Archive for It's About The Horse The Free Forum for those Doing Parelli - and a whole lot More! "Anything forced and misunderstood can never be beautiful." Xenophon (430-355 B.C.),
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Newfman
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Limited permeability of hoof wallWhen I think of poulticing closed hoof wounds, such as abscesses or using "deep penetrating" products, I have to question the validity.
Special note, as things usually happen, the KEY word here is "closed" hoof wound. Not an open tract or sore.
Also, the use of hoof dressings, to make hooves "pretty", or to "keep them from drying out" Or "keep them from getting wet". There are a lot of products out there. All of them claiming to help.
For barefooters, I think you should read this article (which I hope to succesfully cut and paste) and think before you paint. For the hoofcare Pros. I think it is another nudge to some of your clients that insist that their backyard pony, in their 12x12 mud paddock/pasture/run or what ever they think it is, just has bad feet due to breeding or your trimming just ain't working!
Sometimes a little actual applied science can be an eye opener to those that believe in that kind of stuff.
Enjoy:
(I assume some may have already read this)
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Hoof Dressings: What Studies Show
By: Marcia King
Originally Printed in: The Horse (Article #3840)
Hoof dressings aren't always what they're cracked up to be--at least not in the opinions of some experts. Ilka P. Wagner, DVM, owner of Equine Veterinary Services (Texas), and Susan Kempson, BSc, PhD, senior lecturer in Preclinical Veterinary Sciences in the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, have studied the efficacy of hoof dressings. Robert Sigafoos, Certified Journeyman Farrier, chief of farrier services and director of the Applied Polymer Research Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, bases his opinions (self-described as "subjective") on 28 years of experience.
Purpose of Dressings
Hoof dressings are promoted to remedy cracks, splits, moisture loss, and associated lameness. Says Wagner, "Hoof dressings are commercially (prepared) or homemade external hoof wall applications that are 'reputed' to be beneficial to the growth, metabolism, and overall health of the equine hoof wall. Many products make label claims that they encourage hoof wall growth, strength-en the wall matrix, and even go so far as saying they prevent laminitis. They are available at most feed stores as well as over the Internet to the horse owner."
There are three types of hoof wall dressings that claim to preserve moisture of the hoof wall. Wagner identifies them as:
Primarily petroleum oil-based--These are usually "gooey" or tarry products. Ingredients might include neatsfoot and/ or cod liver oil, pine tar, petroleum compounds, and/or turpentine.
Primarily lanolin-based--These are usually more the consistency of hand lotion. Ingredients might include lanolin, lactates, stearates, alcohols, and glycerin.
Primarily containing a drying agent--Ingredients might include acetone.
The question is, how well do they work?
Hoof Permeability
Sigafoos has used some hoof wall products principally to manage hairline cracks at the coronary band, a problem that is very common in Standardbreds. "I have had some success in using prescription dressings that contain antifungal agents and steroids to control fungal infections at the coronet," he says. Otherwise, he believes that hoof dressings are of "limited value" for acute or chronic hoof problems.
Kempson has investigated the effects of hoof dressings on hoof wall by examining the permeability barrier in the hoof capsule and factors that influence it. "This work started in the mid-1990s and is ongoing," she reports. "Before I could look at the effect of hoof dressings on the horn, I had to investigate the permeability barrier in the horn."
Just as there is a permeability barrier controlling passage of water and water-soluble materials into and out of the skin, so there is one in the hoof horn. To study this aspect of the hoof wall, Kempson used water-soluble tracers visible with both light microscopes and electron microscopes. "The tracers are small molecules that travel with the water into the horn," she explains. "If the water can get into the horn, then it could also get out! The water could either travel between the cells or through the horn cells, or a combination of both."
She took full-thickness blocks of horn from dorsal walls, soles, and frogs of feet obtained post-mortem. She compared good-quality horn with poor-quality horn (i.e., horn with cracks).
"In feet with good-quality horn, there was virtually no penetration of the tracers and water through the outer pigmented layer of the dorsal wall," Kempson found. "There was some penetration through the inner non-pigmented layer of the wall both through the intercellular spaces (between cells) and through the cells. This indicated differences in the permeability barrier between the inner and outer layers of the wall. In a normal hoof, the inner layer is not exposed to the environment and is therefore unlikely to lose or absorb water through this horn. There was more penetration of the tracer through the sole horn and even more through the frog horn, but this was still only limited to a few cell layers--five to eight cell layers in the sole, and 12-18 cell layers in the frog, which is less than one millimeter."
