Question
My five-month-old Connemara filly’s hooves are falling apart. The walls seem to be partially detaching from the underlying soft tissue. My veterinarian deferred to the farrier. The farrier is at a loss and suggested feeding her biotin as a way to toughen her hooves. She’s been weaned a few weeks but this problem has been ongoing since she was a month or so old. She seems a little footsore at all times, a result of all of the breakage, I assume. Can I feed biotin to a weanling? Should I just feed it to her with her ration balancer?
Answer
Yes, biotin supplements are appropriate for young horses, even weanlings, but your description leads me to believe that you may be dealing with hoof wall separation disease (HWSD), a genetic condition that affects Connemara ponies, generally when they’re still sucklings or weanlings.
The disease is characterized by the delamination of the hoof wall, causing it to weaken and break away easily. In the most severe cases, the wall becomes nonfunctional as a weight-bearing structure, which places all of the weight on the sole, often triggering lameness, abscesses, and potentially laminitis. Expert farriery may help ponies with milder forms of the disease. Traditional shoes tacked on with nails are not usually an option due to fragility of the hoof wall, though the use of glue-on shoes or other modern appliances could help restore a semblance of normalcy.
A genetic test for HWSD is available commercially to definitively determine if your filly carries the mutated gene. Many purebred Connemara societies require this genetic test as part of the foal-registration process. An informal survey of Connemara stallions on the internet reveals that many breeders display the results of genetic testing for consumers to review.
As with all health issues, veterinary attention should be sought. Because your veterinarian did not feel comfortable with a more in-depth examination, it is worthwhile to find a practitioner well versed in hoof disorders. Depending on the results of the genetic testing, knowledgeable veterinarians and farriers should work together to form an appropriate care plan for your filly.
