In vitro mechanical properties of different equine hoof wall crack fixation techniques

Hoof wall cracks need mechanical stabilisation to allow healing. Common techniques are fixation with screws, wires and plates or bonding of a patch across the crack. An in vitro system to determine the shear properties of equine hoof crack repairs is described. The force and displacement at yield, stiffness and ultimate force were determined for 4 repair techniques based on an acrylic material, polyurethane patch attached with cyanoacrylate adhesive, steel plate attached with screws and a transverse metal bar cut into the hoof wall. The cyanoacrylate bonded patch repair had lower values for all parameters measured (n = 8, P<0.05) and the other 3 repairs had similar mechanical properties. This study demonstrates that acrylic adhesive repairs can resist similar shear forces to traditional screw plate repairs without risk of penetrating into the sensitive structures of the foot. The transverse bar mounted across the crack had similar resistance to shear as the much larger screw plate and plain bonding repair techniques. This novel technique may be a useful adjunct to other repair methods.