reillyshoe wrote:Ron,
Most farriers associate a jammed up coronet with an increase of solar pressure (I might not agree, but that is a common thought). Do you agree? It appears the coronet remains "jammed" even though the heel has been floated in the hoof that is growing out.
I have always been very careful not to deny the lamellar bond. A coronet gets jammed over time. The lamellar bond adapts, fixing that situation. Using aggressive methods trying to undo the jams fail to accept that the jammed coronet also caused the lamellar bond to adapt. More graphically (hey, I'm Dutch) the way I see it if we would drill a hole through both the hoofwall and P3 before the jam and check that drilling after the jam we would find that the hole in P3 is at the same spot where the hole in the hoofwall will have moved up. Floating does not undo this. It may help reverse the process though. But if we float by taking all away new damage occurs in the lamellar bond.
reillyshoe wrote:Also, since one of the presumed benefits of the banana shoe is reducing the force incurred by the heels, is the floating really necessary, or more of a precaution?
For me the main advantage of a banana is reducing strain on P3 because the hoofcapsule has a chance to follow DDFT's lead without strain. Lemme explain. In a natural situation P3 wants to rotate because DDFT pulls. The hoofcapsule adds a lever, thus a counterforce against rotation/heel lift. This force is absorbed by the hoofcapsule through the lamillar bond for one. DDFT pull overcomes the counterforce and heel lift occurs. All this inevitably has it's impact on the bond between P3 and the hoofwall. That bond being that lamillar stuff. That lamillar stuff however has an extra function as well. It helps stabilize the hoofwall from the inside out. When the lamillar bond gives all kind of things happen to the hoofwall. Bulging, flaring etc.
When the foot grows P3 stays at the same spot relative to the COA. (Yes the COA is a reference for proximal/distal measurements too.) However the foot grows originating at the coronet alongside the walls of P3. This can only be explained when the bond between hoofwall and P3 is a non permanent on/off situation. People smarter than I am told me that had to do with an enzyme called MMP.
For me it is enough to know that the bond between P3 and the hoofwall is resembles something like an on/off ratchet. From that its not hard to envision what would happen the the hoofwall if that same hoofwall gets pushed up from the ground.
By the way this is not the same as saying that all jams originate from ground forces going up.
Well, did I make that #100?
Ronald Aalders