Questions and answers about common hoof problemsBalanced nutrition, dry conditions, and regular, correct hoof care contribute to hoof health. | Getty imagesHealthy hooves dont happen by chance. They depend on balanced nutrition, careful trimming, and the conditions a horse stands in every day. Owners might spot cracks, chips, or odor first. Knowing which signs point to troubleand which dontstarts with understanding what a healthy hoof should look like.In this article three hoof care professionals share what they look for in a strong, sound foot, and how to prevent common problems from developing.Building a Foundation for Sound Equine FeetOur sources expertise comes from a variety of training backgrounds, and they live in climates as varied as the driest part of England, humid North Central Texas, and the coastal region of northern Massachusetts. They all agree that beyond good regular trimming, a proper diet and avoiding too much moisture prove key to healthy hooves.Excess moisture weakens hooves, leading to problems such as softness or odor.I lived in Alaska for a couple years, says veterinarian and farrier Sammy Pittman, DVM, who now lives in Texas. And even in the wintertime, feet suffer from moisture.Pittman, who co-owns and -operates Innovative Equine Podiatry and Veterinary Services, in Collinsville, has been shoeing horses since his teens and opened the practice in 2010.Simon Curtis, PhD, is a farrier in Newmarket, the region of England with the least rainfall. He, too, pointed to environmental and moisture concerns as leading causes of hoof problems.When people talk about the environments effect on the horse, I say, Theres only one point, Curtis says. Most of the horse is just surrounded by air. It might be affected by heat and rain or whatever, but mainly, the biggest effect of the environment on the horse is what its standing in.Curtis worked as a farrier for nearly 50 years, earning his doctorate in equine physiology and biomechanics in 2017. Early in his career he worked with Thoroughbreds before expanding to shoeing all breeds of horses and pursuing certifications and further training.Alicia Harlov, a barefoot trimmer with a rehabilitation facility in Amesbury, Massachusetts, focuses more of her attention on equine nutrition but agrees with Pittman and Curtis about wet conditions.I think if a horse is truly living in mud and wet 24/7, that can break down the keratin bonds (in the hoof horn), she says. Also, I just see the feet hold up much better if the diet is good.All of us want the same thing, Harlov says. We want a sound, happy, healthy horse.How Can You Tell if a Horses Hoof Is Healthy?First, watch your horse move over various surfaces at all three gaits.My idea of a healthy hoof is a hoof thats able to function comfortably over the terrain that its asked to move on, Harlov explains. I want to see that without any hoof protection, because thats your baseline to know. Is there inflammation in the hoof? Is there any hoof sensitivity thats stemming from something?Then, when Harlov picks up the hoof, she looks at its structures, checking attributes including size, shape, depth, and responsiveness to pressure.Frog The horses frog provides shock absorption for the hoof, mitigating ground reaction forces up the limb, Harlov says.The frog should be wide, taking up approximately two-thirds to three-quarters of the hoof at the frogs widest part. It should also be firm, comparable to the feel of a rubber eraser.I want to see a nice, wide, open, healthy frog with no splits in the middle of it, she says. I dont want it to look like its been moth-eaten, or like its a piece of Swiss cheese. That frog should have no more than a thumbprint dimple in the back.A deep split down the middle of the frog can harbor bacterial infections such as thrush and can lead to lameness.Sole Deep collateral grooves (commissures) alongside the frog can indicate good sole depth, if they are wide enough to not trap debris and the frog appears wide and open as described earlier.Too-thin soles remain prone to soreness and dont offer robust protection for the internal structures of a horses hoof, such as the coffin bone (see TheHorse.com/136982).The sole should be firm; you shouldnt be able to flex it with pressure from your thumb, Harlov says.White line The white line consists of a network of soft, elastic tissue connecting the hoof wall and sole (see TheHorse.com/194132).The connection should be nice and tight, Harlov explains. If you can actually see what looks like a zipper between that theres probably some lack of integrity there.Hoof wall The wall offers shock absorption and further protection to the interior hoof structures.When Harlov examines the hoof wall, shes looking for flaws such as chipping, cracking, or a process called delamination, where the inner and outer parts of the hoof wall separate.Look for even growth lines around the hoof, Pittman says.Chips in the hoof wall toward the end of a trim cycle are not typically cause for concern. | Adobe stockHoof Problem or Normal Variation?A healthy hoof