Hoof Acrylic is one of the craftable items in the game. Users in the Blacksmithing stream can produce it using plastic.

Course Article

Treating Quarter Cracks

Quarter cracks are a common hoof wall defect that can occur in horses. There are many possible causes of quarter cracks, including coronet injuries, poor farriery, poor quality hoof wall, white line disease or hoof capsule distortion. Hoof capsule distortion is the most common cause, because it leads to abnormal strain on certain areas of the foot leading to wall failure. Distortion may be caused by poor farriery, but could also be related to limb conformation.

Quarter cracks are cracks in the hoof wall that occur on the sides of the foot, somewhere between the toe and the heel. They can be minor, extending only partially up the hoof, or can be quite severe, extending all the way from the ground surface to the coronary band. The more severe cases can take up to a year to grow out, due to the slow growing nature of the hoof.

Quarter crack management starts with determining and correcting the underlying cause of the crack if possible. This can be done by balancing the foot appropriately. Then, the farrier will attempt to stabilize the hoof wall to prevent the hoof from cracking further as the hoof grows. The cracked area should also be washed with iodine to help dry out the crack and prevent infection.

Stabilizing quarter cracks often involves using a hoof acrylic, which is an adhesive that can be applied to a strong fabric and pasted onto the hoof wall. This fabric then acts as a support structure to keep the hoof stable, thus preventing further cracking. This fabric and adhesive should be changed at least every other trim, to make sure that the underlying crack has not developed any infections and is improving.

In Oxer to Oxer, applying hoof acrylic to a horse diagnosed with a quarter crack will reduce their recovery time by half. This product is crafted by users in the Blacksmithing stream using three plastic pieces.

1. Pleasant, R.S., O'Grady, S.E., McKinlay, I. Farriery for Hoof Wall Defects: Quarter Cracks and Toe Cracks. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice 2012;28:393-406.