The Horse:Your Guide To Equine Health Care provides monthly equine health care information to horse owners, breeders, veterinarians, barn/farm managers, trainer/riding instructors, and others involved in the hands-on care of the horse.
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43 September 2017 THE HORSE TheHorse.com trims the feet to proper balance and puts the horse in a pea gravel- or sand-based stall or paddock. This nice, dry footing conforms to the bottom of the foot, creat- ing contact. "As soon as you can get the frog into active contact with the ground, it starts to respond the way it is supposed to," she says, noting that the heels begin to expand. "Packing the shod foot with dental impression material will also bring a frog into active, dynamic contact with the ground, creating a ground force reac- tion," she continues. "It doesn't matter what is used, as long as the frog regains contact with the ground. This is why I don't always clean the dirt out of a horse's feet. It offers protection and contact with the frog. If the horse is limping I defi- nitely pick up his foot and clean it out, in case there's a rock stuck up in there, but sometimes the horse benefits from that 'natural' hoof pad that provides frog contact." Sermersheim says he also sees dis- placed frogs in concert with displaced digital cushions. "Those frogs become elongated and come out the back of the heel bulbs," he says. "The digital cushion is so displaced that the frog has to follow it, being connected with it, and it is hard to get those frogs healthy again." Sometimes horses in very dry or wet conditions benefit from an application of hoof softener or hardener to the bottom of the foot. "On the racetrack trainers used to use mud packs in the feet to try to soften them so they'd be more flexible—to handle concussion better—and less apt to crack," says Rucker. "People apply hoof hardeners to try to toughen the sole and frog so they will be more durable and handle abrasion and weight-bearing more readily." Puncture wounds to the frog are scary because of the delicate structures above and around it. You might not notice the puncture immediately if the horse stepped on a nail that's since fallen out. Or, the frog might be so soft and spongy that you don't see the hole; it closes over, and your farrier or veterinarian only finds the wound when pinpointing the reason for the horse's lameness. "If you pick up a foot and the object is still sticking into the frog, contact your vet immediately (don't pull it out) and have it radiographed to see where it goes," says Burns. There's no hard-and-fast approach to frog therapy for all horses. Work with your farrier to tailor yours to the horse, environment, and season. Take-Home Message The hoof is remarkably resilient. "Some farriers think that once a frog becomes small and narrow, that's the end of it, but that's not true. The frog continues to grow and is a living, dynamic structure," says Bowker. "Even an unhealthy frog can recover, but it may take some time, depending on the age of the horse and what he's doing. The tissue inside the foot is designed to adapt and respond to whatever environment it lives in." The key is doing your part as an owner by understanding what makes a healthy frog and caring for your horse's feet ac- cordingly between farrier visits every four to six weeks. h