Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: cracked hoof  (Read 7941 times)

mab

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • carmarthenshire
cracked hoof
« on: March 25, 2011, 07:48:04 pm »
Hi,

My eldest ewe has a toe where the outer hard part of the hoof has started to come away from the inner and is cracked. The only thing I can see in my books is redfoot, but it's not nearly that bad, and the ewe is still walking normally (though she may be favouring it slightly).

Is there a name for this condition and how do I treat it? Or should I be getting the vet it (I would have done so already but I only noticed this evening).

Thanks

Mab

dubie

  • Joined Apr 2010
Re: cracked hoof
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2011, 08:03:41 pm »
hi yer one of our lambs had a cracked hoof so we called in the guy we bought them off and he sprayed this antibacterial stuff on it then some "glue" both of them were a clinical blue colour ask at your local country shop

shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: cracked hoof
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2011, 09:08:22 pm »
I think you are describing proud flesh poking out sometimes a split or crack in nomally the toe area or if you cut the toe and it bleeds while foot trimming the flesh over compensates and you get growth . Its a vet job to remove and cauterize to stop re growth . It is refered to as a GRANULOMA
« Last Edit: March 25, 2011, 09:42:41 pm by shep53 »

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: cracked hoof
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2011, 09:29:44 pm »
Shelly hoof?

Just trim away what is loose carefully and keep doing it until it has regrown properly. If she is not lame it will sort itself. Might get a bit sore if she gets some stones etc caught in it, so some purple spray may be good to clean it out.

I have seen a few of mine need a pedicure, as we are just coming up to lambing...

mab

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • carmarthenshire
Re: cracked hoof
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2011, 10:41:58 pm »
Hastily looking up granuloma in the books... Hmm.. not sure it fits the description - I didn't see anything I'd recognise as 'excessive growth of underlying soft tissue - no evidence of bleeding - 'couse it might be at an early stage?

I've never overtrimmed enough to cause bleeding; actually I was wondering if it might be a problem caused by undertrimming - I'm a bit wary when trimming 'cos I'm new to this - so I always err on the side of undertrimming I think.

maybe I can try & get a pic & post it as I'm not sure my description is very useful - if i can hold a recalcitrant sheep, her hoof & a camera at the same time.  :D

Shelly hoof? - sounds about right but there's no mention of that in my books. I did try & trim the loose bits back a bit but the crack goes up the side.

Happily it's been dry recently but there's still dirt in the gap - I wonder how to clean it without causing her discomfort.

Thanks

mab

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: cracked hoof
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2011, 01:25:16 am »
It sounds to me as if the hoof has simply torn and this has spread up the side.  You can trim this right away - it looks drastic but if there is soil trapped under the loose bit it will lead to anaerobic bacteria building up which in turn leads to further problems.  The loose bit causes a bit of discomfort anyway and needs to come off.  The piece of hoof you remove will soon be replaced with fresh growth, so make sure you trim back all the separated bit.  It isn't called anything - just a hoof needing to be trimmed more extensively than usual  :)
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mab

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • carmarthenshire
Re: cracked hoof
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2011, 06:44:38 pm »
Thanks - it's good to be able to get opinions on these things.

I'm more or less sure it's just a cracked / torn hoof. Tried to cut it back all the way today but didn't feel confident about trying to use the snips up the side so tried filing - though the file I used is too old to cut at any speed so I gave up (ewe protesting about being on her bum - I haven't mastered the art of holding sheep so that they lie quiet - or maybe she's just a troublemaker  :D ).  I put some spray on it; and I'll try again with a more aggressive tool in a day or so (hoping it'll rain a bit - might soften up the hoof).

Didn't get a pic - she was fighting too much to want to prolong the episode.


shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: cracked hoof
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2011, 07:36:43 pm »
Practise makes perfect they say you will get more confident , maybe the comparison to redfoot (raw bleeding flesh ) may have been just a touch too much  ;D ;D ;D :wave:

 

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