Foot X-rays – Part 3: Seedy toe… and then there’s SEEDY TOE

So sometimes we see seedy toe…

and sometimes we see SEEDY TOE

This case was definitely the capital-letter kind — a pretty wild one that’s going to need some tricky corrective farrier work moving forward.

What really made the difference here was being able to:

Take foot-balancing X-rays so the farrier knows exactly what they’re up against

Use contrast X-rays to map the track and depth of the pathology inside the foot

Contrast allows us to follow the path of the seedy toe internally — information you simply can’t get from the outside of the hoof alone.

Because this was associated with a quarter crack, appearances were a bit deceptive.

On the lateral (side) view it actually looked worse than it was in some areas, so we didn’t stop there.

In addition to the standard views, we also took an oblique view to give us another angle and a clearer understanding of what was really happening inside the foot.

This is exactly why:

Multiple views matter

Contrast studies can be game-changers

Vet–farrier collaboration is so powerful in complex hoof cases

Next step: careful planning, smart trimming, and teamwork to give this foot the best chance to heal

This blog post was provided by Dr Lauren Jones of Kentaro Veterinary Services servicing the Coffs Harbour District in NSW