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Coronary crack
Post At
11/ 5/2003 - 4:23 pm
reply from
dBoard Archive
Name: Louise WelshSubject: Coronary crack
Email: lwelsh@state.mt.us
My husband is a certified farrier who studied under Ras Rasmussen in New Mexico. He's come across a certain animal that has posed a challenge on how to fix him. This horse has a fracture in his hoofwall right next to the coronary band. The crack comes and goes but always returns in the same area. (large horse with smaller feet, foot in question has contracted heel) Without boring you with too many details I thought that it would be nice to get an outside opinion. The owner tends to read too much and has all kinds of hairbrain ideas on how to fix it, most of which go against all sense and good training. I want your opinion. Appreciate the help!
Louise Welsh, Montana City, Montana
Email: lwelsh@state.mt.us
My husband is a certified farrier who studied under Ras Rasmussen in New Mexico. He's come across a certain animal that has posed a challenge on how to fix him. This horse has a fracture in his hoofwall right next to the coronary band. The crack comes and goes but always returns in the same area. (large horse with smaller feet, foot in question has contracted heel) Without boring you with too many details I thought that it would be nice to get an outside opinion. The owner tends to read too much and has all kinds of hairbrain ideas on how to fix it, most of which go against all sense and good training. I want your opinion. Appreciate the help!
Louise Welsh, Montana City, Montana
Reply at
11/ 5/2003 - 4:23 pm
reply from
dBoard Archive
Name: Nate Allen
Email: allenk@sr66.com
Hi Louise,
I'm interested in more details about your husband's horse case with the coronary band fracture (crack). Is the crack vertical or horizontal? Is the crack on the inside hoof wall or outside wall and did it start at the hairline or ground? What things has your husband tried that have either worked well or not so well? How long has the horse had the crack and were there any particular events that could be traced to the crack? I am interested in hearing more details.
I'll look for your response on the message board.
Nate Allen, Farrier Instructor
Mesa Technical College
Tucumcari, NM
Email: allenk@sr66.com
Hi Louise,
I'm interested in more details about your husband's horse case with the coronary band fracture (crack). Is the crack vertical or horizontal? Is the crack on the inside hoof wall or outside wall and did it start at the hairline or ground? What things has your husband tried that have either worked well or not so well? How long has the horse had the crack and were there any particular events that could be traced to the crack? I am interested in hearing more details.
I'll look for your response on the message board.
Nate Allen, Farrier Instructor
Mesa Technical College
Tucumcari, NM
Reply at
11/ 5/2003 - 4:23 pm
reply from
dBoard Archive
Name: Louise Welsh
Email: lwelsh@state.mt.us
Thank you for your response Nate. I tried to pronounce where you were from and my husband knew right away. Anyway here are those facts for you.
o Horizontal crack on the outside wall starts at the coronary band (hairline) then turns vertical.
o Eventually crack goes through to ground surface at which point horse is lame.
o Previous farrier shoed animal low in the heels.
o Animal also has contracted heels.
o Horse is 1400-1500lbs. continually been shod with #1 shoe on fronts.
o How long? Roughly on and off for three years.
o What's been done by husband? Stood horse up to 58 degrees. The crack stopped going through to the quarter but didn't change horizontal crack which stayed at coronary band.
o At this point another farrier recommended to pull outside hoofwall down resulting in more weight on the sole to relieve pressure on the crack. This, in my husband's opinion, could cause further trauma to both the navicular and coffin bone region as well as to the sensitive sole.
o Event traced to crack? Poor shoeing (too tight & too small)
Let me know if you need more information. Sanford doesn't like computers so I get to play secretary. I'll be watching for your response on the message board. Thanks Nate!
Email: lwelsh@state.mt.us
Thank you for your response Nate. I tried to pronounce where you were from and my husband knew right away. Anyway here are those facts for you.
o Horizontal crack on the outside wall starts at the coronary band (hairline) then turns vertical.
o Eventually crack goes through to ground surface at which point horse is lame.
o Previous farrier shoed animal low in the heels.
o Animal also has contracted heels.
o Horse is 1400-1500lbs. continually been shod with #1 shoe on fronts.
o How long? Roughly on and off for three years.
o What's been done by husband? Stood horse up to 58 degrees. The crack stopped going through to the quarter but didn't change horizontal crack which stayed at coronary band.
o At this point another farrier recommended to pull outside hoofwall down resulting in more weight on the sole to relieve pressure on the crack. This, in my husband's opinion, could cause further trauma to both the navicular and coffin bone region as well as to the sensitive sole.
o Event traced to crack? Poor shoeing (too tight & too small)
Let me know if you need more information. Sanford doesn't like computers so I get to play secretary. I'll be watching for your response on the message board. Thanks Nate!
