I have a horse that has quarter cracks in both front feet. However, one is now more than halfway down the hoof and growing out nicely. The other was also growing out nicely with about 2cm of growth. I recently moved and had to hire a new farrier. The 2cm of good growth has now cracked. There was also a little bit of blood so now the soft tissues are effected.
My vet has seen the hoof, and made recommendations. I/we know what the problem is, but finding a good farrier to fix it is difficult. I miss my old farrier for sure.
So another farrier came and put the horse in a Z Bar shoe to alleviate the issue. He also carved out some of the crack to inspect the depth and also for cleaning purposes.
I use a topical product to promote elasticity of the hoof, and the horses diet promotes a good hoof, but someone set him up with poor angles, it was fixed and doing well, and then set up improperly again.
So my question is, would you/have you ride this a horse in a Z-bar shoe? No lameness at the moment. Our footing in the indoor is very good, and there is also a packed stone dust path I could ride on too. This horse is in a good place fitness wise which (with a combination of growth probably) has eliminated his previous stifle issue. So that’s why I’d hate for him to lose fitness, but no hoof, no horse, so there’s that too.
I should add that I’ll ask the vet and farrier again after the holidays. I got an answer along the lines of start slow and see how it goes.
