Beckie’s Equine Letter
News, Case Studies, Questions & Answers
and a Lesson of the Month in every Issue
November 2005 -- Issue 7
News for the Month
Hi there. Well November seems to have come around quickly. Now we’re approaching the winter, I just want to make sure you’re all aware of how important it is that the horses feet and legs are clean and 100% dry for when I come to shoe them. Apart from the fact I don’t want to get wet and muddy, the insurance company is clamping down. With all the new health and safety legislation's, it states that our insurance cover is not valid if we are shoeing a horse that is wet—and that includes damp and only just a little bit damp! When the horse is wet I can’t grip the leg securely, and if something were to happen, injuring either the horse or myself, I am not covered. So I know it is tricky over the winter, but please make sure the horses are clean and dry when I come to do them—if they aren’t I will have to re-book them for another time, and this is just hassle for all of us. Thanks in advance for your understanding and efforts.
One thing I thought of recently... those of you that communicate with me via text won’t get my answer phone message explaining where I am, if I’m away—so you might think I’m ignoring you if you don’t get a reply! I’m very happy to receive text messages, but if you don’t get a reply after a day or so, please call to make sure I’m not away. Also, on a couple of occasions I haven’t received voice messages left on my mobile for some reason, and have had a couple of people confused that I hadn’t returned their call. Modern technology unfortunately doesn’t work all the time, so if you don’t hear from me please call back as there may have been a technical error along the way—it’s not in my nature to ignore messages.
Well my time at Liphook will be coming to an end in December. Dave Nicholls who I work with has been there for 20 years and has handed in his notice. It has been a great experience. I will still be going out with Dave but it will be on his local round from January onwards.
Work is getting busy at Anvil vets where I work alternate Wednesdays doing their remedial shoeing. I’m really enjoying getting the chance to shoe some of the more technical cases.
A friend of mine Hazel Blake is setting up an Equine Physiotherapy practice in our area. If your horse is in need of some treatment contact Hazel on 07889 006110.
I would like to say a big well done to George Howells, age 11, who currently holds the record on my books for being the youngest person to take off a shoe. She would make a great farrier in years to come—so watch this space.
Keep an eye out for next months Christmas edition... I’ve got something a little bit different for you :-)
Lesson of the Month
Laminitis in brief
Laminitis is an in-depth topic and probably one of the least understood. In this lesson I’m going to run through a simple definition, with basic signs and causes. I’ll be explaining treatments in future issues. Farrier's, vets and owners all have their own ideas on treatments, and with every laminitic horse being different each one has to be treated individually—what works for one might not work for another. So in future issues, I’ll focus on just the methods that have produced the best results for me.
To get started, here are the basics:
Definition. Laminitis occurs when the sensitive laminae of the foot become inflamed and starved of blood. It can affect one, two, three, or all four feet. You can think of Laminitis in this way: Picture one main bone in the foot; this is the pedal bone. Around this bone you have layers of laminae holding the bone in place. On top of the laminae you have the wall which encapsulates all of this. The laminae has a high blood supply and if this is compromised it begins to die. If this happens it loses its strong bond with the pedal bone and as a result the bone and wall begin to tear apart. This is why you see the white line on the bottom of the foot haemorrhage and stretch. The pedal bone, now not fully supported, can either sink, rotate or both.
Signs. There are two different phases of Laminitis: acute and chronic. The acute phase is when it starts. The chronic phase is when it’s ongoing and not yet stabilized. Signs you might see in the acute phase are:
Lameness
Posture and gait change—from trying to bear weight on just the back of the foot
Strong digital pulse
Excessive heat at the coronary band
Sensitive to pressure in front of the point-of-frog
Stretched white line
Redness on the sole in front of the point-of-frog
In the chronic phase you would see:
Long heels, with long stretched toes
Growth rings around the wall
A depression at the coronary band
Rotation or sinking of the pedal bone shown on x-rays
Causes.
Obesity and overeating—causes an increase in blood glucose and insulin from the sugars (fructans) in the grass
Toxemia—for example a mare retaining the placenta
Mechanical Trauma—concussion caused by excessive road work.