Reply at
11/ 5/2003 - 4:23 pm
reply from
dBoard Archive
Name: Nate Allen
Email: allenk@sr66.com
Hi Louise and Sanford,
Sounds like this horse with the coronary crack has all the right challenges for a good battle to heal the crack. If you have not already done so, you may want to have another farrier or veterinarian that works on horses take a glance just to get a second opinion.
We had a horse that we worked on some time back at the college which had a pretty serious quarter crack. The crack was horizontal about 1/2 inch below the hairline in the outside quarter of the hoof wall. The crack had also begun to crack vertically toward the ground, about 1/3 of the way down the wall. When we first saw the horse, the crack was open with some bleeding. We approached the horse with the idea of relieving the pressure of the crack at the ground surface of the hoof wall in line with the hoof tubules where the crack was located (the quarter). This meant actually leaving daylight between the hoof and the shoe in the quarter (no hoof/shoe contact from about the second to fourth nail hole), so the hoof wall was no longer being pushed upward which for this horse is probably what caused the crack. We also shod the horse with a pad and bar shoe for protection and support.
Another horse that I did about two weeks ago had a heel-quarter crack on the outside of one front hoof and another crack on the inside of the other front hoof. He has an unusual conformation which I believe led to the cracks. The hairline was also pushed upward from the quarter back to the heel, which to me meant too much pressure in that area of the hoof wall. I trimmed him so the heel quarter and heel on the sides of the hooves with the cracks were not in contact with the shoe (about 1/8 inch daylight). I shod him with bar shoes, since my concern was an open-heeled shoe would not provide the same amount of support. This horse is sound again and the cracks are healing at the hairline. I also made sure the owner would keep the "daylighted" area clean, this is essential. After two weeks the hoof had already settled and is in contact with the shoe.
In both of these cases, I did not fill the cracks, patch them, or staple them. I have had better success in other cases, as well, relieving the pressure, supporting and protecting the foot. I am not sure if it will work on your horse, but it worked well on the two examples given here of horses that were lame. My approach may have been somewhat different if they had been sound.
Good luck!
Nate Allen, Instructor
Mesa Technical College
Tucumcari, NM
Email: allenk@sr66.com
Hi Louise and Sanford,
Sounds like this horse with the coronary crack has all the right challenges for a good battle to heal the crack. If you have not already done so, you may want to have another farrier or veterinarian that works on horses take a glance just to get a second opinion.
We had a horse that we worked on some time back at the college which had a pretty serious quarter crack. The crack was horizontal about 1/2 inch below the hairline in the outside quarter of the hoof wall. The crack had also begun to crack vertically toward the ground, about 1/3 of the way down the wall. When we first saw the horse, the crack was open with some bleeding. We approached the horse with the idea of relieving the pressure of the crack at the ground surface of the hoof wall in line with the hoof tubules where the crack was located (the quarter). This meant actually leaving daylight between the hoof and the shoe in the quarter (no hoof/shoe contact from about the second to fourth nail hole), so the hoof wall was no longer being pushed upward which for this horse is probably what caused the crack. We also shod the horse with a pad and bar shoe for protection and support.
Another horse that I did about two weeks ago had a heel-quarter crack on the outside of one front hoof and another crack on the inside of the other front hoof. He has an unusual conformation which I believe led to the cracks. The hairline was also pushed upward from the quarter back to the heel, which to me meant too much pressure in that area of the hoof wall. I trimmed him so the heel quarter and heel on the sides of the hooves with the cracks were not in contact with the shoe (about 1/8 inch daylight). I shod him with bar shoes, since my concern was an open-heeled shoe would not provide the same amount of support. This horse is sound again and the cracks are healing at the hairline. I also made sure the owner would keep the "daylighted" area clean, this is essential. After two weeks the hoof had already settled and is in contact with the shoe.
In both of these cases, I did not fill the cracks, patch them, or staple them. I have had better success in other cases, as well, relieving the pressure, supporting and protecting the foot. I am not sure if it will work on your horse, but it worked well on the two examples given here of horses that were lame. My approach may have been somewhat different if they had been sound.
Good luck!
Nate Allen, Instructor
Mesa Technical College
Tucumcari, NM
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