should be able to go four to six weeks between trims without chipping or cracking, without soreness, and without a deteriorating frog, Harlov says.When the hoof looks, feels, or smells different, there might be a problem. Below, our professionals discuss common ones.Why is my horses hoof cracking or chipping?Horse owners, no matter the experience level, might question obvious blemishes such as cracks, chips, or shelly-looking hooves, Curtis says.Cracks in the outer wall can be caused by a leverage issue, Harlov says. Your horse might have gone too long between trims.If youre going over six to eight weeks, I would expect to see some cracking and chipping, because the wall has nowhere to go, she explains, as the toe keeps growing down and forward. She tends to not worry about chips in the hoof wall toward the end of a trim cycle, whether due to fly stomping or hard ground.Conformation or problems inside the hoof could also contribute to cracks. Horses with club foot (an abnormally upright hoof marked by long, contracted heels and a prominent coronary band) or laminitis (damage to the sensitive laminae connecting the coffin bone to the hoof wall) tend to get dorsal cracks, either dead-center or one on each side of the center, with laminitic animals prone to getting two cracks absolutely equidistant from the center of the hoof, says Curtis. This gives a clue that it has to do with the mechanics and forces inside.Coronary band damage can also cause cracks. It loses the ability to produce organized horn, either temporarilyor if it is quite a nasty scar tissue in the coronary band, permanentlyso you get a permanent lesion growing down the hoof, he explains. The lesion in the hoof is usually exactly the same width as the scar on the coronary band.Why is my horses hoof soft or flaking?Lets clarify what we mean by soft. Does the horses sole flex just under the pressure from your thumb, without using hoof testers?If thats the case, the horse is probably uncomfortable, Harlov says. But if youre using soft to describe a hoof that is really easy to trim that shouldnt affect their soundness, she adds.Kerosene and diesel are common applications because they have high oil content and harden and protect feet. While manufacturers have designed various products on the market to harden horses hooves and combat the effects of moisture (containing ingredients such as aluminum chloride hexahydrate, formaldehyde, methanol, and ethyl alcohol; think Keratex or Kera-Prep), Curtis recommends a simple barrier such as lanolin because it penetrates the hoof without sealing it.Lanolin is well known for having quite a kind effect on horn and also creating a good barrier to more water, Curtis says. He recommends applying lanolin every couple of days in wet seasons.If it has to be just once a week, thats better than never, he adds.Products with formaldehyde in them have their place, however. People think it just dries (the hoof, but) it actually helps to recombine the keratin cells, or the keratin molecules within the hoof, Curtis says. So for the sort-of flaky-type hooves and the hooves that have superficial cracks, that is quite good. Still, he cautions that these products should not go on the coronary band.Why is my horses hoof hot?Context matters. If your horse has just stepped off a trailer on a hot summer day, his hooves might be hot.Similarly, warm hooves directly after a ride arent necessarily a cause for concern because blood flow during exercise and friction from the ground can warm the feet, Pittman says.A hot hoof on a resting horse, however, can be a sign of inflammation.Any kind of inflammation, obviously, is going to increase heat in the foot, Pittman says. The inflammation might be caused by trauma such as a fractured coffin bone, bruising, an infected puncture wound, an abscess, or the dreaded laminitis, he says.Why is my horses hoof wall separating?Moisture, genetics, and nutrition, say the professionals.When it looks like hair is growing out of the white line, thats probably hoof wall separation, Pittman says.Think of the hoof capsule as a bunch of hairs known as horn tubules that grow down from the coronary band, and then theyre glued together with a secondary horn, Pittman explains. Where the hoof contacts the wet ground, moisture can separate the gluelike horn tubule and secondary horn connection. It leads to the hairlike appearance at the ground surface of the hoof, he adds.Why is my horses hoof purple, red, or pink?A purple, red, or pink area usually signals bruising or a sign of inflammation.If the corium of the hoofa vascular tissue that grows the wall and the sole, which Pittman likens to the quick of a humans fingernailbecomes inflamed or injured while the hoof grows, damaged blood vessels within sensitive tissues underneath the hoof horn can allow serum or blood to seep into the horn and give the appearance of a bruise.But the bruise is typically a few weeks to a few months old, and by the time you see it its kind of old news, Harlov says.Causes of a single line in the hoof could include