Poor or irregular foot trimming
Drug related—induced by steroids for example
Stress
Pituitary gland tumours—related to Cushing’s Disease
I will go into more detail in future issues but hopefully there is something you’ve picked up from this that you didn’t know before.
Case Study
Mel Hayman—Chico
History. Chico is a 15 year old, 14:2 black cob, looked after by Mel Hayman. He has been used for a variety of things but mainly driving.
Problem. In September of 2004 Chico had some large wingalls drained on his right hind, and had steroids injected into his fetlock joint. He was going to be on box rest for a while so I took off his shoes. On his front feet, I noticed that just in front of the point-of-frog was a soft patch of sole. After a couple of weeks box rest Chico became very lame on both fronts. When I came out to look at him, I investigated his sole, and the more I dug around the more soft red rubbery sole I found. It was like pressing a sponge—it gave to the lightest of pressures—and was very sore.
Most of this bruising was towards his toe so I needed to encourage him to land on the back part of his foot—the only place at this point that wasn’t sore. I fitted raised heel frog insert pads, with impression material under the pad around his frog to give him a load platform to walk on. This improved him initially but by December his hind feet were softening up like the fronts had. The vets were involved right from the start and were baffled by what was going on. Nothing like this had been documented before so we were entering new territory. Chico had blood taken and also x-rays of his feet, and at this stage nothing out of the ordinary was showing up. We were treating him like a laminitic as some of the signs tallied up—laminitis can be induced by steroids, and he had recently had steroid injections.
During January 2005 Chico got a lot worse—he was off his food, all four feet were exceptionally soft and were orange and red underneath. The feet were also growing extremely fast—I was trimming him every few weeks and cutting off up to an inch. He was in a lot of pain, and we all had to think carefully as to how much we should let him go through. At one stage his sole was in rubbery layers with yellow liquid oozing in-between, I could actually peel off his sole with my fingers.
Solution. Over the next few months we tried all kinds of methods: no shoes, hard pads, flat pads, raised heel pads, and different hoof compounds. The method he preferred changed over time. In the end, he was most comfortable in Aluminium Natural Balance shoes and hard flat pads with a medicated hoof packing underneath on all four feet. His intake of bute was reduced from four a day, to two, then one.
Finally in September 2005, a year on, Chico has come sound; he’s off bute and is able to go back out in a bare paddock after a years box rest. His feet are still soft but he’s now in regular natural balance shoes in front, still with shoes and pads behind. His hinds were the last to be affected so it’s natural they will be the last to heal. He continues to be very happy, remains sound and is starting to put on weight. Mel hopes to ease him into work soon. It has been a long slog for all of us involved, especially Chico, but through a lot of perseverance he’s returned to a happy pony.
Questions & Answers
Q. I’m a bit confused with road studs, do you screw them in like you would a jump stud?
Carla Pay
A. Good question. You can buy road studs that you screw in to your stud hole, like you would a jump stud. But I would not recommend them. They stand so proud of the shoe the horse is put off balance and it can lead to various problems. What is better is if I drill a hole in the shoe and drive in a road plug or use a road nail, so just the tungsten pin is proud. This gives them enough extra grip without harming their legs or feet.
Q. During the last 6 weeks we’ve been using jump studs more than in the past and Teddy’s feet seem to be crumbling more. Is this to do with the studs?
Carol Stanley
A. It is probably a combination of you doing more work with him, so the feet will have to work harder, and as you suspected the studs are also causing wear and tear. As the studs dig in to the ground they grip and so as the foot goes to take off it has to work harder; this puts more pressure on the shoe. The clenches are likely to rise sooner, resulting in the shoe possibly working loose.
Feedback
“I look after Chico, the pony with the soft bruised feet that is this months case study. It is so exciting to see him move comfortably after all this time. I have known him 6 years, so before he had these problems, and I believe he is moving better now than he even did back then. There is still a little way to go with his feet but at least we know he is on the mend.
It is all thanks to Beckie’s interest and bravery that Chico is still with us. Many would have given up! So a huge thank you Beckie. From Mel, Kev, Jen and Chico xx”
Mel Hayman
Chico ’s right hind in January 2005, showing the soft rubbery sole peeling off in layers.