Her findings regarding poor-quality horn were quite different. In these walls, the water and tracer penetrated deep into the pigmented layer and spread through the intercellular spaces and into the non-pigmented horn.
As part of the study, Kempson also examined how environmental conditions could affect hoof wall integrity. "Having spent several years studying the effects of nutrition on the hoof capsule, it became clear that the environment was also having an influence on the integrity of the horn," she explains. Therefore, Kempson looked at the effects of feces, urine, hoof dressings, heat, cold, and water--the various elements to which horses' hooves could be exposed.
For two weeks, blocks of wall, sole, and frog were either left in the test solutions, heated to 98.6°F (37°C), chilled to 39.2°F (4°C), or left in water. Afterward, they were exposed to the water-soluble tracers.
"The results were surprising," Kempson says. "Heat, cold, and water had no effect on the permeability barrier. The sole and frog horn left in feces for two weeks disintegrated, and poor-quality wall horn was also badly affected. Good-quality wall horn was only marginally changed. Urine alone had little effect, but combining urine and feces had the same results as feces alone.
"My conclusion is that the horn has a built-in permeability barrier," she says. "As long as the horse has a well-balanced diet so that he can produce good-quality horn, leave the hoof horn to look after itself."
Hoof Dressing Research
Formalin is extensively used as a biological fixative for routine histology, preservation of cadavers, etc. It can also be used as a disinfectant because it kills bacteria. When Kempson applied dressings containing formalin to the hoof samples, there was no change in the permeability barrier of either good or bad horn samples.
"Formalin causes the horn to lose its plasticity, and it becomes brittle and more liable to crack," she states. "With horn of poor quality, the formalin-based dressings penetrated deeper into the horn than in the good quality feet. This meant that the micro cracks caused by the formalin extended farther into the tissue and this let water and other materials penetrate the horn. The damage caused by the formalin-based dressings was greatest in the sole."
Poor-quality horn treated with formalin thus becomes more susceptible to infectious and toxic agents, and therefore this chemical is best avoided.
The study also showed that hoof dressings containing solvents and tar-based components damaged poor-quality horn. In some cases, the intercellular lipids or fats were damaged, allowing water contained within the horn to evaporate, thus causing the horn to become dry and brittle. In very wet conditions, using these hoof dressings allows water into the horn, and the feet become very soft and weak.
"When these products were applied to poor-quality horn, the damage was magnified, and I could not get results from some of the tissues because they had disintegrated in the test solutions," she notes.
Good-quality horn was affected in the same way, but it took longer for the effects to be seen. "It was also clear that the majority of the dressings that horse owners applied to the hoof capsule did much more harm than good. Most are unaware of what they are doing to their horse's feet. They apply the dressings with the best of intentions, but more research needs to be done to clarify the situation."
Wagner participated in two separate hoof studies done at Texas A&M University. One in vitro (outside the body) study was to determine if hoof wall dressings could alter the hoof wall moisture content under controlled laboratory conditions. The second in vivo (in the living body) study looked at the ability of certain products to change the biomechanical ability of the hoof wall to withstand certain stresses.
Previous research showed a relationship between relative hydration of the hoof wall and its mechanical properties. Wagner says, "If the wall suffers from dehydration or overhydration, it will become more susceptible to developing cracks and splits."
Thus, Texas A&M University researchers sought to evaluate the relative efficacy of commercial hoof wall dressings in maintaining hoof wall hydration. Researchers took hoof wall samples from 10 clinically normal, sound horses within 24 hours after euthanasia (they weren't killed for this study). "We coated these samples with 15 different products, let them dry over 48 hours, and measured the samples at certain intervals," Wagner says. The products were either mainly oil-based, lanolin-based, or contained mostly acetone.
"We did calculations to determine sample moisture content changes to see if these products could maintain the moisture content that was already there or increase it," he says.
Data indicated that several products under ideal conditions could maintain hydration of the wall for 12 to 24 hours. Control samples without the dressing lost much more relative moisture. When the three groups were compared, those products maintaining the highest degree of relative hydration in the hoof wall at 24 hours were primarily the oil, pine tar, and petroleum-based products, says Wagner.
