Cracked hooves???

Question

We just put a down payment on a horse we wanted to buy. Everything is perfect, his age, he's gentle, well trained, but his hooves are cracked-not large cracks but all hooves have small cracks in them. The owner said the horse needs Biotin. Then why didn't she give it to him?I've seen cracked hooves before on horses in the stable where we board our mare and the farrier just trims them off. Should I be concerned? The horse is NOT lame and runs beautifully.

Answer 1

Some horses can have naturally dry hooves depending on the conditions surrounding the horse. But maybe the horse does need biotin. Maybe the owner hasn't been bothered to buy it. I would get your farrier to check his feet, and trim them back and ask him for help. I would then add biotin to his feed. Also I would use a good brand of hoof cream, like Kevin Bacon.. and for extra measure on the cracks I would use cornucresine. This should solve all your problems. Also you said that she trots beautifully so I don't think you have any serious problems. Good luck.

ps before buying a horse it is always best to get a vet to check them over, he will tell you if there is any problems that you may face in the future. Better to pay for a vet now than a lot later. :)

Answer 2

Small, superficial cracks aren't really anything to worry about.  If you are concerned that they might get worse, you can use some sort of hoof conditioner daily, and then if you want you could add a hoof supplement to his diet to make his hooves stronger in the future.

Answer 3

Well if he isn't lame, don't worry.

Ask her why they are cracked.  Talk to your vet or farrier for more help.

Sorry a shite answer I know!!!

Answer 4

Have your farrier give you some feedback on him, and maybe look to see if his current farrier is doing a good, balanced trim job. Make sure he is getting the right nutrition... biotin is very important. I would recommend Gen-A-Horse, I just recently rescued a horse that was very malnourished and had what seemed to be horrible feet. He started out with four shoes, and his feet were extremely dry and almost "crumbling." We put him on that, along with putting on hoof conditioner, and were able to pull his hind shoes, and are working towards the fronts. The hoof conditioner we used was by the company, The Natural Horse Vet. It is called Grape Balm Hoof Healer. I think that might have worked even better than the Gen-A-Horse.

You can get the Gen-A-Horse from KV Vet, through this link:

http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/product_famil...

You can get the Grape Balm Hoof Healer through the Natural Horse Vet at:

http://www.thenaturalvet.net/cgi-bin/gen...

Good luck!!

Answer 5

i wouldnt worry about it at all. talk to you farrier about it and see what he thinks. just keep an eye on him an make sure he doesnt go lame. as soon as he does be sure to call the farrier/vet right away

Answer 6

use Tuff Stuff. Maybe consider puting shoes on him if he doesn't have any. I reccomend Flax seed over biotin. It also helps their coat.

Answer 7

Have the farrier look at them and tell u what he thinks. She probably didn't give him anything because she was goint to sell him. Has he got shoes on now? If so why are his hooves cracking???

Answer 8

Hav the farrier look @ them but until then try some hoof CONDITIONER....NOT polish or sealant etc. :D

Answer 9

i dont know how bad the cracks are but a farrier would know best. my pony has no shoes when she gets turned out i bring her back in and find a few small cracks which get worse each time i turn her out this is just because the field has a few stones which she cracks her hoofs on so when the farrier comes he also just trims them off and smooths the hoof back to a rounded shape! im sure this is all it is if the horse is not lame and can canter trot and walk around fine then just get a farrier up to trim them when they get bad!

Answer 10

Your farrier should be able to fix this. Right now if its not causing a problem it should be fine. but this could become problem or cause long term effects if not taken care of correctly. You may want to have the horse checked by  a vet or farrier. It is a little strange that she knew how to fix the problem and did nothing about it especially if she was looking to sell the horse. I hope it works out, good luck.