He’s learned about bruised heels through experience,
starting with a Grand Prix jumper four years ago. “I’ve become educated,” he says. “Now we use a thermal heat camera.” “With this camera,” he explains, “from the knees down
we can see everything. When you raise the hoof, any area of bruising or concussion, the thermal camera picks it up right away. On my horse, I could see the heels were bruised.” Veterinary thermography shows temperature variations,
with heat a sign of inflammation. “My most effective diag- nostic tool for bruised heels is the thermal camera,” he reit- erates. He explains that the computer analyzes the thermal images, showing different colors for varying levels of heat. “You can have a bruising that is only penny-sized, or see that the heels are blown away with heat,” he adds. Jumpers simply have to deal with hoof concussion at
shows, he says. “The show footing has to have a certain amount of hardness. They drag the ring after 35 horses, or when they move jumps for the next class,” he explains. Since sand-based footing can “sandblast” a horse’s
heels, Sanjay explains, he aims to protect them with a soft pour-in rubber pad. “We put it in the hoof in the morn- ing, and remove it after the class. It takes away the contact between the sand and the heel. The pour-in pad is soft and absorbs the initial impact.” He recommends products from Vettec Hoof Care.
He prefers the pour-in pads over pads secured under
shoes. “With rubber pads, you can’t easily soak the hoof and put in Epsom salt after a week of jumping. The rubber pad doesn’t really prevent the concussion—it transfers concussion to the frog and heel. With the pour-in pad, you can change the depth, and then peel the pad off as soon as you’re finished showing. It’s like a Plasticene [a type of modeling clay]; it sets up by the time you’re finished pour- ing. All four feet take only 15 minutes.” At California shows, hooves must be resilient in the
dry climate, yet tough to withstand repeated concussion. Sanjay’s routine includes packing hooves with Epsom salts and wrapping all four hooves in warmed linseed mash. These treatments all soften the hoof, but jumpers’ heels also need to be durable. “You need the correct hardness of the heel,” he says.
“The heel sits off the ground, with no contact with the ground. Then most horses when they jump, say 60 percent of the heel is on the ground behind the hoof. The heel has a direct contact and direct concussion with jumpers.” So at a show, he applies heated Venice turpentine
twice a week to help harden the sensitive heels. “We use the turpentine to paint the heel to make the heels hard for the jumpers. It works for three days.” Even with Sanjay’s rigorous management, sore heels can still be a problem. At the 2014 World Equestrian
Consider Hoof Conformation T
he shape of the foot can predispose a jumper toward bruised heels. “The low heel/long toe conformation is a
genetic predisposition,” says veterinarian Martin Crabo. “The horse that has a tendency toward the lower heel will over the years tend to be worse.” He describes the difference between a low heel and
an underrun heel. “If the heel comes close to matching the angle of the toe, that would be low. The definition of an underrun heel is more than five degrees compared to
the toe angle. Most or all underrun will be low heels, by definition.” Farrier Thomas Browning explains, “It’s important to get the hoof capsule parallel with the lines of the coffin bone. The shoer needs to understand the anterior and poste- rior balance of the hoof.” Both toe and heel angles should match, he adds. An underrun heel reduces the size of the hoof print. “On most horses that are underrun, the wall is curved under,
“Great footed horse; toe and heel line angles match,” Thomas Browning says of this Bavarian Warmblood.
18 January/February 2016
“Wedge pads to keep the angle, to keep the posterior axis up,” notes Thomas regarding this Oldenburg’s shoes.
“Not bad. He has that more upright pastern align- ment,” says Thomas about this Zangersheide.
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