Someone told me to take and press wood-filler in the cracked hoof of my horse and allow it to dry before turning the horse back out? Has anyone ever heard of this?

I would be careful doing something like that. You wouldn't want to make the crack larger. You should have your cracked hoof looked at by your farrier and or your vet first. I just wouldn't want to see you put that in there and then the crack get worse. Hoof cracks are no fun and should be handled carefully.

Thanks P8ntCrazy. The man that told me this said that he didn't think the crack was enough to even worry about (it's very, very small) and the wood-filler would keep it from getting bigger. I noticed it one day while grooming. Should I be worried about a small crack? It isn't much more than a hairline crack, down low on the foot.

It depends, is the horse barefoot and due to be trimmed, it could just be growth that will be trimmed off. There are tons of factures that will cause cracks. I would first discuss it with your farrier first since he deals with your horses feet and knows them the best to see if he is concerned about it at all. Then go from there. My horses wear front shoes only and are barefoot in the back. Their back feet have small cracks but nothing to worry about. So I would talk with your farrier first, and then a vet if needed. But I would not be filling a crack. You could make it worse.

Terri;

Definetly don't put anything in that crack. Woodfiller is made to fill not stop cracks.. also these old cowboy tricks tend to work most the time but some can be very dangerous.

IF that would filler gets wet it could expand and then put pressure on the crack. P8nt is right. Just live it to a pro..

Let me know what happened since I am so late in getting back to you..

Well, P8ntCrazy was correct. Once the hoof was trimmed the problem was solved. Thanks for all of your advice. It's so nice to have a place to come to when I'm not sure about something.

Terri,

Your right this is such a nice site I tried out several others before I found this on and on all the others every one gets sooooo nasty about things. I like this site the best everyone here seems to be very friendly and most of all NICE.

I am glad that everything worked out with your horses feet.

farrier suppliers online carry an epoxy not a wood filler for hoof wall repair.
where as wood filler may absorb water and crack epoxy will not.

if someone used wood filler it could swell when wet as well, worsening the condition.
The special epoxies used in hoof wall repair do not

To try and help keep your horse's feet supple you can use Absorbine Hooflex or Pine Tar both have done wonders for my horse's feet and both are my farrier approved items.