Interested in Stovall's, Burten's opinions

Interested in Stovall's, Burten's opinions

Post by GBExc » Sun, 15 Feb 1998 04:00:00


Tom, Rick--

We have a 10 yr old TB, never raced. He has a fibrous nonunion of the RF coffin
bone, medial wing; the injury occurred some time (probably several years)
before we purchased him at age 5--the injury was why he never raced. 16.1,
about 1300 lbs., Bold Ruler/Gallantly lines.

He has a history of persistent recurring deep heel bruising (primarily the RF,
but sometimes LF too). He is also king of the long-toe low-heel configuration.
We have, we think, solved his problem, and I would be interested in your
opinions.

What we tried:  eggbars, with and without plain and degree pads. Heartbars, to
relieve pressure on heels (took 'em off a week later, they made him sorer).
Open shoes, with degree pads. Straight bar on RF, open on LF, with degree pads
(3 degrees). In all of this, consistently working on shortening the toe and
encouraging heels as best we could.

Our farrier (who, btw, is a CJF and extremely good with the fire) was out of
ideas, and called in a bigger gun (name on request, don't like to seem to be
puffing people here). He recommended continuing with the straight bar on RF,
open on LF, and degree pads-- but trimmed about... 1/8 inch (or less) off the
medial heels, both front feet, and also ground down the pads a touch on those
surfaces.

That was in August. The horse has been sound ever since, is now growing his own
heels and bars for the first time in his life, is down to a 1 degree pad, and
we think will be out of pads come about June. He is jumping and galloping
(eventing type stuff) and working comfortably with a 200 pound man aboard.

Two questions, which we are all sort of eyeing and wondering about. What is the
engineering behind this working? The physics, the stress lines, etc. If it
helps, this horse's front cannons are *very* slightly bowed out. Otherwise,
legs are fine.

Second question: what do you think about dispensing with the bar? We have all
been so fixated on that old break that we assumed it was causing the trouble...
but is it? Was it all minutely incorrect heel balance? Always remembering, that
if we are wrong and it *was* the break, we'll probably be looking at a 3 to 4
month layup while he gets over the bruising.

Opinions invited. Meanwhile, the current trialogue makes me grateful for my CJF
farrier who knows he doesn't know everything....

Pat

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.

 
 
 

Interested in Stovall's, Burten's opinions

Post by Tom Stova » Mon, 16 Feb 1998 04:00:00


re: Stovall's opinion on balance, other stuff

[...]

Quote:
> He has a history of persistent recurring deep heel bruising...
> long-toe low-heel configuration. We have, we think, solved his
> problem, and I would be interested in your opinions.
> What we tried:  eggbars, with and without plain and degree pads.
> Heartbars, to relieve pressure on heels (took 'em off a week later,
> they made him sorer). Open shoes, with degree pads. Straight bar on
> RF, open on LF, with degree pads (3 degrees). In all of this,
> consistently working on shortening the toe and encouraging heels as
> best we could.
> Our farrier (who, btw, is a CJF and extremely good with the fire) was
> out of ideas, and called in a bigger gun (name on request, don't like
> to seem to be puffing people here). He recommended continuing with the
> straight bar on RF, open on LF, and degree pads-- but trimmed about...
> 1/8 inch (or less) off the medial heels, both front feet, and also
> ground down the pads a touch on those surfaces...

Was the medial coronary band pushed up? If so, the second fellow
probably figured he needed to unload that portion of the heel. And,
evidently, it worked.

Quote:
> That was in August. The horse has been sound ever since, is now
> growing his own heels and bars for the first time in his life, is down
> to a 1 degree pad, and we think will be out of pads come about June.
> He is jumping and galloping (eventing type stuff) and working
> comfortably with a 200 pound man aboard...
>Two questions, which we are all sort of eyeing and wondering about.
>What is the engineering behind this working? The physics, the stress
>lines, etc...

Since I can't see the horse, my response is a general overview and might
not apply to your particular horse.

Cutting away aberrant wall growth is done because new growth follows
old. One cannot balance the hoof capsule if the new growth is
mechanically directed in the wrong direction; so, we whack off the
old growth and allow the new growth remodel the hoof capsule, hopefully
in a balanced manner.

"Unloading" is a technique used to redirect stress in a particular
portion of the hoof capsule.

T*** the ground surface of the foot in a different plane is called
(depending on who's doing the talking) "balancing" or "rebalancing".
Either way, it means that the way the foot lands on the ground, the way
it is stressed and the way it leaves the ground is purposely changed,
either by t*** or additions to the shoe. A horse that is balanced
m/l will not have much lateral deviation during the five phases of
movement, a coronary band more-or-less parallel to the ground, and no
prominent flares.

An a/p radiograph of a horse's foot in m/l balance will show the
phalanges in alignment and equal spacing of the m/l aspects of
the involved structures at the coffin (DIJ) and pastern (PIJ) joints.
Severe imbalance often results in one side or the other being smashed
together while the other side is gapped open like a two-dollar suitcase,
depending on which side is taking most of the stress. In effect, the
horse is "living" on one side of his hoof and leg.

