrance though we certainly have had a return of flies each year!!
default_biggrin.png
 
Thanks, Frankie. Everything else seems fine with her. The vet's been here too many times this year, so everyone has been looked over well.
default_rolleyes.gif
I took Rosie for a two mile walk yesterday to watch for anything...and she appears 100%.
default_smile.png


Oh--thanks, Stormy... I didn't see your reply at first.
default_smile.png
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Is it that the white line is wider than it should be? I'm not sure just what you're seeing, since you mention a hole that something could get into. You can have a wide white line without seedy toe, and you can have actual seedy toe--the wide white line is often an early symptom of a problem You can also have a bit of seedy toe without the horse showing any lameness--I've seen that too, in more than one show Morgan that had the hoofs built up to enhance the movement.

I've also seen horses with a hoof wall that kind of splits off from the rest of the foot, and I wonder if this is what you're meaning. I've seen this in dry weather, particularly if the hoof gets a little bit too long--it might break off, or part of it might break off, but some of the hoof wall just kind of peels away a little bit, leaving an actual opening between it & the tissue underneath. It doesn't make the horse lame (unless it were left & became too severe I suppose, then it might). It's not necessarily even the entire wall, just the outside half kind of peels away from the inside half. The space under the peeled away part can get packed with dirt/mud, but even then I haven't seen a horse get lame from it. The hoof doesn't have to be excessively long to do this--I'm not meaning it's a sign of neglected feet at all!
 
No, it's not seedy toe. I researched this after the farrier left and there's no infection at all--but an absess is what could happen if something gets stuck in the opening. I'm reading my "Complete Horse Care Manual" and the seedy toe description doesn't describe what's going on with Rosie. She's not lame at all--has no discomfort from this. The farrier said in some horses this clears up, and in others it's an issue all the time.
It is called seady toe when in the toe but it is the same as white line disease. white line disease doesn't usually cause lameness unless it is an extreme case affecting most of the white line. if you could take some pictures that would be more helpfull!!

Taylor

(farrier)
 
Hmm...I can get photos on Wednesday. Nothing is peeling...it's nothing severe. She's never been long...

The farrier didn't say anything about white line disease--so it's not that....he would have mentioned it.

Here's a picture of kind of what it is--but this is way worse: hoof separation
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What you describe sounds exactly like white line disease. Can cause separation, can be due to stomping, wet conditions followed by dry etc. Not a big deal at all unless they get bacteria or grit in the line and then it can cause a gravel and other issues etc. I was plagued with this summer of 2008 with my guys and sounds exactly like what you described. Between the hoof wall and the sole it looked like I dug a small ditch with the hoofpick and stuff was packing in.... Read up on Pete Ramey's web site for photos and recommendations, but I do think white line issues, not laminitis. Doesn't take more than a tiny bit of inflamation in the sensitive laminae to make the horse very sore. My guys were fine, but clearly starting a problem.. I sprayed the feet daily with a dilute lysol solution. Kept the bacteria out and helped clean and tighten things up on the feet. They recommend soaking, however I found the spraying worked just fine for me. Kept the boys trimmed every 5-6 weeks max. Then finally I put in pea gravel in my loafing area and all issues with the feet went away since they had a chance to dry out and get strong. Don't get talked into packing the feet in pine tar or putting on dressing and such. Trim often, treat with dilute lysol, let the feet dry out and you can supplement with flax too. This time of year around here the grass starts to collect dew about dusk and stays wet until noon. Prime conditions for white line issues. Feet are just too wet, they can be too wet without thrush.. best wishes.
default_saludando.gif
 
Yes--shorthorsemom--that's it!

Between the hoof wall and the sole it looked like I dug a small ditch with the hoofpick and stuff was packing in
You described it perfectly. I always spray hooves with hydrogen peroxide, so that should work the same? I will pick up that metal pick the farrier mentioned--but he said to not dig too much in--just surface cleaning.
It hasn't been too muddy or too wet this summer and fall. My horses are all stalled at night--in dry stalls, so whatever it's doing outside they have a break from. They are fed whole flax too--but about 5 months ago I reduced them to once a day vs. twice. Maybe Rosie needs it twice again. She will get rasped every 3-4 weeks, then trimmed by the farrier every 8--so she'll be kept short and filed.

Thanks so much for your reply. I'll surely keep my eye on her. It was caught so early, so it's not bad--sometimes when I checked her while waiting for the farrier, we couldn't find the problem. Rosie's going to get very good at having her feet played with.
default_wink.png
 
Hi Karla,

Not sure if this will be any help but it sounds very much like what out quarter horse stallion had - this was several years ago when we raised quarter horses.

