Hufkrebs bei Pferden Titelbild

Canker in Horses

Alt. Names: Equine Canker, Canker of the Hoof, Hoof Canker

Seek veterinary advice if you suspect this disease.

Definition of Canker in Horses

Canker is an unusual condition of the horse’s foot that affects the frog, bars, and sole. The name comes from the early belief that the condition was of a cancerous nature. However, to the best of our knowledge, canker is an anaerobic (grows in the absence of oxygen) infection in the superficial epithelium of the hoof (the outermost tissues, which produce the horn).
The causative bacterium is unknown, but some researchers have suggested the organism is a part of the Bacteroides species.

Symptoms of Canker in Horses

  • Swelling
  • Soft and Crumbly
  • Foul Smell
  • Bleeding
  • Bumps
  • Fluid Discharge
  • Deformed
  • Fur loss around Hoof
  • Lameness

Common in

  • Draft Horses

Treatment of Canker in Horses

Your veterinary surgeon will thoroughly clean the sole, sulci and frog, debriding and curetting (removing) all abnormal, dead and infected tissues, under general anaesthesia, if necessary. The clean wound is then packed with sterile gauze soaked in an antiseptic solution (e.g. dilute povidone-iodine) and the foot is bandaged.
The horse will often require treatment with antibiotics. Tetanus antitoxin must be given, if the horse is not fully vaccinated up to date or if vaccination status cannot be confirmed.
Afterwards, you must ensure clean, dry stable conditions and the bandage and antiseptic gauze pack must be changed every 2-3 days until there is no more discharge and the tissues appear healthy and healing. The horse must be kept out of wet and muddy conditions until the wound is completely healed.
Treatment for canker may be prolonged and in some cases, a total resolution is extremely difficult to achieve.

Prevention of Canker in Horses

Canker can be avoided by good stable management, and regular foot care and inspection. You should stable your horse in clean dry conditions and you should exercise your horse regularly. Horses’ feet should be picked out before and after exercise and when brought in from a muddy field. Your horses’ hooves should be regularly trimmed and shod to avoid the development of long heel conformation and to keep the frog healthy.

How Happie can help you manage your horse's health

Happie Horse App digitale Gesundheitsakte

Digital health management offers numerous benefits in modern equine healthcare.

With the Happie Horse App, you can track symptom patterns and body values, such as Temperature, Pulse and Respiration. Allowing you to notice abnormal changes in body and behaviour early on, leading to more successful treatments.

The Happie symptom checker allows you to add all of your horse's abnormal symptoms in order to present potential causes and diseases.

Google Play
App Store

Related articles

Thrush in horses is a fungal infection affecting the hooves, characterized by a foul-smelling discharge, blackened tissue, and potential lameness.
Hoof Diseases

Thrush in Horses

Equine Thrush Seek veterinary advice before applying any treatment. Thrush is a common bacterial infection of a hoof’s frog. The

White line disease in horses is a fungal or bacterial infection that affects the inner layer of the hoof, causing separation between the hoof wall and the underlying structures
Hoof Diseases

White Line Disease

White Line Disease Seek veterinary advice before applying any treatment. White Line Disease is caused by the invasion of fungi

Laminitis in horses is a painful inflammatory condition of the hoof tissues, often leading to lameness and severe complications.
Hoof Diseases

Laminitis in Horses

Laminitis in Horses This disease is life-threatening and should be treated by a veterinarian swiftly. Laminitis is an inflammation of