Before I got into hoofcare, I had no idea what to do when my horse had a hoof injury. My horse is lame – do I call the vet right away or wait it out? Should I assume it’s an abscess? What if the abscess doesn’t burst? My horse is missing a chunk of its hoof, is that a farrier call or vet call, or no big deal? My horse has a puncture in the foot, how serious is this?
Yes, I went through all of those questions at one time or another with one horse or another, and I’m sure a lot of you have, as well! And some of these questions don’t have hard and fast answers. There are times when a vet is needed, but there are also times when the owner can handle issues on their own- but how do we tell those apart, and what can the owner do while waiting for the vet?
I asked my owner personal large animal vet, Dr. Sara Cook of Black Brook Veterinary Services , to chat with me about hoof injuries and what needs a vet call and what might not. In this podcast episode, we chat about puncture wounds in the hoof, hoof wall avulsions, coronary band lacerations, laminitis, abscesses, and other potential causes of lameness.
