# split hoof



## CarlinsDarlin (Feb 8, 2008)

I noticed yesterday that Ringo, my buck, has a split in his left front hoof. He was favoring it, and I took a look and it's a pretty good (deep) split. DH should be able to help get him on the stand this afternoon. Is there anything I need to do to help it heal besides trimming, cleaning, and soaking in Coppertox? That's my plan, unless you guys give me better advice . I'm wondering, for example, if he might need antibiotics?? There's no swelling, but I haven't gotten ahold of it yet to check if it has fever.

Kathy


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

if no fever no infection etc. then after trimming you can use a cool glue gun to fill in and keep from cracking up further.


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## paulaswrld (Mar 2, 2008)

What a good idea!! I never thought of that. My buck has had this a couple of times...I have assumed it is from standing on the fence and gate all the time.

Thanks,

Paula


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## CarlinsDarlin (Feb 8, 2008)

Thanks Sondra. I wish I'd read your post before this morning! lol. Oh well. We got him up on the stand, trimmed and cleaned all his feet (boy am I going to be happy when summer hits and we don't have so much wet!) and I soaked both front feet in coppertox. The split is pretty high, but not as bad looking as I thought it was. And there doesn't appear to be any infection, thankfully. If I can get cooperation and help from DH, I'll be checking those feet every couple days for the next week or so, but I think just a long stretch of dry weather would help a lot!
Kathy


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I do natural hoof care for horses, and in my training we were taught that coppertox killed the good bacteria along with the bad and so were advised to advise regular lysol (lemon scented), for soaking frogs, cracks, splits, etc. along with frequent trimming and "mustang rolling the hoof". Lysol has been labratory tested, so they tell me, to be safe and effective and much cheaper than standard treatments. I use it in a soaking boot or spray bottle for horses, and I just recently started using it on my goats, with great success. I have one doe with a 
particularly troublesome front hoof, and we've seen great results with this treatment. First I clean the hoof really well and then spray the lysol up into the area and over the whole hoof, between the toes, etc. If I had a sore foot to deal with, I'd clean it and spray it really well and then dry it off, and then apply a mixture of neosporin/athletes foot creme and desitin as deep into the crack as possible. I've heard that the products, "Today" and "Tomarrow" work well for this (they are designed for cow mastitis) they also come in a tube that makes it easy to apply product into cracks and crevis's. Then I'd make a boot by 
wrapping the hoof with a piece of cotton, a piece of disposable diaper, etc, then putting vet wrap over that, being careful not to get it too tight, especially above the hairline. If it was wet outdoors, I would wrap the hard part of the boot with a layer of duct tape over the vet wrap. I wouldn't use too much wrapping, the idea is just too keep the area clean long enough for healing to begin. 
Wrapping a goat hoof differes from wrapping a horse hoof primarily because of the cloven nature of the goat hoof, but it can be done using a little extra caution on the tightness of the wrap. 
I would only leave the hoof boot on for the minimum time necessary, changing daily. After it heals well enough to allow the goat more comfort, frequent trimming and a good cleaning and spraying with lysol should help keep them healthy. 
Hope this helps.
Anita


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Also, forgot to mention, sealing the crack will seal in bacteria, which may make the problem worse.


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## CarlinsDarlin (Feb 8, 2008)

Thanks Anita. That's good information to have on hand. I just watched a show on RFD-TV a couple weeks ago about natural hoof care (in horses) and the "mustang roll." So I have an idea what you're talking about. I watched it, in fact, hoping to get some ideas about the goats' feet, but since it was focused so strictly on horses, I wasn't sure how much info I could transfer to the goats. Glad to know the process works for them as well.

Sugar had an injury to her foot earlier this year, and we wrapped it as you described, putting the cotton in between her toes so they wouldn't be pulled together by the outside wrap. It seemed to have done pretty well.

I didn't know about the "Today" and "Tomorrow." I do have a tube of Today on hand, so when we get him back up on the stand (hopefully tomorrow) I'll try that on him. This is the second time I've heard about the lemon scented Lysol, so I'll have to go get some of that too.

The problem with Ringo is that he's such a big guy. He's very difficult (almost impossible) for me to handle without help, and DH works 12-hour days M-F and every other Saturday. Makes for difficulty in getting help. He's promised to help get him on the stand every other day this week, though, so we can get his feet back in order. I did a good amount of trimming the first time, but I'll probably take off more when we get him back up there. This winter has just played havoc with my goats' feet.

Thanks again for the good information,
Kathy


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

right you don't want to seal that crack if any possibility of infection in there.


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

Hey Anita, I also keep my horses this way! I've been trimming my own horses for about a year and a half now.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Farriers cement cracks all the time on horses and you can purchase the same putty they use that hardens very quickly. The two tubes you put together epoxy works also.

But...the root of this problem is always copper. If you copper levels are good the goats won't crack, chip or have hoof problems even living in the spongy woods like my bucks do. Copper was a miricle for me. Think about it koopertox is nothing but soaking their feed in copper sulfate  vicki


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

I would rather leave it open I think, and keep it trimmed very good to prevent leverage force on it so the crack will grow out. Just my opinion, coming from the horse side of things.


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## CarlinsDarlin (Feb 8, 2008)

Speaking of copper, Vicki, I know this is something we have to address. I tried to find the Teck-Master minerals here. Looked on their website, and they say Tractor Supply stores carry it. I checked at two of them (each one 45 minutes drive from the house in opposite directions) and neither carries it. Do you have any idea if you can get Teck-Master in the mail, ordering on line? I haven't found a source yet. Or, is there another brand you'd recommend? I'm pretty sure my minerals (red) are the problem here.

Oh, and how long is it recommended to soak the foot in coppertox anyway? I kept his foot in it till he ended up turning everything and everyone around him green  but I don't know if it was long enough.
Kathy


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Tech master is milled by Bluebonnet mills. Got to their website and ask them for local deliveries of their grain. Then go directly to the buyer in the store, and tell them that you already talked to Bluebonnet and that it is a floor order, not special order and they can order you 1 sack the next time they order their grain. Take the persons name with you, that you speak to at Bluebonnet and also who you speak to at the local store. Also write down when they order. The next time it's time to order call the guy and ask for him personally and remind them. It was alot of work to get them to finally order it for me, I would buy 2 bags at a time because of this and I would do it each time. Now I get it at a regular store that carries Bluebonnet grain mixes.

I do have a friend who has hers come directly from Bluebonnet but then she also ships in organic grains for her goats, so she doesn't mind the frieght. Vicki


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