"However, that's not necessarily a good thing because you can over-moisturize the wall and make the wall less strong than it was to begin with," he says. "Too much can be bad. I think there are situations in which it is apparent that the hoof wall is exceptionally dry, but that could have been an adaptation to the environment and not necessarily a bad condition for the hoof."
Hoof wall achieves its maximal fracture toughness when relative hydration is maintained at approximately 70-75% moisture. However, studies are needed to evaluate the best hydration level. It's important to remember that environment will have a significant effect on hydration of the hoof.
The researchers warned that results shouldn't be directly extrapolated to living horses, as normal horse movement can physically remove the dressing from the hoof wall, thus reducing its efficacy.
"In addition, the internal environment of the horse's foot may contribute to maintenance of natural hoof wall moisture as well," Wagner notes. "Obviously, this was not a contributory factor in this study."
The second study in which Wagner took part examined whether commercial hoof dressings could affect hoof wall strength in live horses. This study used three selected products applied to the feet of five horses for 13 weeks--a different product for three hooves with the remaining hoof used as a control. These horses lived in normal conditions, being exposed to rainy and dry weather conditions. For 13 weeks, lanolin-based and petroleum-based products were applied twice daily, while the acetone-based dressing was applied once a week (per label recommendation).
"At the end of that period, we took strips of hoof wall samples to the engineering department to measure the strength of the hoof wall," he says. "A lot of products claim they can change the protein structure and strength of the hoof wall; none of them made any difference. They didn't show any kind of change in the elastic modulus (flexibility of the hoof wall)."
However, the study notes that it's "still possible that these products are affecting the wall, but only to a certain degree. They may be influencing the outer hoof wall, which may not be evident in this study due to the use of full-thickness wall samples."
In reflecting on the studies, Wagner says that hoof dressings "are often prescribed for conditions in which the hoof problem is more likely due to a genetic problem of poor hoof wall metabolism, growth, or matrix that simply cannot be changed."
Problem Hooves?
What should an owner do to prevent hoof problems from developing or to help treat existing hoof problems?
Keep hooves healthy with regular trimming and shoeing. Practice good management--i.e., don't keep your horse in soiled bedding or in hoof-drying muddy areas.
Adds Sigafoos, "Consult your farrier or veterinarian if you are concerned about your horse's hoof health. Usually if horses have the kind of foot that appears to need hoof dressing, something else is going on. The horse may have brittle feet due to a dietary problem, inadequate shoeing frequency, or excessive toe length."
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PasoBaby_CarolU
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While is see this as an affective argument against hoof dressing to moisturize hoof walls, I fail to see how that would change the use of poultices to bring out an abscess. I've never seen an abscess come out a hoof wall. They come out of the sole or the coronary band.
In this case her horse was graveled. There are many articles on the use of poutlices in The Horse, here is one pertaining to graveling.
| Quote: | Treating the graveled horse consists of pulling the offending nail or the shoe in order to find the affected area of the hoof. The infected area is trimmed and allowed to drain, which relieves the pressure. To pull the remaining infection out of the hoof, a poultice is applied to keep the infection from progressing to the coronary band. The poultice can be applied in a special boot with a nylon bottom and a cotton ankle. It consists of a mixture of two parts wheat bran to one part Epsom salt, and warm water with a tablespoon of Absorbine added to it. Every 48 hours, the poultice should be changed, and twice a day, it should be rehydrated with a two ounce syringe of warm water.
Even with the poultice in place, the infection sometimes will emerge as an abscess at the coronary band. Once drainage has begun, and the pressure is released from the hoof capsule, the horse should become sound again.
Even with a fast onset that produces black or brown pus, the horse should recover in two to four days, if the poultice is applied immediately after establishing drainage. If the infection starts from a misdriven nail, the horse should still recover in four days if the poultice is quickly applied after pulling the nail or shoe. However, if the horse is suffering from other types of hoof disease or a problem such as laminitis, then the recovery time will be longer, depending on the severity of the other problems. If the inflammation was caused by trimming the hoof too short, then it will just be a matter of time until the hoof grows out. Bute or other NSAIDs, along with the poultice, can help alleviate soreness in the absence of infection.
