While bringing him in from the pasture, Boogie’s owner noticed blood trickling from the Quarter Horse’s coronary band and down his left front hoof. Once inside the barn, she immediately went to work cleaning and dressing the wound, then called in a veterinarian to inspect the injury. The veterinarian declared the injury superficial. He suspected Boogie probably sustained the injury when a pasturemate stepped on his foot. He cleaned and sutured the wound, then ordered the animal barn-bound while the wound healed.

Boogie’s injury could have been much worse. A deeper coronary band injury would have required more extensive care and could have affected the horse’s long-term soundness.

The coronary band is located where the hairline meets the hoof capsule and is the structure responsible for approximately 70% of hoof growth. Horses’ hooves grow an average of ¼ inch per month, according to Robin Dabareiner, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, assistant professor at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. She adds that hooves completely regenerate every eight to 12 months, on average.

“Damage to the coronary band usually results in slow and abnormal hoof growth,” Dabareiner says