tunneling in the white line

[motorgypsy]

Arwen developed a tunnel in her white line right in the front center of her right front hoof along with profound lameness in that hoof. A little history - A year and a half ago she foundered herself stealing everyone else's food while we were at nationals and she had a horse sitter who was overly generous. Since then she has had two hoof abscesses which quickly resoved and only minimal lameness. From her activvity you wouldn't know she had had laminitis at all but you can see it in her white line as it grows out and goes back to the normal size.

This is what we have done and of course we always welcome additional information and suggestions. The first day she was lame we were unable to find the tunnel so we cleaned the hoof, applied thrushbuster to all possible areas, applied a 10 parts water to 1 part clorox solution to an absorbant pad and used Gorilla Tape (the world's BEST duct tape) to her hoof to hold the pad under her entire hoof.

Yes it stayed on and was undamaged after two days. We removed the pad, cleaned the hoof, applied more thrush buster but still the tunnel was not obvious. We repeated the application. Her lameness was improved by she is also so smart she figured out how to move very easily and efficiently on three legs at a peculiar canter.

Two day later again the pad stayed in place and when we removed it we were able to find the tunnel, cleaned it out thoroughly, applied thrushbuster, took her toe back on that foot, and put the pad in place again. She is now weight bearing on the hoof quite well but you can tell it is still a bit tender. Now the question is - should be continue what we're doing until it grows out or should we do what one farrier did for a friend's mare - pack the tunnel with iodine crystals, plug it with the disinfectant wax and then just put tape across the toe?????

What do ya think or is there an ever better option?

[GeorgeGuns]

Definately need pics.

I have an idea about what might be happening, KC LaPierre is currently hot on the topic of "Hyper Keratinized Horn" (HKH) which looks an awful lot like a keratoma on the surface, but may have a different etiology (pathway of formation) and may be related to whiteline disease or may not. Right now, the consensus is to maintain total wall relief with a full guns mustang roll.

My scanner is kaput so I'll try to describe what I think you are talkin about and see if that matches up - but if you get pics that will certainly help!
Okay, with HKH, and low keratomas, what we see is a little "black hole" that happens right smack between the whiteline and the wall. It distorts the whiteline so that it divets into the sole area, and then between that area of whiteline and the wall there is a scruffy area that if infected will be black and obvious, if not infected it will just be weak looking. KC's take on keratomas - and this is where I diverge - is that they originate at the coronary band, so these HKH areas might not be keratomas. Now when I read up on keratomas, the cases used were of keratomas between the coffin bone and sole! And in those articles it was explained that keratomas can arise anywhere in the hoof, the point being that they are benign tumors that originate in the layer between the whiteline (which really does cover all of the coffin bone both around the outside on the wall surface, and under the bone above the sole). Some schools have it that these can happen after repeated trauma - they are quite common in horses that have had clips for extended periods of time. Some are congenital - I see a TB mare that has never been shod but has these on both toes. Some feel they are most common in gaiteds, but I have only seen them on drafts that have had clips on their shoes, and quite a number of TBs, only a rare other breed, and no gaiteds.

KC explains that in his extensive examinations of hundreds of cadaver hooves with this condition, that the coffin bone directly related to the area actually loses bone material (remodelling). Considering this, it may be that while a KHK area is forming, that initial phase is painful as the bone is trying to make room for the bump. Once the bone has remodeled and is no longer causing a pressure issue, the lameness will/should resolve.

These areas are a PIA. They are almost impossible to keep from some degree of cracking above it, but it can be controlled and minimized with total mustang rolls. Shoeing these horses is usually painful, and its one case where going barefoot really is THE best option.

Now if the area is suspected to be infected, do what ya gotta do to control that. I have a lot of success with products that contain Gentian Violet, there is also a product called Clean Trax which KC swears by (its expensive, you can get Chlorhexadine and do soaks with that and basically be doing the same thing)

KC is of the mind that these areas are progressive. I tend to disagree ony because I haven't seen any cases worsen, and one actually is improving. Point is though, if its keratoma, once these buggers form, they are there for good. Surgery can be done to remove them, but its risky and some tend to come back, and might be more trouble than its worth if the condition can be managed simply with good trimming and keeping the area free of infection.

I'd be tempted to get an exray of the hoof from a toe angle to check for bone remodelling. IF its happening, its NOT a major catastrophe, just something for your farrier to keep in mind for hoofcare. A really good exray will also show gas pockets if there is a significant abcess problem.

Sure hope this helps!!! I'm just going on your description... pics, yeah, pics.

[motorgypsy]

Too dark for pictures tonight but I'll try to remember to get some tomorrow when I remove the tape.

First of all the white line isn't distorted in the area. It is wider than normal all the way around on both fronts from the former founder. By the way she is totally sound today so whatever is working - YAAAAY for it.