Typically the shoe can be re-applied two to four days after treatment begins, although it might take up to a week. After the shoe has been on for a couple of days, the horse usually is able to begin work. Take it slow and start out walking the horse, then work up to trotting. |
And here is an article on healing abscesses. It not only recommends the use of poultices, but talks about drainage holes.
| Quote: | Healing Hoof Abscesses
by: Chad Mendell, TheHorse.com Managing Editor
September 01 2007, Article # 10476
Hoof abscesses are a major cause of acute lameness, but early detection can mean a quick recovery
One day your horse is perfectly sound, the next he's acting as if he's got a nail in his foot. As you wait for the veterinarian to arrive, you envision worst-case scenarios. The diagnosis? An abscess.
The good news is abscesses are easily treated if caught early. If you detect them promptly, there's a good chance the horse will recover completely within 48 hours. However, veterinarians and farriers are rethinking one age-old treatment method. Podiatry experts such as Stephen O'Grady, DVM, MRCVS, owner of Northern Virginia Equine in Marshall, Va., say continuously soaking the foot until the abscess "pops" might be causing more damage than benefit. Instead, experts suggest a combination of poultices and soak bandages that localize treatment to the affected area.
But before you can set about treating an abscess, it helps to understand the cause.
The Basics
Hoof abscesses are internal infections with the additional detriments of the horse having to continuously bear weight on the affected area and the abscess being locked behind a solid wall of hoof.
Subsolar abscesses typically cause mild to severe pain, often to the point that the horse is unwilling to bear weight on the affected limb. O'Grady says abscesses are common in all types of horses, but heavy, small-hoofed horses are at greatest risk because of the weight-to-hoof-surface-area ratio is greater for these horses.
Tracy Turner, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, a private practitioner with Anoka Equine in Elk River, Minn., says abscesses are caused by bacteria invading the hoof either by way of a puncture wound or separations between the live sole and horny sole. Debris then invades the foot.
"As the animal bears weight, foreign matter will migrate through the fissure until it reaches the subsolar or submural tissue (in the laminar tissue)," he says. "Once inside the hoof capsule, the defense mechanism within the dermal tissue recognizes the matter as foreign and sets off a reaction. The bacteria contained within the debris invade the dermal tissue, which leads to inflammation. The bacteria continue to grow and cause neutrophils (white blood cells) to migrate into the area."
Enzymes released from the bacteria and the invading white cells destroy the surrounding tissue, creating the gray/black pus generally associated with hoof abscesses.
O'Grady continues, "The inflamed area is quickly walled off with a thin layer of fibrous tissue to form an abscess. The inflammation and the pressure from the accumulation of the exudate exerted on the surrounding tissue leads to the clinical signs associated with a hoof abscess."
For the most part, shoeing horses is a painless process for the horse. However, if your farrier says he "quicked" your horse or that that animal has a "hot nail," this means that he accidentally misplaced a nail into the laminar corium (the living tissue immediately beneath the hoof wall). There usually is a trace of blood where the nail exits the hoof wall. Bleeding is one of the body's defense mechanisms to dilute or eliminate bacterial contamination.
"Another scenario that occurs frequently is that while the farrier is driving a nail, the horse shows pain, indicating the nail is invading sensitive tissue," O'Grady explains. "The farrier will then remove the nail, place in another spot/direction, and again drive it into the foot.
"When a nail enters dermal tissue (even if removed), it can seed the area with organisms and lead to an abscess," he says. "If the nail entered the foot inside the sole-wall junction, the owner should be alerted and the horse could be placed on a broad-spectrum antibiotic for three to five days as a prophylactic measure."
A nail doesn't actually have to pierce the dermal tissue layer in order to cause problems. Over several weeks, concussion and movement of the foot can cause a nail placed on the edge of the sensitive tissue (a "close nail") to cause damage. It can take seven to 14 days before you see lameness.
"Most of these lamenesses are acute- onset severe lameness, Grade 4 to 5 out of 5 lame," Turner explains. "This means the horse can barely walk on the leg and is frequently thought to be fractured. A strong digital pulse is usually apparent and is strongest on the side of the abscess."
If the abscess is long-standing, there might be soft tissue swelling in the pastern or above the fetlock on the side of the limb corresponding to the side of the foot where the abscess is located, says O'Grady.
Veterinarians and farriers use hoof testers to help diagnose hoof abscesses. Turner says hoof tester examination often shows pain over the entire sole, but there will be one area that is the most painful.
"Paring the sole with a hoof knife will usually show a black spot in the sole, which I think represents the track the bacteria made into the hoof," says Turner. "This track is followed to the abscess."
