•    Common cause of lameness

•  Typically acute lameness

•  Typically increase of digital pulse

•  Any insult to the sole can create an

  ideal medium for bacterial growth

•  Chronic cases may present with

  cellulitis and systemic infection

•  Variable clinical signs: infection can be misdiagnosed 

•   Increase of digital pulse

•  Hoof testers

•  Warm poultice

•  Radiographs ( gas shadow)

•  Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory can be contraindicate 

•    Release infection & adequate drainage

•  Drainage through the sole!!

•  Debridement of necrotic tissue

•  Poultice until the infection is

  controlled

•  Warm bath with povidone and

  magnesium salt

•  Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory can

  be contraindicate

•  Tetanus prophylaxis 

Single episode of trauma or due to repeated excess weight bearing (poor foot balance)

Diagnosis: by inspection & hoof testers.

Deep solar bruising difficult to diagnose

Treatment: rest, NSAIDs, solar pads or glue on shoes 

•    Bruise of sole at specific location: medial angle (“seat of corn”) much more common than lateral

•  Usually due to pressure from heel of shoe; either

  • shod too short
  • shoe left on too long
  • dorsopalmar foot imbalance 

Remove offending shoe Remove damaged horn Bandage or poultice
Re-shoe:

wide-webbed shoe
3/4shoe
Siliconepad(Onlyofdefectisready)
Bar shoe in case of dorsopalmar imbalance and bilateral

corns 

Common emergency in equine practice
Important to rule out sepsis of synovial structures.

Commonly result in subsolar abscesses
Early treatment is essential 

Diagnosis: 

Subsolar abscess localised using hoof testers

Pare tract to release pus Explore tract:

Warm bath with povidone/magnesium salt

Poultice until the infection is controlled (e.g. “Animalintex®”)

Antibiotics required depending on the involvement of structures

Infected joints or bursae require flushing & debridement; prognosis depends on severity and duration of injury

Corrective farriery 

•   White line is the sole-wall junction and a weak region due to the soft horn

•  Combination of bacteria &fungi produce separation of the white line

•  Occasionally produce lameness. 

•    Typically an incidental finding at the time of trimming

•  White line becomes filled with poor quality infected tissue

•  Characteristic hallow sound when the hoof capsule is percussed

•  Often secondary to laminitis

•  Advanced cases: instability of

  pedal bone or infection into the sensitive lamenae 

•   Pare regions of abnormal horn and debridement of all crack and fissures.

•  Expose and removal of all diseased hoof wall

•  Pack with iodine or metronidazol optional

•  Severe resections: bar shoe is indicated for stabilizing the hoof

•  When the disease is eliminated

  reconstruction of the hoof with

  acrylics material

•  Treat laminitis if this is involved in aetiology 

•   Anywhere from toe to heels

•  Superficial or full thickness

•  Vertical cracks from coronary

  distally (“sand cracks”) or from ground proximally (“”grass cracks”)

•  Result of chronic foot imbalance, lack of trimming, trauma, nutrition or poor hoof quality

May be sound, or severely lame, depending on location & depth of crack

If in doubt as to significance, apply hoof testers 

•    Assess hoof capsule and conformation

•  Treat any underlying causes

•  Debridement of any infected tissue

•  Hoof balance

•  Stabilize hoof wall adjacent to crack

•  If possible, reduce weight bearing in affected region

•  Consider supplements to improve hoof wall quality & growth rate 

• Hoof balance

• Stabilize crack:
  Bridge crack using metal or fibreglass plate Bar shoe, clips and silicone
  Cast
  Acrylic& wire
  Combination of all

   

  Debridement of the crack, antiseptic, stabilization with metal staples, silicone pad and corrective shoeing to realise the pressure over affecting area 

• Benign, hyperplastic keratin masses

•  Arise from the epidermal keratin producing cells Originate at any point in the hoof wall and sole

  (spherical vs cylindrical)

•  Space occupying tumours Often causes recurrent hoof

  abscess 

Disruption of the hoof architecture allow bacteria infection and recurrent abscess

May causes pressure necrosis and resorbtion of pedal bone margin leading to characteristic radiographic lucency

Deformation of the white line 

•   Surgical removal standing or under general anaesthesia

•  Combination of tools including hoof knifes, trephine, oscillating saw and motorized rotor

•  Good prognosis after surgical removal 

•   An infection of the frog caused by wet environment

•  Similar to ovine foot-rot
  Fusobacterium necrophorum

•  Black sticky discharge; terrible smell

•  Can result in under-run sole & limb oedema 

   

  Contracted heels may predispose to the

  condition

  Defined as a frog width less than 67% of the frog length 

Trim affected parts of frog

Move to dry environment

Antiseptic foot baths (povidone-iodine) 

Penetrating injury to the sole involving P3

Chronic sub-solar abscess

Blunt trauma

Diagnosis:

communication with distal phalanx 

Surgical debridement standing or under GA
Curettage of infected pedal bone
Packing the area with antibiotic impregnated swab

Regional perfusion with antibiotics
Systemic antibiotics and anti-inflammatory
Medical grade maggots

 Solar support

Chronic pododermitis of the germinal layers

Gram-negative bacterial infection of the stratum germinativum of the frog’s epidermis

Hypertrophic dermatitis of the frog and the bulbs of the heels 

Diagnosis: 

Radical surgical debridement of the affected tissue

Topical treatment with metronidazole and bandages 

• Result of a hoof wall crack, puncture wound, chronic abscess, heel laceration

•  Severe degree of lameness until adequate drainage is established

•  Difficult to treat due to the avascular nature of cartilage 

•    Chronic sepsis with intermittent purulent discharge above the coronary band

•  Fistulography

•  Identification of concurrent

  infectious osteitis

•  MRI

  Surgical excision of the infected cartilage and surrounding tissue

  Opening of a ventral drainage portal is essential to allow the resolution of infection 

Emergency in equine practice

Important to rule out sepsis of synovial structures

•    Debridement and primary or delayed primary closure

•  Non absorbable sutures

•  G.A or standing

•  Immobilization with cast 

•   Emergency in equine practice

•  Vital structures can be affect

•  Important to rule out sepsis of synovial structures

•  Required GA to assess structures 

Assess DDFT, Collateral cartilages, Navicular bursa, impar ligament, DFTS

Involvement of above structures decrease prognosis

Arthroscopic lavage and debridement of the area

Immobilization with cast 

Emergency in equine practice Important to rule out sepsis of

synovial structures.
Early treatment is essential

treatment:

Immobilization with cast

Hoof wall reconstruction 

 Defined as a disparity between the medial and lateral heel lengths of .5 cm or more.

• –  Associated with dynamic lateromedial imbalance

• –  One heel (usually the medial one) strikes the

  ground before the other.

  •  Proximal displacement of this heel. The wall on this side becomes short and upright. The opposite wall expands and flares outwards.

  •  Continuous tearing and bruising of the sensitive laminae in the compressed heel, and breakdown of tissues that connect the heels result in lameness.

  •  Bar shoe floating the displaced heel. 3⁄4 shoe with bar