Posted by Patty Stiller on June 15, 2002 at 21:58:00:
In Reply to: Re: no heels posted by CCL on June 15, 2002 at 07:50:34:
: : If the fiberous tissue of the digital cushion is damaged, how can one tell. I have three horses that I have applied that natural balance shoe to for about one year with no results. My clients are apprehensive about EDSS because of the cost. My clients keep asking if there are any tests used to determine if the heels will grwo with the EDSS?
: no heels: I am not a offical EDSS farrier ,yet I use the balance ideals on horses with several different problems. In your case I would use a alum Square it for break over only if you have some wall to support the shoe then use equiPak support the heels by making a duck tape dam in the back of the hoof simliar to a egg bar. warning learn how to use equi pak before (dave farly has a cdr ask your supplier) many good farriers have had great luck with these products. I know that i have. Also a square heart bar with impressionary putty over the caudle cushion works well but you must be a good shoe maker for that one Goodluck. PS just make a NBS shoe bump up the middle and square turn your branches. Put money in your pocket not Gene,s also you can use a st croix eventer works great just square it.
CCL. I almost did not see this post because it was added to one almost two years old.
Anyway,I don't recall anyone ever stating tissue in the digital cushion was "damaged" but rather the research has proven that many horses lack supportive cartilage inthat area. It seems to be a developmental/genetic problem. At this time the only way to tell positively if the digital cushion is lacking in cartilage is at necropsy. BUT, in comparing the research and observations in the field from farriers there has been a real consistency in the conformation and structure of the heel bulb area ofhte difeent quality hooves. The feet with heels that are full, flat and "filled" between the bulbs seem to be the ones that have the bsst structure inside and recover fastest. Those that are "hollow" between the bulbs ,where you can actually hold the back of the lateral cartilages between your fingers are usually very weak inside,and very slow togain hoof structure and recover to health. Dr Bob Bowker Phd, who did the histoligical studieson the huindreds of specimen feet in the lab which found these differences is always comparing his lab studies top findings from farriers out in the field, and this seems to be really consistant. There are some MRI studies coming up in the future that will compare sample feet fropm a lot of diffeent horses, Should be complete in a year or two.
The soft tissue structure in the hoof that you CAN diagnose for damage is the impar ligament and the lower attatchnent of the DDFT, at the intersection. That area can be seen well through ultrasound exam taken through the frog area. The technique is a pain in the rear so many vets don't want to do it. .
I have to say that given your comments about the shoes themselves, Nartural Balance is NOT just a certain shoe. It is a whole system of applying a biomechanics that differs somewhat from traditional shoeing, including the hoof preperation.
Most often if the farrier is not getting results with the system then he is not fully understanding and applying the principles correctly but rather is just nailing on the shoe to a traditional hoof prep. That does not work.
NBS is not a shoe, but a 'package' of hoof preperation and shoe application with an undertanding of the the newest science of hoof biomechanics .
I highly recommend that since you are not an "EDSS" farrier that you at least attend one of Gene's three day clinics to find out more about the entire concept,and get some hands on training in applying the principles before you blame the shoes. And if you have ben to one but it has been more than year or two, there has been a lot of research and evolution in that time and there is a lot more to learn. I have opersonally witnessed many farriers who have had poor experiences with NBS come to clinics who then left with answers about what they were missing that was causing their failures.
There is a trememnous clinic coming up in Pueblo Co next weekend with very qualified speakers (Top level vets, as well as journeyman farriers) from all over the US as well as from England, folks who have seen the benefits of applying this system correctly.
It is VERY reasonably priced, less than most farrier clinics and will be well worth the money.
As to forging the shoes, sure even though a farrier who likes to forge can certainly duplicate the shoes, the Natural Balance shoes have some special featurs that make them most suitable to help apply these principles and most fariers miss some of those when they make their own. I have seen manyafarrier have a failure just because he missed some small detail like relieving the sole surface of the shoes, or not drawing out the toe correctly. Natural balance shoes are not just a 'square toe' shoe, in fact they are not even square if you look closely. Getting a shoe too square is not usually good good for the horse. I have used St croix ashoes, (a lot of them) before the steel NBS came available but I find now that I have a far better shoe available it is SO much easier to use them instead of burning propane and taking the time to forge shoes.
Patty