Thrushbuster is gentian violet plus some other stuff and I'm familiar with gentian violet because as a child I got a gum infection from a friend who had one and drank from my soda when I was about 8 years old and of course I got it. I had to put gentian violet on my gums. The only thing comparable to gentian violet is the unsweetened cooking chocolate. It is truly aweful tasting!!

But anyway back to the problem - It is probably 1/2 of a cm across at one point and maybe 2mm in a second area right next to it. After it was soaked for the four days it just scraped out so I do think it's an infection but how far up it goes I don't know and I won't know until I can take her toe all the way back to where it is located. There is no bulge on the hoof above it and it is dead center in the white line, not at the edge although it probably started at the edge and worked it's way in when she foundered and there was some slight separation. She never gave any indication of any founder until later when she abscessed and it blew through the coronary band and has grown out. This may have been a second abscess though and blew through the bottom but there was no opening originally that I could find. It had to soak for the four days before I found it.

Thanks for the info. Very interesting. Oh - she's out 24/7 in a large pasture but the boarding barn owners tend to leave a really sloppy area at the water tubs and that may have been why it got infected since she had to stand in it to drink and if there was a crack all that mud and bacteria could have entered and started an infection.

[Forgewizard]

The stretched white line indicates a definite laminitis. A horse can go through laminitis and not have it progress to founder. If her laminitic episode was caused over a year ago and she still has stretched white line then a ouple of things are going on.

The main one being that the insulted laminae have not healed yet and the toe wall is still being pulled away from the white line. She may possibly have slight rotation. An X-ray may reveal a definite NON parallelism between the dorsal wall of the coffin bone and the dorsal wall of the hoof. Ideally the bone and wall should be parallel.

When the horse goes through a lamintic episode there will be a disruption in the blood supply to the laminae and this can cause a die off of the laminae, subsequently the laminae lose their "velcro" grip on the coffin bone. Enough damaged laminae and the bone can sink (founder).

These damaged laminae will sometimes cornify (harden)and this causes problems because the hardened laminae have no elasticity. But typically the stretched laminae between the hoof wall and coffin bone develop minute fissures into which bacteria and fungi invade (as well as dirt and general grunge). These opportunistic organsims are anaerobic ( survive without air) and they set up to feasting on the inner hoof wall.

The tiny blackened spot you see in the fissures of the white line are the waste products of these creeping cruddy organisms! There is only ONE way to erradicate them and that is to entirely remove ALL the wall they have undermined to expose them to air! Completely disinfect the exposed hoof and encourage healthy new growth.

Your horse has a case of laminitis compounded with onychimycosis. The hoof needs to be trimmed and aligned properly to alleviate the stress on the toe wall which is causing the continued stretching of the white line; and debriding ( resectioning) he undermined hoof wall.

Soaking the hoof (after thoroughly debriding ) in a product called "Clean Trax", being sure to strictly follow the directions will go a long way to killing the problem organisms.

If you just keep appling a topical bactericide or fungicide without exposing the entire cavity to air you will never get it stopped. This kind of infection is rather like a termite infestation: you can see the teeny hole where the bugs gained entry, but you'd be amazed at the extent of damage done inside the wall! Definitely do NOT plug, epoxy, cover, or otherwise seal these cavities or you will have just served up a hoof smorgasbord to these anaerobic bacteria!

I encourage my clients to do the clean trax soak(s) after I have debrided the wall. Then daily (preferrably twice daily) applications of vigorous cleaning using a stiff bristle brush followed by irrigation with Hydrogen peroxide, then another irrigation using WHITE vinegar, if done diligently WILL restore the health to the hoof as it grows out!

I avoid Ioine, formaldehyde and gential violet products because in these cases the sensitive tissues are too easily affected by these caustic and carcinogenic substances.

Don't be worried about the extent of the hoof wall getting debrided. Remember that any of the wall that has that grey to black crumbly powdery gunk under it has aready been devoured and is no longer supporting the limb! It is imperative that ALL the undermied wall get removed! A dremel tool comes in handy for this process.

A horse with a severe Onychimycosis infection can develop a mechanical founder! Once enough hoof wall has been undermined the bone loses its attachment to the hoof and the limb sinks! In these cases it becomes necessary to offer a shoe to the hoof to replace the missing wall. I have addressed many of these cases while maintaining a bare foot hoof, but each case depends on the extent of damage and useage expectedfrom the horse.

If shoeing these hooves ask the farrier to dip the nails in an antibacterial solution or ointment. This MAY prevent the possibility of pushing infection further into the hoof wall.

[Terry Wallace]

Pics please! Was the hoof ever "graveled"... what came out of the tunnel originally?

We need pics! Without 'em its pure speculation...has the hoof been x-rayed?

