Hoof Cracks

As I was exploring the possibility of getting a blog link from the Western Horseman web page to this blog site (which was a success) I ran across the forums they had running and one person had a question on hoof cracks. Now my favorite horse to work on is a horse that’s used and is sound, then if I had an expertise I would think it would be working on laminitic horses, and I’ve had quite a bit of success restoring cracked hooves. Once again in this blog I want to simply define terms describing cracks, which will help in determining the protocol to apply in order to successfully (if possible) heal the cracked hooves.
Toe, quarter, heel, bar cracks are terms used to define the location
Superficial indicates that the crack is not deep into sensitive structures and causes no pain or lameness issues. Typically there is no movement (opening or closing) of the crack when defining a crack as superficial.
Deep defines the crack as one that reaches all the way to the sensitive structures causing different degrees of pain/lameness. Cracks can be deep and have no bleeding. It is important to note if the crack widens (or closes) upon weight or non-weight bearing positions.
Sand Crack describes that the crack originates from the coronary band.
Grass Crack describes that the crack originates from the ground.
Also, the terms horizontal and vertical are key terms to use when defining a crack to someone who is not present.
Each properly defined crack will lend itself to various prognoses. In any further blog entries about what a shoer may do to help heal cracks this entry will be a good reference of terms used.