white line disease

[Palogal5]

Who has had chronic trouble with this? My 2 yr. old has been dealing with it since Feb. I'm getting tired of this! My Vet comes every 4 wks and re-sections and trims. I thought we were getting a handle on it but she's blowing a huge abcess again as of today. I am beyond frustrated. I have been treating with - kerotex, durasole, etc. Basically everything in the cabinet.
Any suggestions welcome!

[orono]

I researched this quite a bit when I thought my mare had it (was grasping at straws when she had a deep high abscess that neither the vet nor farrier could find). I read that incorrect hoof angle can put strain on the white line, causing it to stretch and leaving it susceptible to the infection. Since your vet is out regularly I assume they are happy with the shape of the hooves, more or less?

[Niki]

If its chronic id be looking closer at the hoof balance and not letting them get long at all.
Secondly id be looking at your iron to zinc/copper and manganses ration (should be 1:4:4:4 approx). My trimmer swears fixing upping the copper n zinc in her own horses diets improved this out of sight. We have just started my 4 with this and ill let you kneo how it goes.

[Palogal5]

My Vet is very experienced with feet. It is actually a specialty of his practice. I feel confident he is keeping her as balanced as possible.
As far as diet goes, she's on Enrich Plus which is basically vitamins and minerals. And 12/12 mineral supplement. She's been on these for over a year now.
I SHOULD have those bases covered. But, maybe not...
When this first started I had her on an oral anti-fungal for over 3 months. Maybe I need to restart that again. I didn't think it was helping.

[Kyra's Mom]

You said everything in the cabinet. Have you used White Lightning or Clean Trax? Keratex and Durasole have some anti microbial action but are primarily hoof hardeners.

Move to Idaho? Dry as a bone...except for this morning. 60 degrees and raining in mid-July!

Seriously, I hope you can get a handle on it. It is so frustrating when you can't figure out the why and correct it. Jingling for a resolution.

Susan

[kande50]

Who has had chronic trouble with this? My 2 yr. old has been dealing with it since Feb. I'm getting tired of this! My Vet comes every 4 wks and re-sections and trims. I thought we were getting a handle on it but she's blowing a huge abcess again as of today. I am beyond frustrated. I have been treating with - kerotex, durasole, etc. Basically everything in the cabinet.
Any suggestions welcome!

There's got to be something else going on if she's been re-sectioned repeatedly. Either enough hoof hasn't been taken out to get down to solid wall (past the infection), or the horse has something else going on. Do you have tick borne diseases in your area?

[Quelah]

Pics?

[Quelah]

And is she getting abscesses or white line disease? Those aren't mutually exclusive but are not really the same thing.

[Palogal5]

Idaho is sounding pretty good to me right now We've had a multitude of storms in the past week which is not helping with this.

It's definitely white line disease which is leading to abcesses. He re-sectioned so much this winter her feet looked like Swiss cheese.
Kyra;s Mom- You are right. I need to get some White Lightening.

I can't be sure... but I have a suspicion about what has brought this on. I built an apartment in my garage last summer. When they put in the septic tank they crimped one of the drain field lines ... Yep , leaking into a corner of her field for 3 months before I discovered it.
Recently her feet were beginning to get back to normal. Looked like we were past it. Now, I notice the other day... I think the drain field has another problem. Found some damp sections again. And her white line is erupting again.
I'm going to have to move her to a smaller paddock which I hate to do.

[angela9823]

Can you post pictures including of when the vet is resecting? Is he leaving ANY black or shedding white stuff? Have you tried packing with tea tree oil? SOME horses react to this in their hoof wall but I've found those that don't get rid of these issues really quick. But I have now seen two horses that couldn't tolerate straight tea tree oil. All the others' infections went away. But you have to go deep enough with the resection and then keep the wall from flaring as it is growing out. What area of the country do you live?

You also might be over doing it in the minerals. Do consider the area you live and perhaps you are over supplementing a particular mineral.

Consider going with a straight copper sulfate in a hoof boot or perhaps resection and then cast the hoof with a dry pure copper sulfate. I am not a huge fan of casting a hoof however I had to cast a pony one time after a resection and used Magic Cushion and it worked like a charm. Xray showed it stayed cleared too. But I'd still try copper sulfate over the MC if possible though I like MC for this purpose too.

[Palogal5]

Thanks angela - Vet has been very thorough with resecting. I paid close attention. I have a feeling he'll need to be aggressive today with this abcess foot. I'll take photos with my phone. Then- someone will have to walk me through that process of posting ... again
I'm in TN.
I've thought about the casting... Not sure. Maybe she'll need shoes to get her feet off the ground. We will discuss all options today.
I MUST get a handle on this! I had to cancel an appt. for her at Rood and Riddle in Ky today. Front end lameness exam.

[Dapple Field]

I lost my mare due to white line. The farrier resected too much and she rotated and dropped even after being casted. I think it started because of the farrier leaving too long of a toe. I'm still not over it although it happened 3 years ago.

