imprint shoes?

[dingbat]

D&H did a hay test for me and recommended i view this website www.imprintshoes.co.uk i wondered if anyone had some across them?

they look interesting and i wondered if they really worked or another gimmick? they are relatively new though so maybe not much to go on? i'm always intrigued though!

[Tim M]

dingbat

It was an article on these that actually got me started on my 'Lami' treatment abstract

If you look at the theory of the imprint shoes it is sound (sorry about the pun) to a certain extent but the more I think about it the more questions I seem to have

The key to treating a laminitic is to provide support to the bone column as the suspension of the lamellae attachment has been lost

But, this support has to be neutral in terms of the dorsal / palmar and medial / lateral focus (bear with me) So my concern is, if you support the frog will this not actually exert pressure towards the palmar aspect of P3 and subsequently increase the distal stress on the damaged laminae ?

Sorry if that went a bit too deep but I have been racking my brain over this for the last 2 weeks

[joto]

Tim , dont you just mean that the support has to be even all around the bones and general foot area and that frog supports might increase pressure on the bottom bit of the bone in the hoof which will cause stress on the damaged laminae in the foot?

[joto]

the imprint shoes web site is well worth a browse. its very informative.
. Anyone concerned about laminitis should contact their vet. Also the farriers and vets at the Animal Health trust have done lots of research regarding treatment and offer excellent advise.

[lucia]

These shoes saved my YO's ex racer! Not laminitis but from a horrendous shoeing.

When she arrived straight off the track her feet were what tends to be termed 'typical TB feet'. The YO's usual farrier (who seemed ok on easy straight forward feet) shod her in heart bars. The poor horse was lame straight away and farrier told YO to bute the horse as she would be a 'bit sore'.

Poor girl could hardly walk and the next day was horribly lame. Vet came and took one shoe off - the foot bled as the shoe was removed - she had a huge haematoma in the toe and the farrier had trimmed them so short you could see the laminae, the heels had collapsed totally and there was no horn to apply a traditional shoe and if you did it would have been horrible for her! Horse had to go to Horsepital and could not stand even on rubber matting with shoes off without shaking and trying to lie down! They cleaned them up and dressed them gave her antibiotics and bute. She came home to many weeks box rest on a soft deep bed. She was still very sore without the dressings.

Andrew Poynton came out after her feet had healed enough to apply imprint shoes - she was immediately happier and was able to be turned out. I think she had 3 sets by the 2nd set she was able to be walked out gently and ridden in the school.

They allowed the foot to flex and grow without putting pressure on the hoof as it grew or needing nails to be put through already weakened horn. A BF trimmer who came out to do another horse watched him apply them on one occasion and described them as almost being like stick on boots and thought they were a good idea as an interim measure.

(By the way farrier was sacked and thankfully she found a great few farrier who shoes beautifully but also believes that if possible a horse should be barefoot and only shod if necessary ;D)

Ex-racer is in now back in full work. ;D

[Tim M]

Joto

The support has to be 'neutral' and not just 'all around the bones'. It has to be focused correctly, P3 extends to approximately half way between the apex of the frog and the junction of the sole to white line

So if the 'support' is too far forwards then the solar circulation between bone and sole is restricted which can result in bruising / trauma and can lead to spasms in the DDFT which further stress the lamellae surface of P3

If it is too far back then the danger is that too much force is placed on the palmar aspect of the distal surface of P3 which can aggravate the area of detachment on the dorsal surface of P3

Regards
Tim

[fin]

Hmmmm, they look like hi-tech glue on heartbar shoes to me--and they still damage the hoof wall, if you have to dremel holes in it to key in the glue

If you need to you can do pretty much the same sort of thing with pads inside boots--I've tried it though TBH it worked less well than an ordinary Solemate in JJ's case, but I can see how it might be useful in some cases. It's a lot cheaper, totally non-invasive, doesn't damage the hoof wall with holes and solvent-based glues, and you can take the darned things off too to treat thrush

[cp]

A horse at my livery yard wore these very successfully. He was purchased by a novice owner who didn't have him vetted. When it came for his first shoeing the farrier found that most of the hoof came away as it had been glued together with filler!! There wasn't enough hoof to nail on a new shoe.

Imprint shoes were put on - they're expensive about £180 for a pair - and were extremely successful. They kept the horse in work, while allowing the hoof to grow back. He was however restricted to being ridden in the school, as they don't have much grip for hacking.

[dingbat]

blooming heck. i gathered they wouldnt be cheap but i'm sure many people couldnt afford that!

[fin]

£360 for a set of shoes?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And people think £40 for an EP is a rip off?

Old Macs, anyone? You can get a complete set for less than £200 and they last for a couple of years

Well, so long as you don't have an omnivorous horse, anyway