[GeorgeGuns]

Not sure I'd jump to the laminits idea just yet - could be still growingout old flare from either a previous bout with it, or growing out flare from previous trim habits. Either way though, yep, stretched whiteline is always an open door for nasty buggies, and there are a lot of them out there that cause WLD, abcessing, etc.

Just found out about a cool sounding product that might help your case - Animalintex http://www.robinsoncare.com/Animalintex.htm Sounds like its pretty effective at drawing out infection - moisten, tape it to hoof, and let it work. You can even put it around the coronary band if you think an abcess is going to blow out there.

Good that there is no diveting in the whiteline. I wonder if the barn owner would be willing to let you build up some gravel at the trough in leiu of some board? It would surely benefit other horses there too... just an idea.

[Terry Wallace]

Forgewizard said....The stretched white line indicates a definite laminitis...

That is true...seedy toe of any kind is still laminae pulling away from the wall.

Options? I'd get an x-ray
Reason? To make sure whatever caused it is still not in there.

Question.....What leads you to think this is thrush?

[GeorgeGuns]

LOL - debate time! (hazards of forums, lets all be nice this time)

If you just keep appling a topical bactericide or fungicide without exposing the entire cavity to air you will never get it stopped. This kind of infection is rather like a termite infestation: you can see the teeny hole where the bugs gained entry, but you'd be amazed at the extent of damage done inside the wall! Definitely do NOT plug, epoxy, cover, or otherwise seal these cavities or you will have just served up a hoof smorgasbord to these anaerobic bacteria!

We went through this with Lucero, and then Medias. Carving out the mess just didn't make much difference. I got frustrated and changed tactics. Threw out the antifungals (don't feint) and started refreshing the mustang roll very 2-3 weeks to keep the wall from any leverage that would be a pull on the tight white line growing down from the top, plus getting them high and dry. It worked. The areas just grew out without further insult. The point is, if the white line above the area is good and tight, its pretty much impermeable even to bacteria, that is one of the functions of a healthy whiteline. It does have to be diligently supported both with trimming and environment do it can get to ground level.

Diggin out an area IMO is a matter of preference, and i definately agree with not packing or plugging. When you start digging, esp if its in a rather small area, as the hoof grows out you can actually get a sideways leverage on the carved out area that can promote cracking and further tunnelling above the original site. Shoes can "hold the hoof together" but of course have to be expertly applied to minimize leverage that may further stretch the whiteline, and the nails would have to be placed away from the areas to minimize the creation of new areas for the bug to enter, and you may be closing in areas that aren't evident at the time. This is one time when doing a mustang roll right up to the sole is appropriate, and if a horse is tender after that boots and pads will protect them from trauma, but if they have an excellent sole they probably won't really miss the wall too much, and the rate of growth may even accelerate (which gets the tight whiteline moving down faster in the process) as Ol' Ma Nature wants to get healthy hoof wall down there asap.

Several years ago, back in our shod days, Mouse had a good case of WLD, and she did stay shod, nothing different, just plain old rim shoes. There were a couple horses at that barn that broke out with it. My vet gave me a solution of iodine, formalyn, and ... alcahol?? (can't remember third ingredient) and we dabbed that on where the shoe met the hoof and on the nail holes. Worked like a charm, WLD gone in 2 shoeings... meanwhile another horse (different farrier, different vet) went through months and months of carving and rebuilding hoof, it got worse and worse - till I let the lady have the rest of my magic solution! I would NOT use this on a hoof that is abcessing though, and it must not touch skin, its a very toxic mixture.

[motorgypsy]

She was XRayed and had minimal rotation and we're keeping heel down enough to keep coffin bone parallel to the ground. I think this is ongoing because of the mud. We keep thinking we have it cured and it rains for six months so we'll just have to stay on it even more aggressively. Again she is sound. We're headed up there now so will get some pictures.

[TrueStepPaso]

started refreshing the mustang roll very 2-3 weeks to keep the wall from any leverage that would be a pull on the tight white line growing down from the top, plus getting them high and dry. It worked. The areas just grew out without further insult. The point is, if the white line above the area is good and tight, its pretty much impermeable even to bacteria, that is one of the functions of a healthy whiteline. It does have to be diligently supported both with trimming and environment do it can get to ground level.


Couldn't agree more.....less is more. The hoof knows what to do...sometimes it just needs a little help from the everyday abuses we subject it to due to domestication.
True WLD, imo, is rare.


MG's...It sounds like you've got it under control..nice job ;-) You're smart to watch the heels for ground parallel status.....and long periods of rain can wreak havoc in an otherwise moisture-regulated area. Up here in the north east (MA, VT, NH...), alot of horses are experiencing serious separation/founder....and NOT just the ones that are on those nice pastures :roll: ......Good luck!......

