Return to article: How to treat a Horse's Chestnuts
on 11/2/2007 Learned this in vet tech training...every horse is born with chestnuts. They form because as the horse fetus is developing, the legs are tucked under. When the hooves form, they are touching the leg (back hooves to the front leg and vice versa, I think) and a little bit of that stem cell tissue developing into hoof is stuck on the leg too.
on 10/25/2007 The chestnuts are a horny substance, similar to a fingernail in humans. Every horse has this extra 'growth' and it might have had a purpose at some point in their evolution. We can safely remove it, just like cutting a fingernail, but must be careful not to injure the underlying skin. Hope this helps!
on 9/25/2007 How do horses get chestnuts? Do they just start growing for some reason or is it similar to when a human gets a cut and then a scab is formed while the wound is healing? Just curious. Thanks!
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