Many disease pathologies that affect the equine hoof require intervention from a veterinarian and farrier team. In addition, a resection of hoof wall portions may be necessary. Among the conditions that typically require partial to complete hoof wall resection are: full thickness hoof wall cracks/fractures, surgical removal of keratomas, hoof wall avulsions and white line disease. To limit secondary complications and increase comfort of the horse, various techniques can be utilized by the veterinarian and farrier team to stabilize the hoof wall and the distal phalanx within the hoof capsule.^1,2,3 

The equine hoof shape is an inverted, incomplete truncated cone. In addition to this shape/orientation, the hoof wall decreases in thickness from the toe to the heel that results in expansion of the hoof capsule heels, both medially and laterally, as well as bending of the dorsal hoof wall ventrally when the limb is loaded and the distal phalanx descends within the hoof.⁴ This hoof mechanism results in various parts of the hoof having one or more forces (compression, tension, bend) acting on it based on the morphology of the hoof.⁵ These forces also impact defects, cracks and areas of hoof wall resection. For those located on the dorsal portion of the hoof wall, compressive and bending forces act on the proximal portion of the hoof wall, while bending and tensile forces act on the distal portion. For defects, cracks and areas of hoof wall resection located palmar/plantar to the widest point of the hoof, bending and…