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| White Line Disease (WLD) |
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White Line Disease
White Line Disease "the chicken or the egg" what
came first; unbalanced feet, improper trimming, poor conformation, excessive
moisture, poor circulation, or stress. White Line Disease (WLD) starts off as a soft powdery area
along the hoof wall/sole junction left untreated this bacteria will turn into a
black greasy substance on the inner-layer of a hoof wall, cracks or nail holes.
WLD is more prevalent in warmer humid climates, although more cases are being
reported in all areas of the country. A misnomer about WLD is "it's caused from poor
hygiene” this is not entirely true the exact cause is still being discussed by
professionals all over the world. Signs of WLD are flares; tender soles, poor quality walls,
shelly feet, and lost shoes. Careful observation by your hoof care professional
is critical to detect signs of the disease before is becomes a soundness issue.
Soundness issues become apparent when the disease has compromised the integrity
of the hoof wall (separates from the coffin bone).
A horse with undetected and advanced WLD will often move
similar to a foundered horse. When a horse has WLD in all feet there may be a nutrition
problem, an immune deficiency, or poor circulation due to age, stress, or lack
of exercise. WLD affects all breeds of horses at all ages, although older
horses are usually are more susceptible to getting WLD and are often harder to
get rid of the disease, probably because of lack of exercise and poor
circulation. Untreated these pathogens will deteriorate and destroy hoof walls,
WLD weakens the foundation of the hoof leading to poor angles, imbalances, and
lameness issues. Aggressive treatments for WLD, are as varied and
controversial as the disease itself and sometimes some of these aggressive
treatments can cause more damage then the disease.
When a farrier, trimmer or
veterinarian wants to do a major resection (debride) keep in mind the weight of
the horse must still be supported by the amount of hoof wall that is left after
the debridement. In the above photographs so much hoof wall was debrided that
the hoof wall collapsed, causing this horse lameness problems. The next case
has supported the hoof wall with a cast until new horn can grow. When a horse is under your management and has WLD make sure
that you understand what treatment will be done and make sure to ask questions
about the proper procedure for the amount of WLD your horse has. Remember if a
resection (debridement) is recommended and a temporary support system (cast)
have not been discussed, the chances of hoof wall failure increases relative to
the amount of hoof wall that has been removed (debrided). When a large area of
WLD has been found careful cleaning and treating with SSD (silver
Sulphadiazine) has worked extremely well in areas with high temperatures and
humidity.
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