Telltale Signs Of Warning Cracks

Quarter cracks are one of those things that farriers regularly have to deal with. Hans Castelijns, a farrier and veterinarian who practices in Italy, says that if you are dealing with a horse whose hooves are rotated inward or outward, you're more likely to encounter quarter cracks. This rotation, he says, results in an upright foot and often a higher-than-normal palmar or plantar angle.

"This has to do with that the hoof capsule on a rotated limb will adapt be becoming diagonal, across the hoof," he explains. "That's actually a pretty good adaptation for the horse for movement, because it actually brings the two heels at 90 degrees to the direction of movement. But it means that there's a deformation, usually of steep inside heels that slant upward."

That deformation, over time, creates internal pressures within the hoof capsule that can lead to quarter cracks.

"If you have a horse that is rotated inward, it will be in the medial heel," he says. "And if it's a horse that is very turned out, it will be in the lateral heel or quarter."

Castelijns discussed these types of quarter cracks during a presentation at the 2009 International Hoof-Care Summit. A story on this presentation, which includes a description of a "double-trim" method he uses to alleviate this condition, will appear in the July/August 2009 issue of American Farriers Journal.

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