Laminitis! Moli’s Background #3
During the six weeks that Moli had the Rocker shoes, she was able to move around better. The rocker allowed easy break over, no matter what direction she went. The vet at Equine Sports Center had put Equithane CS in the sole area in order to protect from rocks and such things. He wanted her in a small pen, but I had a hard time with that. She is very energetic, and I couldn't picture her being locked up for too long. Even when in a small pen for only 12 hours or so, she comes out running and bucking and carrying on as if she just got out of prison. She'll start running around and spinning in all directions the second anyone walks into the pen with her. I decided to leave her in the acre sized turn out where she could hang with the other horses (with a fence between them) knowing that there is less excitement and fast movement when she is free to slowly move around all day. By the end of the fourth week, however, she was showing signs of lameness when turning to the right – and by the end of the sixth week, she was limping on the right with every step….not horribly, but it was there.
Mark and I were looking into the equicast method that Pete Ramey had been investigating for over a year. Pete believes that casting the hoof allows for some structural support when trying to grow sole or build wall strength, without compromising the ability of the hoof to expand and contract during movement the way steel shoes do. You also have the ability to provide protection of the sole with the use of sole packing material or products like Equithane, and you can soak the foot without compromising the cast if you are treating for any sort of infection such as thrush. Pete now has two DVD that address casting "Tools of the Trade" and "That's My Horse #1", you can get them at http://www.hoofrehab.com/
At the end of the sixth week (July 31, 2009), I took her back to the Equine Sports Center. The vet that had taken such great care of us last time was unable to be there and a different vet filled in. She took the new x-rays and noted that we had great sole depth – all the way up to 14mm!
What great progress we made on sole depth, both feet showed huge improvement, more than the vet thought even. I was not as impressed with the stand in vet. She was not as thorough, and very negative about the whole issue. Her opinion was there was no way to make Moli comfortable; she would always be in pain because there was no help for laminitis. I had also started having an issue with a different horse and after giving her an overview, her outlook on that issue was just as negative (check out Dee's story on my blog, labeled "scratches"). She also did not take the time to add the measurements to the x-rays, so my pics aren't as detailed. I tried doing it myself, but couldn't get them to show large enough - and was unsure how to do the palmar angle measurement. I setup an appointment for the original vet to come by my home the next time he was in the area, so we could further investigate the lameness. In the meantime, the shoes needed to come off so Moli's feet could be trimmed. Mark agreed to put the shoes back on (using adhesive) and we would wait until the vet returned to go any further with our casting plans.
The vet's visit happened on August 12th. He had seen the x-rays and was very happy with the sole growth. It was his opinion that the lameness we were seeing was not caused by the laminitis and decided to block some nerves to see if we could find the source. Moli was not of the same opinion however, so he was only able to get one block done. (He tried a twitch – Moli is not about to put up with that treatment, I've used Natural Horsemanship techniques to teach her that she is allowed to have dignity – and she does) He did not want to wait until I worked with her to get her used to what he was trying to do, so we stopped after the first one. With the entire hoof blocked, the lameness was still there. He guessed it was a tendon or ligament causing the pain and suggested I have her shod with a 6 degree wedge. I did not argue the shoeing with him, but was determined not to go to shoes, so I called Mark the minute he left with the information. Mark figured we could use the casting material and hoof packing to get the angle, so we setup a time for him to come try it out. I got a letter from the main office of the Equine Sports Center on the 14th saying the clinic in Sunland Park was closed indefinitely. He had not said a word about this issue while here…so, there goes another vet.
I noticed when the shoes came off, we had grown A LOT of sole, but the hoof walls were not keeping up, so I'm hoping the casting method will help. Mark was able to make Moli comfortable with the casts.. using the casting material and hoof packing (it was dental impression material) to create the "wedge" needed to relief the pressure from the tendon, as well as filling in the short walls, so her sole wasn't carrying all the weight. It worked great and my girl was once again moving with her beautiful Arabian grace – it was awesome to see! Now, I need to learn how to do the same. Mark pretty much refused to hear my insistence on giving up the do-it-yourself method! :0) (Thank God for Mark)
For information on using Equicast to improve hoof quality, go to http://www.equicast.com/
Mark and I were looking into the equicast method that Pete Ramey had been investigating for over a year. Pete believes that casting the hoof allows for some structural support when trying to grow sole or build wall strength, without compromising the ability of the hoof to expand and contract during movement the way steel shoes do. You also have the ability to provide protection of the sole with the use of sole packing material or products like Equithane, and you can soak the foot without compromising the cast if you are treating for any sort of infection such as thrush. Pete now has two DVD that address casting "Tools of the Trade" and "That's My Horse #1", you can get them at http://www.hoofrehab.com/
At the end of the sixth week (July 31, 2009), I took her back to the Equine Sports Center. The vet that had taken such great care of us last time was unable to be there and a different vet filled in. She took the new x-rays and noted that we had great sole depth – all the way up to 14mm!
What great progress we made on sole depth, both feet showed huge improvement, more than the vet thought even. I was not as impressed with the stand in vet. She was not as thorough, and very negative about the whole issue. Her opinion was there was no way to make Moli comfortable; she would always be in pain because there was no help for laminitis. I had also started having an issue with a different horse and after giving her an overview, her outlook on that issue was just as negative (check out Dee's story on my blog, labeled "scratches"). She also did not take the time to add the measurements to the x-rays, so my pics aren't as detailed. I tried doing it myself, but couldn't get them to show large enough - and was unsure how to do the palmar angle measurement. I setup an appointment for the original vet to come by my home the next time he was in the area, so we could further investigate the lameness. In the meantime, the shoes needed to come off so Moli's feet could be trimmed. Mark agreed to put the shoes back on (using adhesive) and we would wait until the vet returned to go any further with our casting plans.
The vet's visit happened on August 12th. He had seen the x-rays and was very happy with the sole growth. It was his opinion that the lameness we were seeing was not caused by the laminitis and decided to block some nerves to see if we could find the source. Moli was not of the same opinion however, so he was only able to get one block done. (He tried a twitch – Moli is not about to put up with that treatment, I've used Natural Horsemanship techniques to teach her that she is allowed to have dignity – and she does) He did not want to wait until I worked with her to get her used to what he was trying to do, so we stopped after the first one. With the entire hoof blocked, the lameness was still there. He guessed it was a tendon or ligament causing the pain and suggested I have her shod with a 6 degree wedge. I did not argue the shoeing with him, but was determined not to go to shoes, so I called Mark the minute he left with the information. Mark figured we could use the casting material and hoof packing to get the angle, so we setup a time for him to come try it out. I got a letter from the main office of the Equine Sports Center on the 14th saying the clinic in Sunland Park was closed indefinitely. He had not said a word about this issue while here…so, there goes another vet.
I noticed when the shoes came off, we had grown A LOT of sole, but the hoof walls were not keeping up, so I'm hoping the casting method will help. Mark was able to make Moli comfortable with the casts.. using the casting material and hoof packing (it was dental impression material) to create the "wedge" needed to relief the pressure from the tendon, as well as filling in the short walls, so her sole wasn't carrying all the weight. It worked great and my girl was once again moving with her beautiful Arabian grace – it was awesome to see! Now, I need to learn how to do the same. Mark pretty much refused to hear my insistence on giving up the do-it-yourself method! :0) (Thank God for Mark)
For information on using Equicast to improve hoof quality, go to http://www.equicast.com/
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