The Coronary Band of Horses

Anatomy of Your Horse’s Coronet

• The coronary band, or coronet, is the circular area just above the hoof wall, where the hard 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 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 wall safe.

• Some farriers will rasp the periople away for aesthetics. A survey by the American Farrier’s Journal found that about 2/3 of farriers leave the periople alone.

Relationship to the frog, sole, and other anatomy

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

• Other anatomical parts, such as the sole and frog, develop from the solar and frog corium, respectively. While there is no direct association between the coronet 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.

Common Problems Associated With the Coronary Band

• Aside from the run-of-the-mill cuts and scraps that occur, you may also encounter more serious situations that damage the coronet and compromise hoof health.

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

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 can develop into an infection within 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 of the foot, 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.

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

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 foot.

• 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 may notice a bruise, sore, or inflammation on the coronet, or the beginnings of a small crack. Get your farrier and vet involved promptly 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 prone to overreach injuries, which occur 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 coronet, or it could be a cut from brush, a tumble, a piece of wood, or from banging the bottom of a fence or gate.

This knucklehead horse likes to whack himself.

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 coronets, 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.

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

Read more about how the coronary band influences hoof growth here.

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 coronet may heal quickly within a few weeks, provided there is no infection or complications. If the hoof wall also has a defect, it can take 8 to 12 months to grow out completely.

The periople – should your farrier rasp it?

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

The American Farrier’s Journal has an article about rasping (or not) the periople away.

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

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 coronet is filled with blood vessels and serves such a critical function, even the most minor injury can influence your horse’s soundness. Some coronet area 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.

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 pastern area with trimmers or clippers. I use a #10 blade, and you can use it a few different ways.

• You can point your clippers down and chop off the bottom of the hair, like giving your horse’s foot a bowl cut.

• With the clippers pointed down, you can rake the coronet 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.

Give your horse a bowl cut.

Bump up your grooming routine

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