For the Health of It
hoof wall separation or “white line” disease but in reality these
pathogens are probably simply taking advantage of the environment created in the foot when the hoof wall attachments
become weak from another cause. Once the pathogen is in
place, however, to promote healthy hoof growth in your barefoot horse you may need to treat your horse’s hooves even after
the underlying cause has been corrected. Very minor hoof wall
infections respond to a topical mix of 1 ounce tea tree oil diluted in 16 ounces of apple cider vinegar. Deeper infe ctions must
be treated more aggressively. The best product I have found
for persistent white line infections is White Lightning. This
product is applied under a wrap or within an airtight soaking
boot and it releases a chlorine gas that penetrates deep into the
hoof tissue. It does not affect healthy tissue and the treatment
should be done once a week until healthy hoof attachments
have grown all the way down and there is no separation or
stretching showing in the white line. Horses that don’t respond
to treatment for hoof infections and careful management may
have a weak immune system and treatment will need to be
focused there to see results.
How to Trim Hoof Flares
If you barefoot horse does have hoof flares, I recommend
trimming them aggressively. When I trim a horse with hoof
flares, I rasp from the front of the hoof wall until I no longer
have any space showing when I run my straight edge around
the hoof. This may remove enough wall that shoeing will not
be possible and the horse may need boots or pea gravel footing
to be comfortable. Some trimmers are not going to want to do
this but I feel it is the fastest way to grow out a healthy hoof
as any flare that is left in place will tend to drag the new hoof
growing down away from the bone. The best plan is to avoid
hoof flares and with proper management of the hoof, diet, and
immune system they should never be a problem.
–Madalyn Ward, DVM
For more information on managing the barefoot horse or
for one-stop shopping for holistic horsekeeping products such
as those mentioned in this article, be sure to click the resource
box below.
Madalyn Ward, DVM, is a recognized author and veterinarian in the field of holistic horsekeeping. For free tips on horse
health, horse personality types, and horse nutrition, plus onestop shopping on holistic horse products, visit [http://www.
BuyHolisticHorse.com]
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