Is This Normal? Should I Be ?
I was picking out my horses hooves today and noticed the black stuff surrounded by the middle was peeling away. I am not certain what it was called i looked online i could be the frog is the frog black? Anyway is this normal?
Yes, the softer stuff in the middle is called the frog and it is perfectly mundane for it slough off between farrier visits. If it is very soft and smelly after you might have a problem with thrush and should use an application of a product called Thrushbuster. Best stuff on the flea market that I've ever found and I've tried lots of them.
Horses will normally shed the old sole and frog. However, the frog is normally a dark gray in color similar to the hoof wall. If the frog or the grooves beside the frog are black and give sour a foul, almost rotten odor, chances are your horse has thrush. There are lots of products to treat thrush out on the bazaar. Some things that help include iodine and thrush buster. In my area, the vets vend a very effective product simply called 'hoof spray' to be exact just a simple mixture of formaldehyde and iodine. If you are unsure, you can always contact your farrier or veterinarian for advice. Also, as a bit of counsel, whenever you next have the farrier come out or take your horses to the farrier, ask your farrier question about the basic parts of the horse's hoof. He/she should be more than willing to teach/show you and it doesn't cost anything additional.
Yeah I think thats normal, my horses hooves do that some times. But the frog shoudln't be black
it's probably thrush. the frog can be a bit darker in colour (depends it your horse has black or white horn as to the exact colour) b ut black isn't generally the best sign! however before you panic - does it smell?? if he's get stinkie feet he may have thrush which is an infection. The frog itself is the triangular part of the hoof - it's a shock absorber and is the more sensitive sector of the hoof and can sometimes look as if it's peeling. I need more info to be further facilitate!!
On the underside of the hoof is the sole. This is a concave, thick but flexible padding of hard tissue that protects the sensitive sole directly beneath the bones of the foot. In the middle of the sole sits the V-shaped frog. The frog contacts the ground surface as the horse travels and help the blood circulate in the foot. The cleft of the frog runs down the middle of the frog and aids in flexion and grip. The bars of the foot run on any side of the frog and they provide stable suspension for the walls and frog as the horse’s foot impacts the ground. this will tell you the best http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog_(horse...
It is overcast gray-blackish in color and of a rubbery consistency, suggesting its role as shock absorber and grip tool on hard, smooth ground. In the stabled horse, it doesn't wear but it degrades near bacterial and fungal activity to an irregular, soft, slashed surface. In the free-roaming horse, it hardens into a callous consistency next to a near-smooth surface
Its probably thrush. Its common. It's bacteria in the frog from not picking out the hoof to them standing surrounded by their pee and poop. The best thing to use on it is thrush buster. its about 15 dollars. but I discovered that Clorox bleach and water surrounded by a bottle that you use for applying hair dye. my horse had thrush in adjectives four and i used bleach, they were gone. use it everyday to help it faster. bleach is like what 8 bucks? Give it a try.
Answers: The frog is the triangular shaped element on the bottom of the hoof. It is completely normal for the frog to get scaley looking and peel past its sell-by date. It is basically shedding the old skin. If the sole, which would be the whole rest of the bottom of the hoof, is getting scraped absent when you use your hoof pick, it just means that your horse's hooves are soft. That could be from being paddocked within a wet or muddy pen or pasture or stall, or could be an underlying problem of thrush. If the sole is mushy, I'd ask the farrier or barn manager or a more knowledgeable friend to check it out, but whether the sole is firm and just scrapes away when you pick, it's in recent times wet feet. The soles will harden up when the footing of your pen or pasture or stall dries up. P.S. If your horse have wet feet from standing in a stall---someone is not keeping the stall verbs enough!
my horse suffers thrush regally although he lives out and it is due to the good frail wet British weather over winter. i use a solution of salty water and scrub the foot out once a day. touch wood he has not suffered yet and the farrier is impressed next to his foot condition so i must be doing something right :)
The frog can diverge shades of grey and black on the most superficial level and it is common for it to shed. If the frog is trimmed, it appears to be a neutral sunburn color, but you don't want to remove the outer calloused part. It is protection.
