Post by sellington on May 30, 2010 20:02:19 GMT -5
Hi all,
I am new to this Forum - you guys were recommended by one of your longterm members Luci :-) Anyway, I thought I'd throw this out there and see if any of you have any suggestions! Here's my deal:
My 9yr old TB (never raced) has had this hoof crack for a few years now, before I got him. It's the result of an old injury (looks like barbed wire cut over the back of his heel) that extends into the coronary band, so the crack will never grow out solid again. The vet doing my pre-purchase exam said it would never be an issue, merely cosmetic. Ha! This year, maybe due to an extraordinarily wet spring, the crack got soft and wider, and caused a bad infection in the hoof. We were able to draw most of the infection out, but have been unsuccessful at stabilizing the crack. So everytime he puts pressure on it, the hoof wall moves. My new vet tried stabilizing the hoof with screws and wire, but both came out after just 2 weeks - leaving the hoof even more messed up. Vet is hesitant to fill anything in because he's worried about trapping anything in the crack and causing another infection. It's been over a month now and he's still ever so slightly off, so I took matters in my own hands and started him on a 7-day antibiotic regimen, just to make sure I kill every remainder of the infection that might still be there. Now I need to figure out how to stabilize the hoof, at least over the summer so I can ride and give him time to grow back stronger hoof over the winter. Has anyone dealt with a crack of this size, depth, and origin? How was it managed? I greatly appreciate any feedback and advise I can take to my vet and farrier. THANKS!!!!!
I am new to this Forum - you guys were recommended by one of your longterm members Luci :-) Anyway, I thought I'd throw this out there and see if any of you have any suggestions! Here's my deal:
My 9yr old TB (never raced) has had this hoof crack for a few years now, before I got him. It's the result of an old injury (looks like barbed wire cut over the back of his heel) that extends into the coronary band, so the crack will never grow out solid again. The vet doing my pre-purchase exam said it would never be an issue, merely cosmetic. Ha! This year, maybe due to an extraordinarily wet spring, the crack got soft and wider, and caused a bad infection in the hoof. We were able to draw most of the infection out, but have been unsuccessful at stabilizing the crack. So everytime he puts pressure on it, the hoof wall moves. My new vet tried stabilizing the hoof with screws and wire, but both came out after just 2 weeks - leaving the hoof even more messed up. Vet is hesitant to fill anything in because he's worried about trapping anything in the crack and causing another infection. It's been over a month now and he's still ever so slightly off, so I took matters in my own hands and started him on a 7-day antibiotic regimen, just to make sure I kill every remainder of the infection that might still be there. Now I need to figure out how to stabilize the hoof, at least over the summer so I can ride and give him time to grow back stronger hoof over the winter. Has anyone dealt with a crack of this size, depth, and origin? How was it managed? I greatly appreciate any feedback and advise I can take to my vet and farrier. THANKS!!!!!
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