illness, fever, or a change in diet or hoof care. | Stephanie L. Church/The HorseWhy are there dents or bumps in my horses hoof?An event line, commonly called a fever ring, goes across the entire outer hoof wall horizontally, from heel to heel. Besides coloration, the event line might be indented or raised.A single bump or indentation could mean the horse experienced an isolated incident of inflammation or change in laminae growth, Harlov says. Causes might include an illness or fever, change in diet (hay or grain), and a change in hoof care (such as pulling shoes).Repetitive event lines can be concerning. When the whole foot looks like a whole bunch of little horizontal lines, then theres something chronic thats happening, Harlov notes. A veterinary examination would help because metabolic issues or low-grade laminitis can cause these rings.Why is my horses hoof bleeding?Punctures, thrush (typically due to digging with the hoof pick), and canker can make the hoof bleed.Call your veterinarian if you suspect a hoof puncture. Youll want to make sure internal structures havent been harmed. If possible, leave the object in the foot until your vet can radiograph it to determine what structures have been penetrated.Canker is a prolific growth of the hoof (usually starting in the central or collateral sulci of the frog, then spreading to the main frog, sole, and heel bulbs) that can, in a more moist environment, look like a squishy cauliflower, Harlov explains. You would know if you had a horse with canker. Usually it smells terrible, and it bleeds if you touch it with your finger.Why is my horses hoof stinky?When hooves stink, people often assume the horse has an infectionmost commonly thrush or an abscess.Zinc oxide (the active ingredient in many diaper creams) or clay-based packing products can help a horse that has thrush, Harlov says. They allow the hoof to start healing while blocking contamination from the environment.If you cant apply the zinc oxide daily, Harlov suggests mixing cotton fibers (such as from a cotton ball) and zinc oxide together, then packing it into the sulcus of the frog. The mixture can stay there for five to seven days. Reapply until the horse heals.While moisture can make a hoof susceptible to thrush, Harlov cautions horse owners not to overdo it with drying agents. A too-dry frog can develop microfissures that might trap microbes.A club foot or improper hoof-care management can cause high heels. | Getty imagesWhy are my horses heels so high?Healthy hooves grow heel and toe at the same rate. If they dont, consider the horses conformationa club foot, for exampleor possible disease such as laminitis, Pittman says. One must also consider hoof care management with regard to trimming and or shoeing.Sometimes different conformations or disease processes will cause some vascular compression, leading to differences in hoof-wall growth, he says.Why is my horse losing shoes?A hoof wall that cant hold a shoe is another thing that, to me, is actually a hoof-quality issue that should be addressed, Harlov says.Thin hoof walls struggle to keep shoes, Curtis adds.One tactic he might try on a horse persistently losing shoes is to shorten both the shoe and the shoeing cycle. In the past 30 years, theres been a trend for farriers to leave shoes a little long behind to support the horses heels. But shoes that are long behind are prone to being stepped on and pulled from the hoof. To address the problem, Curtis says you would need to shoe penny-on-a-penny, meaning precisely.If you shoe penny-on-a-penny, you must not let the horse go more than a month, because otherwise the heels sink in and we get other problems, he says.Other ways to support the heels include hoof boots or glue-on technology.Why does my horses hoof collect rocks and other debris?Check your horses heel bulbs if stones and debris seem to get lodged in or beside the frog.If the heel bulbs look like theyre kind of squished in towards each other, thats actually pathological, Harlov explains. It means that the hoof isnt expanding as much as it should upon movement.Deep collateral groves can be a sign of contracted heels or good sole depth, but if the grooves are narrow they might trap stones or other debris.Take-Home MessageMany conditions can affect horses hooves. Most remain minor, but some can lead to severe lameness. Consult your vet if you have concerns about a hoof issues potential severity. Balanced nutrition, a clean, dry environment, and regular, correct hoof care can help keep many problems at bay.This article is from the Winter 2025 issue ofThe Horse: Your Guide to Equine Health Care. We at The Horse work to provide you with the latest and most reliable news and information on equine health, care, management, and welfare through our magazine and TheHorse.com. Your subscription helps The Horse continue to offer this vital resource to horse owners of all breeds, disciplines, and experience levels. To access current issues included in your subscription, please sign in to theAppleorGoogleapps ORclick herefor the desktop version.