Split Hooves

I was checking the horses this morning in the pasture after feeding them to see if any had a missing shoe or injury. Everyone was looking good until I got to Bob, the last horse in the line. I saw blood on his left rear hoof which is never a good sign. I haltered him and took him out of the pasture to take a better look. He had torn open the back of his heel bulb at the coronet band. These type of injuries are the worst as it is hard to keep them from getting infected. Fortunately, the wound was fresh so I cleaned it out and called the vet. The vet was in surgery and couldn't come out until the afternoon and I had to leave for a meeting concerning repairs to one of the parade grounds. Fortunately, Debbie was able to come out and treat the wound and get Bob started on the antibiotics that were prescribed by the vet. Debbie cleaned up the wound and wrapped it up and put a duct tape boot over the bandage to keep water out. The vet came out later and re-examined the wound and trimmed some of the hoof material away that might trap bacteria. She flushed the wound out again and reapplied the bandage. I then covered that with another duct tape boot. Hopefully, Bob's wound will heal quickly without getting infected. As is often the case with new horses, he has a tendency to get injured.