[Palogal5]

Oh My Goodness Dapple Field! I'm so sorry!

[kande50]

But I'd still try copper sulfate over the MC if possible though I like MC for this purpose too.

Great idea! I buy copper sulfate in 50lb bags to add to my mineral mix, and don't use much compared to the other minerals so always have plenty around. I just sprinkled it into some deep collateral groove and sulcus cracks and packed them with clay, and will watch it now to see how it does.

[Josette]

I just stumbled across this website and it looked interesting for hoof problems. Anyone familiar with their products?
http://www.vettec.com/?utm_campaign=Q2B ... e=TheHorse

[Palogal5]

Thanks Josette - That is an interesting site. My Vet does use some of their products. I enjoyed the videos.

[myleetlepony]

A client dealt with a milder case of white line that also included a resection. It's believed to have started because he was jabbing his toe on that side (front foot) due to how he was moving to compensate for a broken pelvis. That started a crack and it went downhill from there.

One thing she used after the resection was a product called Keramend. It's a wax base, so it sticks to the area, and contains chlorhexadine and copper sulfate. I believe she wrapped and/or booted. She also kept him in when the ground was wet.

The resection and aftercare took care of the immediate infection, but the important thing was reteaching him to walk correctly and use his body better so that his front foot landed flat or heel first vs toe first. Have you noticed how your horse lands the foot when walking?

[Palogal5]

Very Interesting myleetlepony - Her natural way of moving has been disturbed for some time due to a LF lameness. The worst white line foot right now is the RH. That could be a part of the equation.
I've decided I need a fresh pair of eyes on her and have a new Vet coming Monday. He's a lameness specialist so I'm hopeful...

I have to get a handle on this rear white line problem so I can refocus and the front end problem Dang horses!!

[myleetlepony]

Definitely look into the Keramend, too. It's a beeswax base but you can mold it like playdoh to cover the resection area. Might be worth using in between White Lightening treatments for a 1-2 punch.

[Saddlebum]

Soaking in 50/50 apple cider vinegar (the cheap kind at the grocery store) with water for 30 min. every other day for a week will kill it. Cheap but, you still have to deal with the stretched white line which leaves the hoof susceptible to the disease to re-infect.

Pics would be a big help here please.

[Chisamba]

oral Iodide. for at least three months. yes i know Iodide got more expensive after Fukushima it got expensive because of its use in treating radiation poisoning, but often when a horse gets repeated fungal infections it is lacking digestible iodide in their diet. a normal horse should get one to six mg of digestible iodine in their diet daily, but often this is not added to mineral salts etc.

it also contributes to thyroid health, but overdosing has negative consequences so research it independently

[Palogal5]

Thank you for your suggestions! Since I have been in a drought situation here the problem seems to be under control. I had good success with packing her susceptible places with a combination of iodine, antifungal powder, and antibiotic paste. It would harden and create a barrier . Healed and toughened it up.
Interesting that I've found research about white line and insulin resistance. She is only 2 yrs old and her labs show that she is in a high normal range for insulin resistance....

[Koolkat]

Having a horse with grass induced laminitic problems, this was the first thing that occurred to me. Fall can be a tricky time (depending on your weather patterns), if it's been dry and you start to get into a wetter season, the grass coming out of dormancy and growing again can be a serious trigger.

[angela9823]

Interesting that I've found research about white line and insulin resistance. She is only 2 yrs old and her labs show that she is in a high normal range for insulin resistance....

I'd suggest getting with a nutritionist then. If this is showing up at 2, I'd be wondering about mineral content in pasture and foods you are feeding. Read up about overdose of Iron and how many horses are copper and zinc deficient because of our pastures and what is in feeds. Many of these horses show up IR and have thrush and or white line issues.

[Palogal5]

I think I will contact a nutritionist because this does worry me.

I have never overfed grains to her. I never wanted her fat or to grow too fast. She has been on Enrich Plus (very few calories- mainly vitamins & minerals) all her life and Purina 12/12 added for minerals. My Vet suggested this for her. I've not had my pastures analyzed but they normally look very good. All my other horses are the picture of health.
The only reason I had her insulin checked is because her Mother does fit the IR type. I monitor her weight her closely and muzzle her on the pasture in summer.

[kande50]

I'd suggest getting with a nutritionist then. If this is showing up at 2, I'd be wondering about mineral content in pasture and foods you are feeding. Read up about overdose of Iron and how many horses are copper and zinc deficient because of our pastures and what is in feeds. Many of these horses show up IR and have thrush and or white line issues.

I don't have any IR horses, but the iron levels in our grass and hay are very high which means we need to supplement with copper and zinc. I think the feed companies have finally stopped doing it, but the mineral salt blocks, as well as some of the balancing rations used to also have iron added, so I stopped using them years ago.

I don't know which is responsible, or most responsible, but I started feeding a custom mineral supplement to balance our hay, got the shoes off and started barefoot trimming, and one or both cured the hoof abscess issues some of ours were having. They still have some thrush, and some white line rot, but no more hoof abscesses.