I don’t really have photos of the past issue. I have been able to manage it by keeping the wall short and rolled so there isn’t any mechanical force to push the quarters out, or the heel under. I guess I could post pics of the current hoof when I get back from vacation next week.
I think my real issue is I don’t know how what questions to ask a farrier before I have them come out to trim. I don’t really care to do it my self. It’s a lot of work and I’m always worried I’ll cause some other issue because my depth of understanding is not what I’d want to rely on for long term hoof health.
I could see this. When a crack is working it’s way up then sometimes it takes something more drastic to relieve the pressure. THAT makes sense to me. Thank you for the explanation!
Consider a broom left standing on its bristles. It will start to splay out just as the horn tubules start to splay in a flare. The bottom of the broom is not perpendicular anymore and there is a large lateral force on the tubules that make them distort even more.
Removing the flare from the side (dressing the hoof from the top and removing the lower 1/3 of the flare) reduces the leverage applied to the ends of the tubules since they no longer continue all the way to the ground, and lets the higher tubules grow straight down without lateral pressure. Also, removing the outer cracks keeps them from propagating higher up the hoof. The mechanical forces are greatest at the tip of the crack. They tend to start out on the surface of the hoof and work their way deeper.
1 Like