Treatment
Early detection minimizes the amount of physical damage. However, if the abscess is left unattended, the infection will follow the route of least resistance. This could simply be the entry point, but more often it will travel up the hoof wall and out the coronary band, destroying sensitive structures within the foot as it moves along.
Turner says once he finds the abscess, he prefers to create a small hole and drain the abscess from the sole (use gravity to empty the abscess). "I know people who soak them till they break at the coronary band or on occasion use nerve blocks to allow the horse to walk on it until it pops at the coronary band," Turner says, "but I always like to find the abscess itself and make it drain out from the bottom. I think this method reduces recurrence."
O'Grady agrees: "The most important aspect of treating a subsolar/submural abscess is to establish drainage. The opening should be of sufficient size to allow drainage, but not so extensive as to create further damage. The point of entry may not always be visible, as some areas of the foot, such as the white line, are somewhat elastic and wounds in this area tend to close."
Drainage preferably is done at the onset of lameness before the infection ruptures at the coronet. The horse should show marked improvement within 24 hours.
Forget the foot bath, encourages O'Grady. "As far back as I can remember, soaking the equine foot has played a major role in the treatment of common foot ailments such as abscesses, puncture wounds, corns, foot bruising, and laminitis," he says. "Over the years, I have questioned the therapeutic value of this practice. The principle indication for soaking feet is to soften hard hooves so that it is easier to pare the sole to expose and drain an abscess."
O'Grady says there's no question excessive moisture damages hoof wall. "The more the foot is soaked, the more the hoof softens," he says. "The wall begins to flake and separate, and the loss of integrity allows it to expand or bend outward. At the same time, the white line width increases and the sole begins to drop and becomes closer to the ground. As the softening process continues, the horse begins to walk on the sole, creating another source of discomfort."
O'Grady says many experts believe soaking damages the foot's protective barrier (periople) and widens the sole-wall junction, which allows more microorganisms to penetrate and further damage the wall. "The softened hoof wall does not hold nails well, so it is difficult to replace or maintain a shoe on a chronically soaked foot," O'Grady says.
Instead of soaking the hoof, use a poultice bandage (such as Animalintex) or drawing agent (such as Epsom salts). There are kits with all the bandaging materials fitted for the horse's foot (such as HOOFix), or you can make one yourself (see page 72).
"Following the poultice or foot soak bandage, the hoof is kept bandaged with an antiseptic such as Betadine solution/ointment or 2% iodine until all drainage has ceased and the wound is dry," says O'Grady. "At this point, the opening is filled with Keratex Hoof Putty, which keeps the affected area clean and prevents the accumulation of debris within the wound. The shoe is replaced when the horse is sound."
The horse owner also should review a horse's tetanus immunization status.
Prevention
Prevention centers on building a strong sole-wall (white line) junction, explains O'Grady. One way to do this is to keep your horse on a regular farrier schedule.
"Excessive toe length increases the bending force exerted on the toe, leading to a widening and weakening of the white line," O'Grady says. "Other conditions that cause mechanical breaks or weakness in the continuity of the white line are hoof distortions (long toe combined with underrun heels, excessive toe length, heels too high or club foot, sheared heels), hoof wall separations (white line disease, seedy toe), and chronic laminitis. Excessive moisture or dryness may also contribute to weakness in the white line."
O'Grady offers farriers a few basic principles to create a strong foot and strengthen the white line: "First, create a good heel base where the bars are preserved and the heels are trimmed to the base of the frog, or as far back as possible. This increase in ground surface allows a substantial amount of weight bearing to occur in the palmar (rear) portion of the foot. Sole is only removed adjacent to the white line to identify excess hoof wall to be removed. It is not necessary to concave the sole as this occurs naturally. The toe is trimmed appropriately and backed up from the dorsal surface (front) of the hoof wall such that a line drawn (horizontally) across the widest part of the foot will be in the middle of the foot. This assures that there is no excessive toe length. In some cases, fitting the shoes hot may be helpful to seal the sole wall junction."
The use of hoof hardeners (such as Keratex) and bedding the horse on shavings or sawdust can also help harden the feet in wet conditions or when the horse is being bathed frequently, O'Grady says. During dry weather, a hoof dressing such as a combination of cod liver oil and pine tar (mixed in a ratio of 3:1) painted on the entire foot can help to soften the hoof capsule.
