Therapeutic Approaches for Hoof Wall Defects

Hoof wall defects, especially quarter cracks and to a lesser degree toe cracks, are a common cause of decreased athletic performance in competition horses and frequently lead to foot lameness 1-4. Hoof wall defects are generally described by their location in the hoof such as a toe, quarter or heel crack 5 . Both a true quarter crack and a toe crack originate at the coronet, extend through the full thickness of the hoof wall into the dermis leading to instability, inflammation and/or infection. These cracks can be painful due to infection and / or more commonly, the result of instability caused by movement of the hoof wall especially the vertical movement of the heel bulb on the affected side or the toe of the hoof capsule in the case of a toe crack. The recurrent nature of these hoof wall defects involving a performance horse present a challenging and often frustrating problem for equine veterinarians, farriers and horse owners as these horses often need to continue to perform ...