I have a turning 3 year old Canadian gelding in Mass. I purchased him from Canada when he was 13 months old. He was very under weight, had a horrible coat and his feet were a mess. The hoofs were all cracked and dry. I started putting shoes on him about a year ago after discussing it with the vet and farrier that this may prevent him from chipping so much. We are now able to keep a set of shoes on the front for about 5 weeks. I oil the hoofs only in the dry summer months. He wears bell boots all of the time because he has a tendancy to pull of the front shoes. My question concerns a vertical line that goes from the top of the hoof to the bottom. He has always had it but now it seems be getting deeper. The vet and blacksmith did not think anything of it, they had never seen something like it before though. He has never foundered nor been lame. When I first got him he used to stock up a lot due to being in a stall at night (he was out on a large field before in Canada) Tonight the indentation seems to be getting deeper on the front two hoofs. There is no heat, swelling nor lameness. Now I am concerned though that this may be a sign of something to come. He is not worked very much as he will not start training until this summer. He is about 15.3 and 1300 pounds-very very drafty Canadian with an awesome personality. Do you have any thoughts as to what this is? The line is in the middle of each hoof but more pronounced in the front two. His feet are not soft and are actually in the best condition that they ever have been. His coat is very shinny now also. I feed him Strategy (about 2 scoops a day) and he gets fairly good hay about 4-1/2 flakes a day while he is outside. He never even stocks up when he is in at night anymore (has not for about 14 months now) I appreciate any advice. Thanks very much

I notice that you say line and not crack. If there is still solid hoof wall present, I would not be too concerned. When the vet and farrier agree that there is no problem, the horse is not lame and seems to be in the best shape ever, I would not let it bother me. If it becomes a crack, then there is something that we can work on.