Wose Than it Looks?

Often, with feet, things are not entirely as they seem.  To the untrained eye, feet look horrific but the cause can be entirely cosmetic... other times they look OK, but are severely compromised.  This is especially true of horses who are recently out of shoes and get crumbly wall.  Due to this fact, it is important to consult an experienced hoof care professional when in doubt.

So, why does this incongruence exist?  Surely more poorly hooves should look worse!

The first important concept to remember is that different parts of the foot have unique functions, and some relate more directly to hoof soundness than others.  For example- the wall may look horribly cracked and broken and flaking at the ground surface, but this generally isn't such a problem providing that the sole and frog are healthy and there are no underlying pathological conditions.  Far more important to the health and soundness are the sole and frog.  Provided these are healthy, a cracking/flaking wall is relatively inconsequential regarding soundness- (but is an important issue to be addressed nevertheless).  The material currently on the ground surface is also at least 3 months old (possibly older depending on the horse), and so doesn't necessarily reflect the health of the internal hoof.  An experienced practitioner will be able to tell you whether what you're seeing is problematic or merely a remnant of previous damage.

This leads to our next point- that the health of the internal hoof is not necessarily reflected in the current hoof structure.  This can go both ways - i.e: a poorly looking hoof may be healthy and on the mend inside, or a healthy looking hoof may be severely compromised internally.  A case of the latter is seen in laminitis.  Here we have a healthy looking hoof capsule that has undergone severe trauma.  It is only after a significant period of time that the external hoof structure is modified to reflect this damage.  It is only through physiologic signs and gait/bio mechanics evaluation that we can judge the internal hoof health.

Some horses may have congenital defects or acquired defects from past disease/trauma that give him a permanent deformity- but this may be entirely healthy in its deformed state.

And this is the real judge of hoof health- if it is structurally sound for the horse's needs, and that he is comfortable in the work expected of him.  It is a plastic thing, and changes depending upon the demands placed upon your horse.  Conversely, if the hoof becomes unhealthy- you must expect less of your horse until his hoof health recovers.