26/08/2024
Some fantastic info about hoof health in our wet QLD ground
Hi Guys 👋
📚 Seeing as I currently have a lot of down time, I figure I’d put my time to a little good use and try to post some informative posts. Lets see how I go haha! 📚
First up, the bane of many horse owners and farriers' existence – "Seedy Toe”.
What causes seedy toe?
🐛 Seedy toe is caused by a combination of fungi and bacteria that are found in some soils. These keratin consuming microorganisms are anaerobic which means they thrive in an oxygen free environment; this information becomes important when we talk about the management and treatment of seedy toe.
These microorganisms invade the white line through small cracks, separation or other weaknesses on the bottom of the hoof. The organisms generally (not always) track upwards towards the coronet band, consuming keratin on their way leaving a “hollow” in the hoof. Its important to remember that despite the name, it does not only occur in the toe.
So why are we worried about seedy toe?
🏥 Best case scenario, we resect a small amount of hoof wall away and apart from the cosmetic effect, light weakening/unbalancing of the hoof and the owner having to treat daily - life pretty much continues as normal. Worst case scenarios I've witnessed include pedal bone fractures and movement of the pedal bone that mimics laminitis. This will mean months of box rest, vet bills, intense treatment from the owner, remedial shoeing/trimming and considerable time off work for the horse. As well as the risk of supporting limb laminitis in the other limb. This is why it is so important to get on top of the problem ASAP and while it isn’t such a large problem.
Often when farriers resect a seedy toe tract, there's a line of black, soft “dirt” that the organisms have left behind. It's important for owners to realize this black tract is not the organisms themselves, but the byproducts left behind, resection must occur beyond this tract to remove the actual organisms. Remember how these organisms are anaerobic (dislike oxygen)? For me, this is one of the key reasons resection is important, not only to open the area to allow cleaning and treatment, but the simple act of getting oxygen into these areas will assist with killing the bugs causing the problem. This is also another reason I like to keep the area open till the microbes are eliminated (no further traveling has occurred in a 2 week period) and treated with a liquid (spray) rather than medicated mud/packing to allow the oxygen in.
💸 Resection by the farrier and 2 x daily treatment by the owner is often enough to get the problem under control. If your farrier is unsure on how far the resection is going to go or it is going to cover a large area, they’ll likely ask for x-rays to confirm how much of the hoof is going to need to be removed, before they start. From there, vet and farrier will decide on a shoeing/treatment plan based off those findings. This often can include barefoot intense treatment in heavy sawdust stable until all the microbes have been killed, followed by packing the areas with an acrylic (often mixed with copper sulphate) and application of a shoe like a heartbar to support the pedal bone while the hoof wall is so compromised.
There are hundreds of treatments on the market for seedy toe and most of them work, so long as the owner is diligent on treatment. Farriers often get lumped with full responsibility of hoof care, which is just ridiculous, we see your horses once every 4-6 weeks, all the time in between it is an owner's responsibility to care for the hooves. If an owner has truly been treating seedy toe daily and there's still no improvement it's time to call in a vet to take a swab of the area and find out exactly what microbes we’re trying to kill and what will eliminate them.
✅ Keeping your horses on a short trim/shoe cycle, in a clean environment (please minimize crusher dust/small rocks in yards and paddocks!), keeping good nutrition protocols, cleaning out hooves regularly and treating as recommended by your vet and farrier team are your best bets at keeping seedy toe at bay.
🤐 I could go on and on... but I feel I’ve covered the main points and have probably lost most people by now. My inbox is always open if you have any more questions or would like clarification on anything.
👍🏼 If you’ve enjoyed this post, please give it a “like” and if there’s a specific topic you’d like me to cover please comment it below!