Recovery Journey With FormaHoof After The Loss Of The Hoof Capsule

By Horse Owner Lillie, Australia

GRAPHIC WARNING!

This article may include images that shock, offend or upset you.

Muffin suffered from a loss of circulation to the lower leg as a result of a tourniquet situation created by a feed bag getting twisted around his leg. The bag cut off the circulation to the area which resulted in enormous damage and ultimately the loss of the hoof capsule.

Once the hoof capsule sloughed off, Muffin was unable to bare any weight at all on the leg and Lillie, his owner, was advised to have him put down.

“I just couldn’t make that decision as I wanted to give him some time and a chance to survive. Once the hoof started to cornify, Muffin could start to put limited weight on the ground and very slowly the hoof started to grow down from the coronary band. I took him to the vet again for X-rays to see what was going on and once again was told to put him down because the recovery and rehabilitation process would be too long.”

“I was devastated, but by chance was tagged in a post on Facebook about FormaHoof and thought it looked fantastic. It took a while for me to decide to go ahead not knowing if it would work or not. But I decided to give it a go.”

“Muffin was sedated, I had the extra hoof cut off, the area medicated with FormaHoof anti-bacterial and then FormaHoof was applied. What a difference it made!!! Muffin was immediately move in comfort and although he still has a long recovery process ahead, he now has a future .”

It is possible for horses, donkeys, and mules to lose their hoof capsules completely. This is rare. In some cases, an equine traveling at speed can entrap the hoof or shoe in a very heavy, immobile steel fence or cattle guard.

Sometimes, a young foal will lose the hoof capsule after being stepped on by another horse. FormaHoof can offer hoof protection for foals to help aid prevention.

A hoof capsule may simply detach, become loose, and fall off in some cases of laminitis and other conditions causing blood flow problems.

Despite this injury, horses can survive, but their hoof must be regrown. It is likely that some degree of chronic lameness will result without the protection and support that FormaHoof provides. Most horses will return to soundness after using FormaHoof. Just like children, foals have a better chance of bouncing back.

The horse’s hoof may not fully regrow for at least a year, so intensive nursing care may be necessary during this period. To work through this process with a horse requires a lot of commitment. Foals typically require less work, grow their hoof capsules back faster, and are more tolerable to the recovery process in general.