Take-Home Message
A hoof abscess can sneak up on you in a hurry, but with proper care and attention, you can minimize the damage and your horse's downtime. If you suspect your horse has an abscess, work with your veterinarian and farrier to resolve it quickly. |
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Newfman
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There we have it...science-v-tradition.
I have no problem with poulticing a hoof with a known tract. It is no longer a "Closed Hoof" situation. (that didn't take long.) I have seen repeatedly, every time a horse comes up sore...."oh he has an abscess brewing!" "Quick, get the poultice!"
Again I turn attention to this quote:
| Quote: | In a normal hoof, the inner layer is not exposed to the environment and is therefore unlikely to lose or absorb water through this horn. There was more penetration of the tracer through the sole horn and even more through the frog horn, but this was still only limited to a few cell layers--five to eight cell layers in the sole, and 12-18 cell layers in the frog, which is less than one millimeter."
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I have the utmost respect for O'Grady, he has been a great influence on me, but do I agree with 'everything' he says???? Nope. If I did, he would be my only resource, and he is far from it. So, if he read Wagner, Kempson (et al) I wonder, would he reconsider this statement?
| Quote: | The use of hoof hardeners (such as Keratex) and bedding the horse on shavings or sawdust can also help harden the feet in wet conditions or when the horse is being bathed frequently, O'Grady says. During dry weather, a hoof dressing such as a combination of cod liver oil and pine tar (mixed in a ratio of 3:1) painted on the entire foot can help to soften the hoof capsule.
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PasoBaby_CarolU
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I think both can be true.
My observation here is that horses get rock hard, dry hooves in the long dry summer. Our clay seems to pull moisture out of the foot, much the way shavings do. In the winter, when the horses are in snow most of the time, the hooves become, not only very clean, but hydrated and pliable again.
Since they drink more water in the summer then in the winter, the increased hydration has to come from somewhere....perhaps through the sole and whiteline?
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Mandy'sMarty
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| PasoBaby_CarolU wrote: | I've never seen an abscess come out a hoof wall. They come out of the sole or the coronary band.
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I have seen what I am calling abscesses come out of the coronary band, heel bulb, and hoof wall. My experience is limited to what I have seen and treated on my mare. Mandy is barefoot. She has had very few of these events and has typically shown little or no apparent lameness.
The most curious event apparently occurred just before and during an endurance ride last spring. At our check-in vet exam, Mandy presented some short-striding on her right front as I led her at a trot over a gravel road. She was much better trotting over grass. She was barefoot during the first exam. I told the vets we intended to run the race with hoofboots on all four and the vets told me to boot her and they'd test her again. Fifteen minutes later we tested her with the hoofboots on and her short-striding was much better on gravel and she was perfect when on the grass. We were allowed to run the LD event.
During the 25 mile endurance ride, Mandy's left rear hoofboot buckle came undone 3 times. I somehow was able to "feel" when the buckle was loose during the ride and stopped and tightened the boot before it came off. The terrain was very mountainous/rocky and the footing was very muddy. Mandy seemed to be slipping at times and I attributed it to fatigue. Our race time was much slower than last year's, when she ran most of the race barefoot. And yet Mandy was now running the last flat mile at a huge extended trot, matching the lope of an Arab and rider in the 50 mile event that was trying to lap us. Something was odd.
Everything checked out fine with Mandy during the post race vet exam. That night Mandy did not sleep much. She was high lined near my tent and kept me up with her fidgeting. She was ready to race again, not realizing that we were done and going home at daylight.
Two days later, while visiting her back at the horsefarm, I saw a curious tiny slit in her left rear hoofwall just below the coronary band. It was the exact size and shape of the leading edge of the nail of my little finger. It was as clean as a surgical cut and the edges were slightly soft to my touch. There was no discharge. It wasn't until the next day that it occurred to me to be the eruption site of an abscess. When my barefoot trimmer inspected it, she agreed that it was an apparent abscess.
That's when I realized that the apparent right front lameness Mandy was presenting to the vets before the race was compensation for a sore left rear where the abscess was brewing. And that her hoof capsule may have been swelling and causing that buckle to come loose so many times during the race.
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Newfman
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Certainly an interesting event M's M.
In the article I posted I was particularly interested in the effects of horse manure on hoof horn. One could see how a hoof packed with manure could, evidently, significantly alter the hoofs ability to become waterlogged through the sole. Of course, from that we get the flat sole, sinking internal structures etc. eventual abscesses, tears, expense....for the want of a manure scoop and a person to use it.
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