Therapeutic Shoeing for Spontaneous Quarter Cracks Induced by Sheared Heel in Thoroughbred Race Horse

Abstract

A 3-year-old colt Thoroughbred horse was referred with obvious lameness (3/5G) and mild heat and pain on left hoof of forelimb. He was diagnosed with quarter cracks that have a typical conformation of sheared heel, which are a different length and height between medial/lateral heels. Various materials and techniques were carried out to repair quarter cracks by using many different kinds of clips, bar shoes on fifth times for about 10 months. It worked on him without pain and heat on the cracked hoof, and then he could retrain for racing from the 36th weeks beginning of therapeutic shoeing. We suggested that especially fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) material and therapeutic shoeing were a great help to treat quarter cracks induced by sheared heel.