Feet problems?

Question

My farrier came up a week ago, and it was hot and the flies were bad, he told me my horses feet were okay and he would come back in the early morning in a week.

Anyway, just the other day, my horse chipped part of the hoof off and my horse is limping. My farrier is coming the end of this week, is there anything I should do until then?

Why is my horse having a problem?

Answer 1

If the hoof wall is too long, it will chip and it is not a big deal.  Just because your horse has a chip in the hoof, this will not cause lameness.  I would look for an alternative reason for the limping.  If your horse is obviously lame, you should call your vet immediately.  I presume you have looked at your horse's feet, cleaned them, checked them for foreign objects, all the basic things, checked his legs for obvious injuries, etc.  Again, call the vet.  You need to know what is wrong before you begin any type of treatments.  You don't want to just take a wild stab and do things to your horse that are unnecessary and could be harmful.   You have to KNOW what is wrong before you can treat it.   Make sense???  good luck.

Answer 2

dont condition it because belive it or not that will make the chipping worse-- if you dont believe me i think there is an article in the newest Equine Wellness magazine about it-- good luck! hope you horse feels better!

oh and another thing i just thought of soak it in warm water mixed with epesome salt-- that should realeve some tension and soothe the pain a little

Answer 3

I'm sorry to hear that and I can't help thinking that maybe your farrier is partly to blame if the hoof is chipped because it was in need of trimming and your farrier postponed doing that until an early morning of the following week because as you said, when he was there "it was hot and the flies were bad." Of course it would be best if you could get the farrier back before the end of the week but in the meantime I would suggest that you wash the hoof good with an antibacterial soap and rinse and dry the hoof real good and then apply an antibacterial salve and put it in a clean hoof boot to prevent infection until your farrier returns later in the week.

Answer 4

your horse probabbly chipped a little to close to the frog and you could soake inwarm water or cold hose it

Answer 5

Has it been dry lately? I live in a real dry climate and one of my horses has had problems with his hooves cracking and chipping off. You can buy some stuff to put on the hoof to help it retain moisture, which I've started doing. I can't remember the name off hand but go by your local horse supply store and ask them.

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...

Answer 6

if you dont have a medicine boot i would put a diaper ( infant size) on the foot , wrap with vet wrap and a top layer of duck tape.. it will keep the foot from getting more broken up and getting a stone bruise. if your horse gets a stone bruise chances are it will take weeks to a month to heal and besound.

the summer time horses feet are dryer, they grow faster and from stomping at the flies their feet will break up faster and more pieces will fall off.

what breed is your horse? thoroughbreds are known for having weaker feet, they are known for their hoof walls to be thinner then say a quater horses feet which tend to be in better shape.

good luck!

Answer 7

I would take a medicinie boot and put it on him till the farrier comes. I am sure you know horses have a white line kinda like our nails and if you rip off your nail past that line it hurts well it your horse chips his hoof behing that line  it hurts so putting it in a boot of some type is useful becuase it provents pressure being put on it and him stepping on stones with it and so forth. Its kinda like a bandaid on our hang nails it just feels better and does work..