We had his hoof x-rayed and worked closely with our farrier and our vet.

It was diagnosed as a start of white line disease. We soaked his foot once a day with a mixture of iodine/epsom salts and warm water. I was told that the important thing was to keep his feet as dry as possible and to make sure the affected area was exposed to the air. I would always dry his hoof completely when I took it out of the mixture.

It must have felt good because this huge stallion would stand there with his foot in the mixture while I went about with my other chores.

He did fine and often if we had wet, muddy paddocks it would flare up, again. I would just start back with his treatments and soon his foot would clear up.

Good luck with your precious Rosie, I know she will be fine - give her an extra special hug from me.
 
It sounds similar to what I have been dealing with on my mare that I rescued. At first, her hooves looked similar to the pictures on the link (after getting trimmed a few times, her feet were severely overgrown). She didn't have the crumbly white material coming out of her hoof. The farrier thinks she had a case of whiteline disease (seedy toe), but somehow it has resolved itself.But her white line is gone...nonexistant (hence, "dug a ditch with a hoofpick") Now her hoof walls on all four feet seem to be severely seperated. We soak her feet and have to keep her feet dry as possible, to try to prevent more bacteria growth. She is on supplements to get her hooves to grow stronger and trims every 2-3 weeks to remove the damaged hoof wall and take her toes off.

To me....is sounds like you might want to treat it like white line disease, just to be on the safe side.
 
Maggie used to get white line disease(wasn't founder, had her tested) bad on her front hooves when we lived at the old farm during the winter. The soil was a sharp sand which started much of the problem with her.

Only way to get rid of it, is have a knowledgeable farrier cut off all the outer affected area's, and rebuild the hoof with a medicated bonding material. Then he built up shoes for her with simular material, to help keep the bonding in place.

It is very important to get all of the diease cut out, other wise it will happen over and over again.

Luckily she was in her special shoes when we moved here and already being treated. We just have grass and clay soil,, knock on wood, we haven't had any more white line issues.
 
Hi BarnBum

the pictures that you posted of what..kinda... your horses hooves look like.. appear like they are just being effected by either really dry or really wet conditions (hard to tell without seeing!) if you picture the live tissues that form the shape of the sole , indenting at the white line, kinda doming the sole. I was just wondering the footing that your horse is on during the day and night? if too wet it can cause all the false sole to sluff off and form that separation at the white line(rinses off the exfoliating sole a little too soon), and if too dry a callus will form in the same area with the same gap. these pics are not what my gelding gets which is white line disease. But i do see this in my mom's quarter horses when I go to trim them. It is usually the ones who are a little thin soled an when the temperature drops or rises.

but i would still like to see pictures (when you get a chance)

Hope i can help

Taylor
 
Just thought that I would say that I find the average toe length (from coronary band to the ground) in miniature horses is 2 1/2" (I trim alot of minis, being a trainer, breeder, and farrier!!!) heel roughly 1/2" to 3/4" These are just averages and I hope your professional farrier knows the boundaries!!!

Barnbum

i will try to get picture (unless i see one from you) of what i think your horses hooves look like as i live in a area where i see everything!

Taylor
 
I just have to say none of my horses have any laminitis, or founder issues and stomp flies all summer even with bug stuff on.

I have had just about every one of my horses large and small have hoof separation at one point or another. Every single time this has happened its a simple matter of doing their feet a little more often or rasping their feet every 3 weeks in between farrier visits. (Which are usually every 6-8 weeks but sometimes something happens or my farrier or myself have to go out of town)
 
I'll get pictures tomorrow (Wed) to show you. My farrier is outstanding, so I trust him 100%, which feels so nice.
default_smile.png
He knows the boundaries.

To answer a few questions--it really hasn't been too wet or too dry here at all. We've had very balanced seasons this year. Muddy for a few days--then it dries up, but not to a dusty state. All the pastures have very short grass--and are what I'd consider soft. Nothing sandy, nothing hard. Stalls are always dry with shavings--dirt floors. There's nothing harsh and nothing extreme that's lasted more than a few days. That's one part that seems odd to me. It'd be easier to understand if we have had extreme conditions--as in years past.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I appreciate reading through them. Off to the barn for chores and to clean Rosie's feet!
default_smile.png
 

Latest posts

Back
Top