There is an old adage- "No foot, no horse." Truer words could not be spoken when it comes to the health of a horse. The feet are the most important part of the horse to keep healthy. You do that with wise management of diet, daily hoof care and routine visits from a good farrier. In the seven years of horse ownership, I have had to deal with White Line Disease, and Founder. Not very pleasant diseases or afflictions to handle. When conventional medicines failed, I went unconventional. Here is my story with the hope that some will learn from what will be shared here:

White Line Disease

What is white line disease? Good question, with not any conclusive or clear answers. Although many experts can describe the condition and what it does to the hoof, they cannot say for certain where it comes from or why some horses in the same herd or barn, don't get the disease while others do.

Is is a fungus? A disease, a bacteria? Again no conclusive answers. The name comes from the fact that this disease attacks the white line in the hoof. Somehow gaining access inside the hoof wall and launching an internal assault, striking from within until the horse owner notices it on the outside. The horse can appear "ouchy" or unsound. In my case, I noticed with Travler a series of small fractures in the hoof, they looked like starbursts. Because he was also having trouble walking, I called my farrier who came over and started digging around. He told me my horse had White Line Disease.

When I asked him specific questions about this disease, he  had no definitive answer, nor did my vet. So that's when I turned to the Internet, and I learned of Geronimo Bayard- http://www.americanblacksmith.com/