Hoof cracks are caused by a lot of things. There are a lot of different cracks too. There are little vertical cracks that can be followed by chipping and flaring. There are big vertical cracks that can just be on the surface of the hoof wall or all the way through. There are parallel hoof cracks. There are cracks with dents or stars in them. Cracks can occur all over the hoof wall too.

    Will Shoes fix my crack in my hoof wall? Unless you have hoof wall crack in two, shoes aren’t going to make that big of a difference.  The shoe will only keep the hoof wall together as it heals and grows down too. Just because you have a shoe on doesn’t mean you can’t get hoof cracks, not even if you have clips on the shoe. If your hoof wall is crack in two the whole hoof capsule will expand and the crack will widen with weight and it will contract and the crack will thin when weight is off the hoof.  The crack should be held together as much as possible to allow the hoof crack to heal.

    If attended to properly a crack will not last more than year. Now I have seen people who have had a crack in their horses hoof for years, up to 5-6 years I think. Those cracks were there that long because of lack of proper treatment or the horse has a pawing habit that needs to be addressed.  Little vertical cracks can be caused by dried hooves or white line disease.  The links will direct you to a page on how to fix.

    Parallel cracks can be from a abscess popping out or the horse kick under a gate or a rock. Now big cracks, you have toe cracks and quarter cracks. They can be caused by pawing, improper hoof balance, too much flare or a rock. If they don’t have stars or dents on the hoof crack then they probably start at the bottom of the hoof. The stars and dents indicate an impact from a rock etc.  The only way to prevent the impacts is to remove that stuff out of where the horse is located.

     Toe cracks can be caused by pawing, toe flare, improper balance in the toe or a rock. If there are no stars or bents in the hoof wall the hoof crack started at the bottom of the hoof. Some guys will cut or brand a notch parallel to the ground at the top of the hoof crack. This does not do much. If the problem started at the bottom it has to be addressed at the bottom. I “V” out the bottom of the crack relieving the pressure. This will keep the crack form continuing to grow up the hoof wall. It looks bad at first but it will grow out like nothing ever happened. Next I make sure there is nothing for bacteria to grow in by running my knife or a Dremel tool  and widen the crack to allow stuff to flow out of it.

    I find this technique the best way to get rid of hoof cracks. It goes the same for quarter cracks. Generally quarter cracks are caused by excessive flares or rocks.  If you dress the flare then “v” out the bottom of the crack and finally open it up a little, they usually just grow down and out.  If the horse has a pawing issue you have to stop the pawing!!! Warning pawing is a mental thing that has to do with excitement or anxiety. You can’t just hobble the horse or do something that will cause a horse pain if the horse paws. Cracks  do take time to grow out. No one can just make them disappear.

    I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. Please fill free to comment, tweet, facebook, etc. This information is for all. I only ask that you make sure that the author me Gene Fletcher is put on all the copies. Thank you and if you have suggestions on topics please fill free to contact me.