Posted by M. W. Myers, D.V.M. on August 16, 2003 at 21:06:36:
In Reply to: Re: Glue-on shoes ?? posted by Derin Foor on August 11, 2003 at 20:55:40:
: : Horse with supersensitive hooves. Terrain here is 3 cornered rocks everywhere. 3 vets that have examined him do not agree he is navicular - 2 against and 1 in favor of a navicular Dx. Did nerve blocks, finally x-rayed and discovered only 8mm of sole. Shod using vet prescribed method - took 13 mm off one toe and 20mm of the other, padded sole with equisol and flat pad. Square toed shoe with 3/4" heel extensions. "Impressive" QH bloodlines......
: : The latest shoeing seems to have helped - horse is moving a lot better now with no visible lameness. However, driving nails on this horse is a real problem and we have tranked him and even tied him down to get the job done. It just hurts him to drive a nail in - even a shallow fish hook is a problem. Compounded the problem by hanging the heel extension on a pasture fence and springing the outside shoe heel and opening a horizontal crack where one nail somes out. Left the shoe in place, epoxied that crack and he seems to be going OK now.
: : Told the owner we were not doing this again and would have to try a glue on shoe. We live in a wet climate(96" annual rainfall) and I have never used glued on shoes before. Any suggestions ? Would also like to pad the soles, which may not be feasible with glued-on shoes. Maybe the mesh material and some of the newer sole padding material. Any ideas ? Anyone ?
: Jerry,
: 8 mm of sole is definitely a problem and is likely keeping this horse painful and making nailing nearly impossible. Sole packing might be compounding your problem since it is probably adding unwanted pressure to P3.
: Your wet climate might present a problem for a glue on shoe regardless what you decide to use. I would be inclined to try an aluminum wedge shoe (just a couple degrees to reduce the DDFT pull. Equilox the shoe with gutter guard between the shoe and the foot and after the Equilox has hardened, apply impression material from the apex of the frog back to the heels only (nothing under the apex of P3).MAKE SURE YOU DON'T GET ANY SOLE PRESSURE FROM THE EQUILOX.
: After you do your part it is the owners responsibility to do the management part and keep this horse out of the knee deep mud or all of your efforts will be for nothing and you'll undoubtedly be the lousy &%$^%(* that can keep this horse sound :)
: Dr Reddens method of applying the Rocker Shoe, while controversial, has shown to give the horse amazing ability to grow sole.
: hope this helps
: Derin
I fully agree with Derin that putting this horse into a treatment regimen to grow hoof is paramount to success in this case.
You will need properly taken balance radiographs and a shoeing regimen based on these. Any toe elongation must be removed and then a rocker glue on can be applied. With a sole this thin there is usually not enough hoof to rocker. I solve this dilemma by creating a "rocker sandal" with a Dalric cuff and a double nail pad or a full wedge pad if I need any additonal rear lift. With the hoof fully dried and prepared I attach this package with Vettech Adhere. The key then is to use additional Adhere over the top of the cuff to seal out any areas where moisture can collect. Don't use a mixing tip for this, a small container and a tongue depressor are better for control and speed.
The horse will need about 3 months of rest with limited work to allow for sole growth without losing the package. If the mud is knee deep, don't turn the horse out - simple as that. This package is resettable about two times if you remove it carefully and clean off the Adhere between sets. I place some Gamgee padding in the toe section and then fill the dead space with Vettech Equipak. This has worked well in sole growth for me.
M. W. Myers, D.V.M.