Description of the Horse’s Hoof & Corium

The following description was contributed by Odette Suter, DVM. Any photos or illustrations of the corium (such as from dissections) for inclusion here are gladly welcomed.

Laminae are composed of a sensitive and insensitive part. The sensitive part is also known as the laminar corium and the insensitive laminae is also called laminar horn and is produced by the laminar corium. The corium is a form of epithelium. Epithelial tissue is composed of one or more layers of cells that line surfaces of organs (skin, GI tract, lungs, etc.), blood vessels, lymph vessels, etc. The functions of epithelial tissue are
protection, absorption, diffusion as well as excretion of waste products. In the case of the hoof this ‘waste’ is horn (protein). 

Dr. Odette Suter
www.odettesuter.com

animal communication
equine hoof rehab
spiritual consulting

 

Relationship of Hoof Form to Metabolism, Cresty Necks & Founder

”Insulin Resistance” is a trendy diagnosis made by lay people with regards to their own horses, based on information they glean from the internet. It is suspected as a cause in laminitis and founder, and horses are removed from most or all pasture, depriving them of their natural grazing needs in an attempt to remove sugars from the diet. I believe it is possible that this actually can cause the horse to experience even more stress and thus puts in motion a vicious cycle.Below are some excerpts from an article in The Horse, in which Tia Nelson DVM, discusses her experience in reducing signs of insulin resistance (such as cresty necks) in some horses, simply by improving their hoof form.

As she says, it is important to manage horses’ diets, especially easy keepers, but it can be very helpful to eliminate poor hoof form as a contributing factor. There is more on Insulin Resistance in a study posted on this blog, linked on this page here

Read the whole article here

 

Holiday Greetings

from our rescue case (right) and his barefoot companion, who appears to be thriving in his new digs in Nevada.  He moved there with his owner after we helped rehab him (as you read in his case history in a previous thread).  At the time he was reclaimed by his owner, it was questionable whether he would live; today - he is modelling a silly reindeer antler and Santa hat. Life is good!

Best wishes to all in 2007.

 

Foot Abscesses

   

 

 

 

 

 

Heel Bulb Abscess

 

  Sole Abscess - between frog & bar on left

above two photos courtesy Amy Dickson, Kamloops BC

 

 Sole/HeelAbscess

While it was ‘active’, this abscess created a pocket of fluid that impinged on the blood vessels in the solar corium, bruising it (visible as the pink edge around the outer edge of the abscess). 

 

 

 

 

 

Breeding or Genetics?

It is commonly believed that we have bred domestic horses to have poor or small feet. A common example is the halter-bred Quarter Horse whose feet are small and upright due to breeding for this desirable characteristic. While individual breeds do have certain common characteristics to their feet, we have not been breeding horses long enough to have altered their genetic characteristics.  Furthermore this assumes that the pool starts with some examples of genetically small-hooved individuals.  Their poor hoof quality or shape is largely a result of their environment and lifestyles while they are growing up.

 

The Things Horses Do

It’s not even any greener on the other side   !

What about you, got any good ones?

 

Rescue

These horses were recently rescued from an operation using horses in their historical re-creation shows. The two in the front will stay in Central NJ. The Appaloosa has an advanced case of coonfoot and the spotted Appaloosa, who has found a home in a rescue in Phillipsburg has an improperly healed fracture making his left hind leg unusable. The thin one is barefoot and will be receiving regular trims when necessary.

      

Strangely, his hind feet are in worse shape than his fronts, with much more bruising, possible old laminitis, and a very large abscess in the Right Hind.

                 

 

Introduction

Welcome to the Barefoot Hoofcare blog. We will discuss various ways to trim feet, present cases on a regular basis, and discuss different approaches to dealing with problems. We invite horse owners to submit their questions and cases for input from the blog owner as well as a rotating panel of experts.