A technical report on the distribution of strain in the hoof wall of a standing horse before and after trimming

Abstract

A photoelastic method used for materials testing in industry has been adapted to show the distribution of strain through the hoof wall in the living horse. Coloured fringes appear in the photoelastic plastic where there are strain gradients occurring in the hoof. Strain distribution was documented in the hoof wall of the left front limb in a standing horse before and after trimming. The concentration of fringes coincided with an area that was already showing the effects of unequal strain distribution in the cracking back of the hoof wall to the edge of the line where the fringes ceased. There were no concentrations of coloured fringes visible following trimming of the hoof.