Instructions
Stand off to one side and really look at your horse's front hooves (sand cracks normally affect just the horse's front hooves). Sand cracks start as tiny lines that start at the very edge of your horse's toes. As time passes, and your horse puts pressure on its toes, the sand cracks follow the line of your horse's hoof, until they are finally stopped by the coronary band. If your horse has sand cracks that have reached the coronary band you should plan on treating them for 6 months to a year.
Schedule an appointment with your farrier as soon as you notice that your horse is getting sand cracks. Good farrier work is the first line of defense when it comes to treating equine sand cracks.
Remove the rocks from your horse's pasture. When your horse is walking and playing outside they will often bump and kick the rocks with their front feet. Your horse won't care that they are kicking the rocks because the hoof wall protects the nerve endings inside the foot, however striking the weakened hoof against the rock will cause a sand crack to widen and spread.
Consider how hard the ground in your horse pasture is. One of the things that causes sand cracks to form and grow is hard ground. The harder the ground is the more pressure your horse will be putting on his already weakened hoof wall. If the ground is hard you should keep your horse in a stall until the farrier has a chance to look at its hooves.
Plan on shoeing your horse. The best way to make sure that your horse's sand cracks don't increase in severity is to put shoes on. When they are treating a horse that has sand cracks most farriers like to add toe and quarter clips to the shoes. The clips are attached directly over the sand crack and help prevent the crack from spreading.
Keep the hooves moist. Hooves that are moist, are less prone to continue cracking. The easiest, cheapest way to keep your horse's hooves moist is to have them stand in mud for ten or fifteen minutes a day.
How to Treat Sand Cracks in Hooves
Horse owners all over the world know how frustrating it is to have a horse that is well mannered, willing to work, and extremely talented but has hooves that are prone to developing sand cracks. If your horses sand cracks are minor, you will still be able to train and compete on your horse, but if the sand cracks increase in severity then your horse will go lame and you will have to stop working them until the cracks have grown out.