Hoof Rings will tell you a lot and we often call them event lines and we can see the timing of those events. I have seen two horses that live together have exactly the same event lines, in the same place, the event lines indicated a move for those two horses.
Divergent Hoof Rings
Divergent (different) hoof rings are wider or lower at the heels than at the toes.
• Rings on the hoof wall, which run from the coronet and reach the ground at the heels, are an indicator of ongoing chronic systemic laminitis.
• Horses with distal descent (sinking) have lines that do not run parallel to the coronet.
• After an acute episode of laminitis the distal phalanx (coffin bone) shifts within the hoof capsule.
• The toes and heels grow at uneven rates to normal hooves. With the heels growing faster than the toes this causes an “Aladdin Slipper” type effect. Heels would need to be kept trimmed down very regularly and the toe trimmed back in alignment for the hoof to start its healing process. Overgrown feet can also produce a slipper like effect.
• During the acute phase, when the lamellar attachment apparatus fails, the descending distal phalanx (coffin bone) takes with it the dermal papillae of the coronet.
• It takes approximately 3 months for new divergent hoof rings to be seen after laminitis.
Concentric Hoof Rings
• Horses can also have concentric (circular with same centre) growth rings that run parallel to the coronet band around the hoof wall, these hoof rings are as a result of minor growth fluctuations and changes in diet/environment etc, these are NOT divergent hoof rings.
Divergent Hoof Rings
Divergent (different) hoof rings are wider or lower at the heels than at the toes.
• Rings on the hoof wall, which run from the coronet and reach the ground at the heels, are an indicator of ongoing chronic systemic laminitis.
• Horses with distal descent (sinking) have lines that do not run parallel to the coronet.
• After an acute episode of laminitis the distal phalanx (coffin bone) shifts within the hoof capsule.
• The toes and heels grow at uneven rates to normal hooves. With the heels growing faster than the toes this causes an “Aladdin Slipper” type effect. Heels would need to be kept trimmed down very regularly and the toe trimmed back in alignment for the hoof to start its healing process. Overgrown feet can also produce a slipper like effect.
• During the acute phase, when the lamellar attachment apparatus fails, the descending distal phalanx (coffin bone) takes with it the dermal papillae of the coronet.
• It takes approximately 3 months for new divergent hoof rings to be seen after laminitis.
Concentric Hoof Rings
• Horses can also have concentric (circular with same centre) growth rings that run parallel to the coronet band around the hoof wall, these hoof rings are as a result of minor growth fluctuations and changes in diet/environment etc, these are NOT divergent hoof rings.