White line separation

[kido]

My horse is prone to white line separation and I'm scared that it might become full scale seedy toe. Especially after our very wet winter, he now has it quite severe. Is it better to rather put shoes on him, or is there a way that I can prevent it? I've had him on HT20 for a few months at the beginning of the year, and he has been on Endeavon H now for 2 months. I have put him on Honeyvale Hoofgrow since a week ago and I hope that this will eventually solve the problem. My farrier has suggested that I start shoeing him. He is still young (only 3 years) and I actually wanted him to go barefoot, but if it is going to be better to rather shoe him, I suppose I will have to.

Please, any advice would be much appreciated!

[dionne]

Hi Kido
White line separation can be resolved by the correct barefoot trimming, so I wouldn't suggest you shoe him as its not a cure. There are hoof-boots that you can use instead, if he is foot sensitive - eg Old Macs or Epic boots. Most tack shops sell them. I would also suggest you get a specialist barefoot trimmer to look at your horses feet and help you with the right trim to improve the white line. Where are you located? Perhaps there are some trimmers in your area that can advise...
If you're in Cape Town I can suggest some people for you, otherwise I could find out who's best in your area.
Dionne

[kido]

Hi
I live in the Koue Bokkeveld area - 45km away from Ceres. It is about 170km from Stellenbosch. I spoke to various farriers but they do not want to come all the way out here just for my 3 horses. There are no other horses in this area (or rather there are, but their owners do not care enough to pay someone to do their hooves.) So it is quite difficult. My farrier is just a guy that did farrier work in the army and also worked on a racehorse studfarm where he did all the farrier work. He is very old school and would prefer shoeing the horse instead of trying to keep him barefoot. I would really prefer him to go barefoot, as my riding horse is barefoot and quite happy - even without special trimming.

[equitracks]

Hi Kido
I read up on your topic in my “hoof bible” (Der Weg zum gesunden Huf , Deutsches Institut fuer Hufortopaedie. Unfortunately not translated in English jet.)

What I found are basically three things:
1. Sepsis in the Blaettchenschicht (zona alba - sorry, cant find the English word for it – the part of the hoof combining the edge of the sole and the hoof wall.) It is often mistaken as the white line e.g. called “white line disease”. It is the result of very flat, slope hoof walls bending outwards and so opening the “Blaettchenschicht” where germs then can settle.
This will not lead to separation (hollow wall) as the horn of the hoof wall will keep on to break off at a certain stage.

2. White line disease
Result of obtuse, steep and overloaded hoof walls, where intense vertical forces literally wear down the inner horn structure of the hoof wall and open the way for germs, fungus etc. If untreated at this stage it will end in

3. Separation
Accumulation of bad circumstances;
a) separation due to un-physiological load of pedal bone and its sensitive laminea, followed by
b) settlement of horn-pathogenic germs in the white line
resulting in infection and decomposition process, creating a hollow wall, making more space for germs, weakening the horn structure, separating more and so on …vicious circle ...

Shoeing the horse will definitely not make it better. I would suggest you talk to the Specialists of the Institute for Hoof orthopaedic, www.hooforthopaedics.com. Send an email or enter the forum, they speak English and I am sure they will be more than willing and able to help. I could forward your problem to them, if you prefer.
As we are facing a shortage of experienced bare hoof trimmers in SA, you might have to buy your own rasp and hoof knife and learn as much as you can. That’s what I did years ago, with the help of Jochen Biernat and his Team from the Institute.

Regards
Christel

[kido]

Equitracks
Thanks for the info. I'm not sure if I actually understand anything you quoted, but I would appreciate it if you could maybe forward the problem I have to the institute you are talking about. I have considered learning how to do the trimming myself, but have no idea where to start! Also, with fairly limited funds, I am not able to pay for expensive courses. What do you suggest where do I start?

[equitracks]

Hi
did forward it, lets see what they have to say.
To start I would browse the following webpage www.hooforthopaedics.com. There are some interesting articles (in english) to get a general idea.

I started with a lot of reading, observing as well as bombarding farriers with questions and when I felt ready did only minimal trimms on my horses hooves.
You can do a bit today and then in one week again or two weeks. That is anyway much better than doing major trimms every 6 weeks.

[dionne]

you can also try contacting these people : www.appliedequinepodiatry.co.uk I know that there are some people busy with their course in SA, so I'm sure they could assist you.

[kido]

Thank you dionne and equitracks. I will have a look at those websites. I've also heard from someone that there are DVD's available that is also teaching you to do barefoot trims. Do you know anything about that?

[dionne]

there are loads of books, dvd's and online support for barefoot trimming and often some professionals come and do clinics in SA. You may like to get in touch with Tamasine from Natural Horsemanship for help too - she's really helpful and is located in Robertson, so perhaps can assist with ideas of how to get a barefoot trimmer to you. www.naturalhorsemanship.co.za or [e-mail] She may be able to assist with where to get the books / DVD's locally, or you can order via Ananzi I'm sure. Peter Ramey books are good and easy to understand: www.hoofrehab.com. Have a look at www.barefoothorse.com, www.barefoottrim.com and www.barefoothorse.com for some further insight....

[kido]

Thanks Dionne. I'm definitely going to contact Tamasine. Robertson is about 2 hours drive from where I live.