The Unsung Hero of Equine Hoof Health: The Inner Wall 🐴💪
This inner layer, often overshadowed by the more visible outer wall, plays a pivotal role in the overall health and functionality of the hoof.
The inner wall is designed to be more pliable than its outer counterpart, thanks to its higher moisture content. This flexibility allows it to stretch and move in harmony with the outer wall, ensuring that the delicate internal structures of the hoof are shielded from excessive shock.
But that’s not all - the inner wall’s strength is key to maintaining a secure attachment between the pedal bone and the outer wall. Without it, the hoof would be unable to absorb the tremendous forces exerted upon it as the horse moves across various terrains.
So, whilst the outer wall gives strength and protection to the hoof the inner wall is the one doing most of the work.
The healthier the hoof, usually the wider the inner wall.
Ps … the inner wall is usually bright white in all hoof colours.
Bonus points if you can tell me whether this horse loads medially or laterally from what you can see in this video… 😎
So I’m a great believer in just letting abscess’ grow out at their own pace. Especially if they have burst at the coronary band… there is absolutely zero reason to resect the wall at the abscess tract. Just leave it to grow down. Maybe float that area of wall so it’s not fully weight bearing … but leave the outer wall doing its job. Protecting the inner wall.
I also don’t like digging abscesses out of the sole, I may have a poke around and open up any seedy toes or obvious spots but again you don’t need to open up the whole abscess to allow it to drain, and if you do you then have a very large hole of thin sole … or sometimes exposed sole corium on the bottom of your horses foot to keep clean and protected.
But the time they are at this stage there is plenty of new sole growth under where the abscess formed to remove the top flake of sole to prevent muck and grit getting trapped under.
This abscess blew at the coronary band at the heel about 9 weeks ago. So there is at least 9weeks of sole there.
Probably shouldn’t get me started on the veterinary protocols of dealing with abscess’ with box rest, bute and antibiotics… we will save that for another time perhaps …
This mare has an imbalance in her hinds where she excessively weights laterally, crushing the laterally heel and flaring medially. She’s part Friesian … I wonder if that makes a difference to hind limb movement 🤔
Normally this is managed pretty well with regular trims, but unfortunately she missed her last trim with me because she went out on short term loan. Normally there is a little rebalancing to do at 6 weeks but it’s minimal.
Thankfully it balanced up pretty well, just need to get her back on her regular cycle with the others to manage it again.
It looks like a nice little foot, but can you see the problem which has caused me to tell the owner they need to be careful with him over the next few weeks.
Comment below 👇
Ah Coco… do you think you could get any closer?
Perks of being a trimmers dog … front row seat to all the best bits of clippings and trimmings.
🤞 she doesn’t throw them up on my carpet later 🫠
I think if I didn’t work with horses I’d definitely work with dogs … they simply make life complete 🫶🏻
If you hadn’t seen I have an 11yr & 4yr old GSPs and an 8yr old Belgian Malinois 🐕🐕🐕
Wren puts up with a lot … but then that’s what made her the horse she is … nothing fazes her 🫶🏻
It’s always surprising not only how weak seemingly “good” structures are in shod hooves, but how quickly they can improve given the right environment, management and stimuli.
This mare had many things going on but one of the things that’s been interesting to document is the health and strength of her frogs restoring.
Onwards and upwards 🫶🏻
It’s been a long time growing … but now I’m one of those people… must #protectatallcosts
Well that was a big abscess … I think it goes all the way back to that bruise near the heel.
Very interesting 🤔🤔
These photos just came up on my memories … when I first moved the horses to this field they learned the stream=water…
Wren over achieved as normal 😅
So you know how to tell the difference between an over reach and an abscess exit wound? 🤔🤔🤔
When central sulcus’ go rogue …
The weird thing about abscesses … is that if they occur solely in the frog, sometimes there is no obvious lameness… the horse just bursts it out the heel bulb a few days later and no one even notices 🤷🏻♀️
This is because the frog is much more flexible and doesn’t create the same pressure build up within the hoof, therefore creating less pain in the corium.
When a horse has an abscess in the toe and this has to track up the dorsal wall to burst, it can be very painful and may require attention to help it either burst at the coronary band quicker or draw it from the bottom of the hoof.
I’ve watched this mare walk across this ice so many times…successfully.
Well … she misjudged it … the weather warmed up, ice was thinning, the surface slick, the puddle beneath deep …
She does like to give me a heart attack sometimes 🤦♀️
The only mark she had after this was a small cut on her back foot 🤞
Always pleased to see me 🫶🏻
I love how feet like these progress 🥰
Frogs were like blancmange (yes I had to google the spelling!) and now, whilst they are still lacking the hard callus a frog should have… they are improving 🙌🏻
We are still only 14 weeks into transition 🫶🏻
Did you know that the Knabstrupper is consider to be Denmarks oldest horse breed?
Dating back to 1536, with Spanish blood and bred as war horses. But only getting its own breed association in 1972!
The modern Knabstrupper, like Friesians, can be Baroque or sport type, with the former having to have 3 generations without outside bloodlines to be considered purebred. Sport type generally always has outcrossed bloodlines.
Got to love spots of all types!
Which do you think is the better angle to evaluate hoof health and structure function? I always find it fascinating how different a foot can look from different angles.
I also find it fascinating how people think they can see balance issues from the oblique side angle (the last in the video) because that angle you have no reference to the hoof’s balance at all …
Sole shot great for seeing:
🟢 Hoof proportions: length to width and toe length
🟢 Heel and frog health and width
🟢 Trim related to toe and bevel (you have to know what you are looking at for this)
🟢 Heel bulb balance and symmetry
🟢 Health of wall and sole
Toe-sole angle is useful for showing:
🟢 Concavity (good bad or excessive)
🟢 Depth of collateral grooves (and therefore the height at the back of the foot
🟢 Balance across heel bulbs
🟢 Health and function of frog
🟢 Flare in walls
🟢 Medio-lateral balance
The oblique side shot shows:
🔴 Height of heels … but not if that’s from contraction
🔴 Concavity … but not if that’s appropriate
🔴 Toe bevel … but not showing the toe pillars it sits between
🔴 Height of frog … but not it it’s healthy height
Neither shot on its own can give a full picture of hoof function. But the latter gives less … but it is pretty 😅
I find that the oblique angle, because it often shows the toe bevel back to white line people will think the horse is walking on its soles (some how ignoring the fact there is concavity, heels and frog on the floor… but I think it’s mainly because at this angle you can’t see the toe pillar points that the toe bevel sits between.
Which angle do you prefer?? 👇👇👇
🟢 Smooth non-trimmed live sole
🟢 Appropriate natural concavity
🟢Strong healthy weightbearing frog
🟢 Deep & open collateral groves
🟢 Thick supportive hoof walls
🟢 Pale white hoof horn
🟢 Mud from living in species appropriate lifestyle
🚩 Horse weights the outside of the hoof slightly, this is managed well but you can see that the frog is just pulling medially slightly. Sometimes I trim this … this time I didn’t.
Probably more of an amber than a red flag … just something to keep an eye on each trim and treat accordingly.
