Dianne,
So tell about the horse on the back of the PF mag.
What was the problem?
Why did those shoes work?
If they will make little girls smile like that, then I'll buy a case.
Thanks in advance,
Bill

Bill Adams wrote:

Hey, Bill Adams!

That horse is a 23 year old QH mare used for a riding program for "challenged" people.

I started experimenting with the Easy Walkers about a year an half ago. I am of the belief that no one shoe can fix all problems, so this is just another "tool in the box" so to speak.

In this instance I like these shoes for older horses with limb deviations. I have been taking notice of bone alignment in the radiographs of my clients. My observations have led me to believe that when the distal end of the cannon and the proximal end of the long pastern form the fetlock joint, they do not necessarily align horizontal in the joint plane. (The joint space while equal does have a tendancy to be lined up obliquely in horses with cannon bones that either rotate outward or hooves that rotate inward from the limb in their deviation).

This hypothesis has led me to believe that in older horses where collateral ligament structure is loosing elasticity, and joints are acquiring arthritic changes, that hoof capsule flexion is necessary for the comfort for the older, geriatric horse (sometimes not so geriatric if the deviation is extreme)

What I have seen in these horses is a reported marked improvement in attitude and gait. Again this is reported to me by my client (Or in this horse's case the Barn manager and instructors at the program). I currently have 5 of the 10 horses in this program wearing Easy Walker shoes. All horses are over the age of 20 except one who is 10, but posesses an extreme limb deviation.

The wonderful child in this program is a great example of what these horses can do for "Special" people. Yes, it makes my heart soar to know that I too can make a little girl smile.

Dianne Lemmon

Nice smile on both of you guys, even the horse looks like she is smileing.

When I read the first paragraph of the add, I first thought they meant you had arthritis after shoeing for 20 plus years.

Good for you Dianne, keep them smileing.

Dianne,
Would you say that you shoe the foot the same as to brakeover and cadule suport with the steel and easywalker? Would the horse go as sound barefoot as that provides the maxamim flex? How come you don't hog off the front of the foot like that other easywalker guy?(big grin here)
I was shoeing at a barn where a group of special kids were riding. A gal had a special ramp made on the side of her trailer to help the kids mount and to accomadate weelchairs. Got a few sniffels watching those kids get so much joy from riding a horse.
They came over and watched me work in the fire and got a kick out of that too. I cleaned up a couple of old shoes and gave them each one and you would have thought the shoes were made of gold.
I offered to trim and shoe the horses for the lady who ran the program for free but she said there were a bunch of other guys already doing it for her.
Made me proud of our mates.
Bill

Bill Adams wrote:

Bill,

Yes I agree, perhaps a flexible plastic shoe will fill a void; the horse that is more comfortable barefoot but is in a situation precluding barefootness.

Interesting note here, KC LaPierre, noted barefoot advocate, in his lecture at the Hoof Care Summit, "Trimming to the 5th Dimenson" even mentioned he was exploring the possibility of how a flexible plastic shoe may be a suitable replacement for traditional shoes in these cases.

As far as fit goes, Yes I fit the Easy Walkers with as much caudal support as I would with a steel shoe, also I can use even more expansion in the shoe as you can bevel it extensively. (I deplore excessive rasping of the dorsal wall and my technique when I set back and under is to bevel up from the ground surface, this maintains dorsal wall density and integrity).

I love shoeing for this facility. The rewards I gain shoeing there are not monetary. To me these horses are as important as my horses competing at the International levels.

I once was blessed with an interaction with a girl approxiamatly my age with advanced Huntington's disease. She was confined to a wheelchair and struggled to commicate fighting the strangle-hold the disease had on her body and brain. She was facinated with clothing and I was told she was once a clothing designer. She struggled to communicate to me and her "riding" instructor about "The Romans were the first ones to use a horseshoe". The instructor quickly dismissed her and said "No you're wrong". I stood up to full height and stared the instructor in the eye and told her that actually the woman was correct and how the Romans fashioned leather slippers to their horses' hooves. I was awestruck at the mind power this person still had even though the disease had completly ravaged her body and mind. This moment has forever changed my opinion of what's truly important in the world. The woman in the wheelchair was named "Lourdes", which is of course the healing cave in France where the "Our Lady of Fatima" shrine is.


Dianne

Thanks for the reply and story,
Bill