[GeorgeGuns]

"Ground Parellel".. boy that gets a lot of eyebrows when I bring it up. IMO true 0-degree parellel is not healthy. 1-3 degrees is accpetable and 2 for me is bang on. This allows a heel to land with good coffin orientation - landing too much on the heel (or on the back of the bone) is surely not good, and has been correlated with poor heel structure n the opposite end of the spectrum from contraction. (Either Pete Ramey or KC went and dove into this one)

MGs you might want your farrier to re-evaluate overall balance with a fine ruler and dimensional measurements - how deep are the sulci? when the heels are appropriate, does the toe stick up above a plane visualized from teh heels through the level of live sole at the widest point of the hoof? so the bars go pretty straight into the heel or is there a curve present that either indicates that the bars want to end at a point that is either outside or inside the heel? Is there more rounding of the sole behind the quarters than forward? (looks like a hoof is callousing from the rear forward, this indicates lack of heel structure an is common in low heels - if the heels aren't low, nevermind!) Does the sole callous blend into the wall at the whiteline or does it have a bit of a groove and then appear as a sole ridge? Breakover should go to the ridge if its present - this will guarantee you optimal breakover to resolve whiteline issues - if the ridge is there, believe me, its working hard to be a good weight bearer, and it will turn to chalk when its no longer needed (I love watching this happen, lol) If a plane is laid over the widest part of the hoof, how much concavity do you have? How much hoof is ahead of the widest point?

My brain hurts, I'm gonna go look for Barbwire posts.

[Forgewizard]

Lamintis is a term often misunderstood. Technically it simply means a sickness or fever (itis) of the laminae.

Every horse in every hoof will go through some form of lamintis within its lifetime. It is inherent in the job that the laminae have and their subjection to external as well as internal forces and metaboic changes.

Whether that lamintiis progresses to become a lameness or the dreaded founder all depends on the extent of the damage and changes in progress.

A true white line infection is very difficult to erradicate. Considering there are about 54 different organisms that will actively devour the internal hoof wall, it can be extrememly difficult to locate the exact bactericide or fungicide that is effective. One thing for certain is that most, if not all, of these invasive, opportunistic organismsare anaerobic; so exposing their colonies to air is a sure fire way to elimiate them. Since they have already undermined the hoof wall, removing this external unaffected wall will NOT create any serious problems for the horse.

G.Guns notes success with JUST doing a mustang roll, but recognizes that intact unaffected whiteline and hoof wall will quickly reestablish tself.

Yes, this will happen as long as the other mal-alignments and hoof imbalances are addressed. But with rampant infections that don't get exposure to air and some sort of disinfection process, you can find yourself fighting this infection for over a year!

Bob Peacock of Farriers Science Clinic has done some excellent research on this problem and has developed some very effective products. One thing that seems to ring loud and clear is that this hoof problem can also be directly related to problems with the horse's immune system.

We have to always member that hoof wall is just modified skin and things that affect the skin will also affect the hoof wall. Immune problems, systemic issues, bug infestations and bite reactions tc as well as environment, usage, genetics and conformation all affect the wear and tar on the hoof.

The hoof is a marvelous structure and will regrow fastest in the areas where there is the least amount of pressure. So removing the hoof wall trapping these cavities will often result in hastened restoration to good health.

Making certain that the existing growth and the new growth of the hoof is better maintained and aligned will ensure that what grows back remains healthy.

If you can picture a diving board with say a 150 lb person on it, you know that the weight of the person flexes the board. The longer the board, the more it flexes, right? The weight of the person hasn't changed, yet the bend of the board increases as the length of the board increases.

Lets say we are using an old wooden board instead of the new fiberglass boards, and the board has a teeny tiny seperation in one of its grains. Besides the fact that as the board bends this seperation increases, these bacteria and dirt begin weakening and enlarging the seperation eventually the board cracks and fails - thank goodness the diver can swim!

Your horse's hoof wall is subjected to very similar laws of physics. The longer the wall becomes and the further it gets from the center of the hoof, the more stresses are placed upon it. Eventually tiny cracks that have developed will get invaded with dirt, fungi and bacteria and will suffer splits. Most of these splits get addressed properly with good footwork and maintenance, but sometimes if the hoof doesn't get maintained correctly the splits get out of hand and mechanical failure is inevitable.

Keeping the hoof wall bevelled tight gainst the true white line and aligned properly will at least eliminate some of the mehanical stresses on the wall so that the hoof can remain or become healthier.

I agree about the ground parallel arangement of P3 - Ground Parallel is often NOT a good thing! The heels area of the hoof needs to allowample room for concusion absorption. If P3 is parallelhis will actually decrease the concussion capabilities and conribute theel damage.

Awaiting pix for sure!

[motorgypsy]

Got photos but will have to wait to post them. I'm brain dead after all the heat today and unloading all the stuff from the show.