Lecture 6- Equine Foot Care

Question 1

Basic equine foot care involves

Answer 1

Routine cleaning/picking out bottom of foot with hoof pick- removal of rocks/foreign material

Routine trimming and shoeing

Corrective shoeing if necessary

Question 2

What makes a good foot

Answer 2

Thick hoof wall, adequate sole depth, solid heel base, growth rings below the coronary barn are of equal size at toe and heal, acceptable conformation

Question 3

When standing the cannon bone should be ___ to ground when viewed from side

Answer 3

Perpendicular

Question 4

The hoof-pattern axis should be a ____that passes through the middle of 3 phalanges

Answer 4

Straight line

Question 5

The dorsal surface of the ___ and the dorsal surface of the ___ form a straight line

Answer 5

Pastern, hoof wall

Question 6

What is a medial to lateral hoof imbalance

Answer 6

Outside toe strikes ground before heel with inside heal landing last

Leads to uneven force across hoof and uneven loading of the lower limb joints

Question 7

What are sheared heels

Answer 7

Hoof capsule distortion resulting from displacement of one heel bulb proximally relative to other heel bulb

Continual disproportionate loading predisposes foot to subsolar bruising, quarter cracks and thrush

Question 8

What are contracted heels

Answer 8

Heels are narrower than normal, occurs rapidly in feet with long toe, low heel conformation and will disuse

Question 9

What is the most common hoof wall defect

Answer 9

Quarter cracks

Question 10

What is thrush

Answer 10

Degenerative condition of the frog, black necrotic exudate and foul smell

Result of wet, unhygienic conditions- standing in urine and manure, neglect of daily foot care

Question 11

What is white line disease

Answer 11

Keratolytic process on the solar surface characterized by progressive separation of the inner zone of hoof wall, separation of the stratum medium and stratum internum

Thought to be brought on by mechanical stress, poor environmental conditions and/or selenium toxicity

Question 12

What is a canker

Answer 12

Infectious process that results in development of chronic hypertrophic of the horn producing tissue

Starts in frog, commonly seen in draft breeds

Question 13

What is a hoof wall avulsion

Answer 13

Complete or partial incomplete removal of hoof wall

Question 14

What is the most common cause of acute, severe lamenesss

Answer 14

Subsolar abscess

Question 15

What is a subsolar abscess

Answer 15

Localized accumulation of purulent exudate between germinal and keratinized layers

Bacteria gain entry through a break in the white line

Question 16

What is laminitis

Answer 16

Failure of soft tissues that suspend the distal phalanx within hoof wall, loss of interdigitation between dermal and epidermal lamellae

Results in rotation and/or sinking

Question 17

Is laminitis a primary or secondary disease

Answer 17

Secondary

Question 18

What are 4 different clinical entities that laminitis is usually a sequalae to

Answer 18

1. Sepsis/endotoxemia
2. Excessive weight placed on limb due to injury on opposite limb
3. Cushing
4. Equine metabolic syndrome

Question 19

What is “street nail”

Answer 19

Metallic puncture wound to sole, can affect synovial structures

Always considered an emergency

Question 20

What is the most common cause of chronic forelimb lameness

Answer 20

Navicular disease

Question 21

What is navicular disease

Answer 21

Chronic degenerative condition of navicular bone

Lameness associated with pain arising from navicular bone and soft tissue structures like DDFT, navicular bursa, distal sesamoidean ligament

Question 22

What is pedal osteitis

Answer 22

Inflammatory condition that results in demineralization of P3

Focal or diffuse radiolucency of bone

Question 23

What are the possible treatments for P3/coffin bone fractures

Answer 23

Confinement, corrective shoeing, +/- foot cast

Question 24

What is sidebone

Answer 24

Ossification of the collateral cartilages of the foot, common in larger breeds

Usually incidental finding, lameness is rare

Question 25

What is Quittor

Answer 25

Infectious necrosis of the collateral cartilages, caused by direct injury to cartilage, abscess/fistulous tracts break open at coronary band

Question 26

What is gravel

Answer 26

Ascending infection of the white line, permits infection to laminae resulting in an abscess

Abscess comes to head at coronary band

Question 27

What is a keratoma

Answer 27

Keratin containing tissue that grows between the hoof wall and distal phalanx

Visible deviation at coronary band and/or hoof wall

Most commonly affected areas are toe and quarter