The Coronary Band in Horses

Anatomy of your horse’s coronet

• The coronary band, or coronet, is the circular area just above the hoof wall, where the hard hoof shell meets the skin. The coronet forms a ring around the lower pastern area.

• This fancy band contains corium, the living tissues full of blood vessels. The coronary corium is the portion that makes the outer hoof wall visible. This part of the hoof-growing complex generates new cells and then pushes them into the world.

• Also inside the coronary band are long sections of corium called papillae. These papillae are long tubules that transport nutrients through the hoof wall.

• As the coronary band creates new hoof tissues, the cells don’t pop out fully functional and hard. They spend some time getting harder under the periople. This protective covering is just below the covering band and keeps the newly formed hoof wall safe.

• Many farriers will rasp the periople away for aesthetics.

Relationship to the frog, sole, and other anatomy

• The coronary corium also connects to the laminar corium inside the hoof. This area holds the hoof wall to the coffin bone. The entire system helps support a horse’s weight.

• Other hoof parts, like the sole and frog, grow from the solar and frog corium, respectively. While there is no direct association between the coronary band and the sole and frog, these parts are all the same hoof capsule with internal connections and connective tissue.

This article has simple explanations and diagrams of horse hoof anatomy.

Inspecting coronary bands when your horse’s legs are clipped is EASY.

Common problems associated with the coronary band

• Aside from your run-of-the-mill cuts and scraps that pop up, you may also find more serious situations that damage the coronary band and threaten hoof health.

Gravel abscesses

• Gravel is a lovely term to describe an abscess that blows out the top of the hoof. Typically, a horse will have a speck of something, like sand, that works its way into your horse’s white line. Sometimes, this turns into an infection inside the hoof wall. Besides being wildly painful as the infection grows upward, it often pops out of the coronary band.

• Gravel can also happen under the bars off the hoof, towards the heels. Gravel is also quite painful, and the resulting infection might pop out of the rear of the hoof toward the heel bulbs.

Quarter cracks

• Quarter cracks are one particular hoof crack originating at the coronary band, between the toe and the back of the hoof, on either the inside or outside of the hoof.

• Quarter cracks have many causes, including conformation, injury, and improper shoeing. These cracks are the full thickness of the hoof wall and are tricky to heal. The hoof flexes and contracts as your horse moves, thus stressing the quarter crack.

• It’s easy to see the beginnings of some quarter cracks. You might see a bruise, a sore or inflammation on the coronary band, or the beginnings of a small crack. Do get your farrier and vet involved pronto if you suspect a quarter crack. Many cracks must be sewn shut or have metal plates hold them together.

Interference and other injuries

• Horses are also experts at overreach injuries, when the hind hoof clips the front leg, often landing on the heel bulb or coronary band. Bell boots protect horses that love to perform this particular stunt.

• Other horses may kick and land a blow to the coronary band, or it could be a cut from brush, a tumble, a piece of wood, or from banging the bottom of a fence or gate.

Coronary band dystrophy

• A newly recognized autoimmune disease in horses is called coronary band dystrophy (CBD). Autoimmune diseases happen when a horse’s immune system attacks its own tissues.

• You will see scaly, crusty coronary bands, sometimes with ulcers and sores. The hair may also stick out in weird directions. This weird hair growth direction is also a sign of founder in horses, so it’s worth investigating with your vet if this happens suddenly.

• The ergots and chestnuts may also develop CBD, and it can morph into canker. A horse with canker has overgrown and painful tissue around the frog and sole of the foot.

• There’s no cure for coronary band dystrophy, which may cause lameness and interfere with hoof growth. The best plan is to notice it early and treat the symptoms.

Read more about coronary band dystrophy here.

This gravel exit is growing out and will continue to travel down the hoof wall. 

How long does it take for a coronary band to heal?

• A damaged coronary band may heal quickly in a few weeks, barring infection or complications. If the hoof wall also has a defect, it can take 8 months to a year to completely grow out.

Give your horse a bowl cut.

Grooming the Coronary Band in Horses

• There’s no particular reason to “groom” your horse’s coronary band, but you need to inspect it.

• Because the coronary band is filled with blood vessels and serves such a critical function, even the most minor injury can influence your horse’s soundness. Some coronary band injuries cause permanent disfigurements and abnormalities to the hoof and may even cause permanent lameness.

• The easiest way to inspect your horse’s coronary band is to use your hands and eyes. It’s also handy to have a pair of trimmers or clippers to clean any wounds as you find them.

This knucklehead horse likes to whack himself.

How to trim around the top of the hoof

• Horses that have their lower legs clipped have visible coronary bands. Short hair makes it easy for visual inspections and keeps the entire leg clean.

• You can also trim your horse’s coronary band with trimmers or clippers. I use a #10 blade, and you can do things a few different ways.

• You can point your clippers down and chop off the bottom of the coronary band, like giving your horse a bowl cut.

• With the clippers pointed down, you can rake the coronary band to “take a little off the top” as if you were blending the hair.

• Alternatively, point your clipper blades up to grab a little more hair.

• You could leave the rest of the lower leg hair intact and trim away only enough to see the coronet.

Clip just a little with the clippers UP so that you can easily see what’s going on.

The periople – should your farrier rasp it?

• If you like, you can keep the periople to protect the newer horn material growing down. For show horses, rasping the periople gives a sleep, uniform appearance that makes hoof polish look amazing. Consider using bell boots if the periople is rasped away.

Bump up your grooming routine

• These techniques make staying on top of your horse’s hoof health easier. You don’t always have to groom your horse like they’re going to the Olympics, but double-check on all the important parts, like the coronary band. It takes mere moments to do a quick inspection of the coronary band. 

Videos