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T O P I C R E V I E W
Wyllow
Posted - 08 Sep 2011 : 4:50:32 PM Has anyone on AL ever used stick on shoes for any reason?
My little mare Milly ( 19 )has had a history of niggling feet and the occasional laminitic issue which for 10 years we have kept at bay....but time goes by and she is currently suffering a prolonged bout ( 1 month) which the vets consider low grade but to me is AGONISING to watch.
She is worse shod and against my own better judgement I had her reshod when she came to our new place some months back where the hacking has roads instead of tracks and her feet were wearing down with just occasional outings....and on advice, I had shoes put on which MAY or may NOT have contributed to a worse problem along with stress, change in hay batch, new mare on the yard , age with IR or possibly even Cushings beginning?
She is rested on a deep bed, with soaked older hay, Happy Hoof, magnesium and vit E sipplements ( amongst others prescribed)and a low dose of Bute... and I asked for an xray and bloods today....so should get a better picture of what is happening and what has changed this time.
Anyway, looking at long term maintenance if she needs a "mechanical" solution for her feet along with possibly medication or changes in diet...
Has anyone with a tenderfooted horse ( for any reason ) ever tried FLEXIBLE shoes or those applied with adhesive like EPONA or IMPRINT shoes?
Have read a bit about them as a friend has used EPONA shoes....just wondering what the experience of others might be please?
ANY thoughts at all on laminitis and shoes very welcome.
Thanks,
~Cate and Milly :) xx
7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Wyllow
Posted - 11 Sep 2011 : 3:18:26 PM I have to say that I am inclined to agree about the effect of pads and a good bed that will mould to the foot doing the same job. Pads slip and boots also, if they do not fit precisely. Sand can get very wet and smelly and get in the frog clefts making thrush in those susceptible a problem ~ used it before but BLISS bedding has proved ideal as long as it is kept very deep. yes, I have heard of backward facing shoes and it makes sense as there is NO pressure on the point of breakover as the pony walks. One of those old fashioned but sometimes very effective measures. Hopefully going to speak to a farrier who was at Liphook when he is next here, next week I think...he works with a farrier here on and off, so he may also have some thoughts to add. Milly dosed up on bute and comfortable for now on her bed. Thank you all again.
Mrs Vlacq
Posted - 11 Sep 2011 : 11:51:56 AM never used them here, but have heard as many great reviews as bad ones. They are pricey but if they get your pony right, they are worth it, surely? Frog supports are great provided they are fitted properly - lily pads saved 2 mares here, a toxic lami broodmare, and a porky welshy that returned to full work fine. Discussed glue ons with vet and farrier over recent yrs, they seemed to agree that standing horse on sand would have same result as using imprints to treat a very lame pony in acute phase, plus the hoof is bare and can be regularly trimmed easily. Once a bit more mobile the horse could go into boots for turnout/light work. Lami horses often tend to make their boots resemble their feet, so keep an eye on the heels of boots is they are particulalry pliable. Having said all that, shoes with quarter clips, refitted every 4 wks, seems to have best results in horses I've seen. And in one tiny pony, regualr shoes nailed on backwards had her right in no time!!She did look funny though, with her hoofprints telling the world she was going in the opposite direction Good luck, and I hope you are both feeling better about M's feet soon - it's such a worry
Wyllow
Posted - 11 Sep 2011 : 07:58:53 AM Thank you everyone, your views and experiences are so valuable.
Thing is with farriers and laminitis...if you do NOT attend to the shooting toes or rising heels, firstly, the point of breakover gets further and further from the front of the pedal bone and puts MORE pressure on it as the horse walks....so something in a horse or pony with long toes HAS to be done and the foot balanced properly according to the xrays or secondly, the overgrowth of heels on other horses will tip MORE weight onto an already compromised structure causing more pain. It IS a terrible worry to know if you are really helping or hindering.
Judith S
Posted - 09 Sep 2011 : 7:07:37 PM Have you tested for EMS, we have a new livery with laminitis history and he has just started with our vets and tested very high for sugar levels. After 4 weeks medication levels are normal, vet removed terrible shoes on first consultation and horse had a barefoot trim last week and there is now little or no sign of lameness - this horse has suffered recurrent lami for the past 6 years that has not been managed well by previous vets and farriers.
Pasha
Posted - 09 Sep 2011 : 12:15:33 PM Oh i'm so sorry Milly is so sore!
I can't help with the shoes i'm afraid as we (vet and I both) take direction from my farrier! He doesn't favour any one particular method and shoes according to the horse in question! Pasha had heart bars and then pads and now only has one pad on one foot which he adds some sort of filler too. Shesky has always been in Natural Balance since his Lami, barring last year when he changed the fronts, but he's since changed back again following his most recent episode last Jan.
I think getting her tested for IR and Cushings is very sensible xxx
garnet
Posted - 09 Sep 2011 : 10:47:43 AM Red had 2 sets of Imprint shoes last summer when he had laminitis. He was on box rest to start with and then turned out with Easiboots over the Imprints to give additional protection to his soles which were rather soft. He made a good recovery, progressed to steel heartbars and then normal shoes. The farrier who fitted his Imprints (not our normal one as not all farriers do them) also showed me another version of the Imprint which is designed for working in. Fortunately we didn't need these but the Imprints we had certainly did the job.
Red's lami started in May but he didn't have the Imprint shoes until around July. Had I known then what I know now I would have pushed the vet to have them fitted sooner as this may have prevented some of the pedal bone rotation which occurred. Red was cleared to start work in November in his heart bars, although the snow put a stop to that, and competed for the first time in May, but his feet have only just started to look good, having had 'pithy' fronts until the last few weeks. Since the lami Red eats Happy Hoof instead of Alfa and Farriers Formula instead of Lo-Cal.
Have you considered the 'working' equivalent of the Easiboot? Mine were for turnout only, and also came in handy when he got an abscess the day after the heartbars were fitted, but they were easy to put on and stood up to being used with the Imprints even though they are really for unshod horses.
Best of luck with Milly. They are such a worry, aren't they?
Kes
Posted - 08 Sep 2011 : 6:34:41 PM Sorry to hear you are having a time of it with your girl, I can't offer anything about the shoes but I was told this; at the beginning of the year my 20yo mare was diagnosed with Cushings and Laminitis. She didn't have shoes on at the time but was due for a trim. When I asked the farrier to look at her with a view to a trim the following week he advised not to touch her feet at all. He told me that in cases of laminitis any kind of work on the feet can be traumatic and worsen laminitis. Now she had quite bad laminitis, for a 14.3hh horse being on 3 bute a day is a lot so that shows how much pain she was in and how hard we were trying to control the laminitis and other symptoms. My vet also agreed with the farrier to not touch her feet in that time. It wasn't only that banging around with each foot would be painful, it's also the weightbearing on the other feet when one is held up, and also knowing that lami horses hop from foot to foot. Sorry this doesn't help with your actual question re shoes, but I was told lami horses should stay away from the farrier unless it's specifically remedial.
