Case 204: Buddy
When this retired racehorse came to us, he had become too lame to even be turned out into a paddock. Each hoof had a crack running from the sole to the coronet band, and the lower section of hoof wall was dry, cracking and fl aking. Note the run-under heels and extremely low pastern angles, which placed excessive pressure on the hoof and leg, put ing him at risk for laminitis.
Working with Dr. Jolly, farrier Grady Hawthorne was called in to fi t a
wooden clog shoe.
CASE 204: BUDDY A 10-year-old racehorse gelding was retired from a successful racing career and
turned out to pasture. Like many T oroughbreds, his hooves were diffi cult to keep shoes on due to thin hoof walls and fl at soles. T e horse had become too lame to even be turned out in a paddock. T e owner contacted us in an eff ort to fi nd a way to alleviate the horse’s discomfort. I solicited input from one of our on-call farriers, Grady Hawthorne, and we went out to assess the condition of the horse’s hooves. We found the horse very lame and sore in both front hooves, but fortunately he
did not yet have laminitis. Each hoof had a crack running from the sole to the coronet band, and the lower section of hoof wall was dry and fl aking. We decided to address the condition by applying special therapeutic shoes called Wooden Clog Shoes, developed by Michael L. Steward, DVM. T e horse immediately showed relief and the ability to move about more easily
Flexible gel pads similar to inserts in human shoes were placed between the shoe and the hoof.
Buddy was more comfortable and able to
move and turn
without pain or lameness im-
mediately aſt er application of the clog shoes.
Buddy’s pastern angles have been restored to near normal angles by
wooden clog shoes. Com- pare with the “before”
photo and note how the heel was run down and the pastern dropped at a very acute angle.
T e wooden clog was secured with wooden “grabber” screws that go down through the hoof to the clog instead of up from the shoe to the hoof.
aſt er application of the clog shoes. T e owner took a personal interest in the methods we used and at ended one of the therapeutic shoeing sessions, seeking to understand why this approach was being used on his horse and how it worked. T e owner now has us regularly evaluate his retired racehorses to determine whether trimming, standard shoeing or therapeutic shoeing is the most eff ective way of achieving comfort for them.
CASE 212: DAISY
A 16-year-old T oroughbred broodmare with totally fl at hooves and deteriorated hoof walls that would not hold a nail was constantly “off and on” lame from bruising her soles. She also had multiple cracks around both front hooves. As this mare made over $100,000 racing primarily on a grass surface, it is possi- ble that hoof sensitivity was a part of her history from her early days of racing. T is mare was in foal to a top stallion, and the goal was to relieve the
pressure on her hooves, enabling her to walk freely and without discomfort. Several diff erent methods were at empted, from special trimming to building up the hoof walls with silicone. Success was fi nally achieved by applying EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate)
Clog Shoes, utilizing Equicast casting material on the hoof. Aſt er three shoeings with EVA Clog shoes, we were able to apply standard shoes, still utilizing casting material for continued hoof support.
HOW CLOG SHOES WORK T e success of this unique shoeing method lies in the structure
of the shoe. T e beveled, rounded design of a full roller motion shoe gives benefi cial mechanics that alleviate the pain that develops when a horse applies weight and turning motion. Such forces tend to pull the structures of the hoof apart, which could lead to laminitis. A full beveled shoe works not only on the front of the hoof but
on its sides as well, lessening the stress on the hoof when turning. For example, picture the “ball” that is put on the bot om of a cast on someone who has broken their leg. T e ball removes any torsion
64 | November 2012 •
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