Conformational defects can make it impossible to completely balance a
horse, in which case one does one's best achieve a happy medium.
Personally, I whack off the flares and have the horse turned out on sand
for a couple of weeks to see how he wants to wear his feet, then try to
keep him how he wants to be: not very scientific, but it works about as
well as anything when one is sho'nuff conformationally challenged.

Quote:
>Second question: what do you think about dispensing with the bar?...

If your horse belonged to me, he'd die of old age shod just like he is
right now. The horse is long-term sound, seems to be balanced, and is
doing what he does without seeming impediment: I'd figure I had things
on a downhill pull and wouldn't change anything until the horse
demonstrated that he needed things changed.

Quote:
> We have all been so fixated on that old break that we assumed it was
> causing the trouble... but is it? Was it all minutely incorrect heel
> balance? Always remembering, that if we are wrong and it *was* the
> break, we'll probably be looking at a 3 to 4 month layup while he gets
> over the bruising...

Quien sabe? Why worry about it?

Quote:
> Opinions invited. Meanwhile, the current trialogue makes me grateful
> for my CJF farrier who knows he doesn't know everything...

I know where he's coming from. The more I learn about a horse's foot,
the more I realize how little I really know.

Tom Stovall
AFA Journeyman Farrier

http://SportToday.org/~stovall

 * SLMR 2.1a * Better to look down at the grass than up at the roots...

 
 
 

Interested in Stovall's, Burten's opinions

Post by Tookie Myer » Mon, 16 Feb 1998 04:00:00

Quote:


> re: Stovall's opinion on balance, other stuff

> [...]

> > He has a history of persistent recurring deep heel bruising...
> > long-toe low-heel configuration. We have, we think, solved his
> > problem, and I would be interested in your opinions.

> > What we tried:  eggbars, with and without plain and degree pads.
> > Heartbars, to relieve pressure on heels (took 'em off a week later,
> > they made him sorer). Open shoes, with degree pads. Straight bar on
> > RF, open on LF, with degree pads (3 degrees). In all of this,
> > consistently working on shortening the toe and encouraging heels as
> > best we could.

> > Our farrier (who, btw, is a CJF and extremely good with the fire) was
> > out of ideas, and called in a bigger gun (name on request, don't like
> > to seem to be puffing people here). He recommended continuing with the
> > straight bar on RF, open on LF, and degree pads-- but trimmed about...
> > 1/8 inch (or less) off the medial heels, both front feet, and also
> > ground down the pads a touch on those surfaces...

> Was the medial coronary band pushed up? If so, the second fellow
> probably figured he needed to unload that portion of the heel. And,
> evidently, it worked.

> > That was in August. The horse has been sound ever since, is now
> > growing his own heels and bars for the first time in his life, is down
> > to a 1 degree pad, and we think will be out of pads come about June.
> > He is jumping and galloping (eventing type stuff) and working
> > comfortably with a 200 pound man aboard...

> >Two questions, which we are all sort of eyeing and wondering about.
> >What is the engineering behind this working? The physics, the stress
> >lines, etc...

> Since I can't see the horse, my response is a general overview and might
> not apply to your particular horse.

> Cutting away aberrant wall growth is done because new growth follows
> old. One cannot balance the hoof capsule if the new growth is
> mechanically directed in the wrong direction; so, we whack off the
> old growth and allow the new growth remodel the hoof capsule, hopefully
> in a balanced manner.

> "Unloading" is a technique used to redirect stress in a particular
> portion of the hoof capsule.

> T*** the ground surface of the foot in a different plane is called
> (depending on who's doing the talking) "balancing" or "rebalancing".
> Either way, it means that the way the foot lands on the ground, the way
> it is stressed and the way it leaves the ground is purposely changed,
> either by t*** or additions to the shoe. A horse that is balanced
> m/l will not have much lateral deviation during the five phases of
> movement, a coronary band more-or-less parallel to the ground, and no
> prominent flares.

> An a/p radiograph of a horse's foot in m/l balance will show the
> phalanges in alignment and equal spacing of the m/l aspects of
> the involved structures at the coffin (DIJ) and pastern (PIJ) joints.
> Severe imbalance often results in one side or the other being smashed
> together while the other side is gapped open like a two-dollar suitcase,
> depending on which side is taking most of the stress. In effect, the
> horse is "living" on one side of his hoof and leg.

> Conformational defects can make it impossible to completely balance a
> horse, in which case one does one's best achieve a happy medium.
> Personally, I whack off the flares and have the horse turned out on sand
> for a couple of weeks to see how he wants to wear his feet, then try to
> keep him how he wants to be: not very scientific, but it works about as
> well as anything when one is sho'nuff conformationally challenged.

> >Second question: what do you think about dispensing with the bar?...

> If your horse belonged to me, he'd die of old age shod just like he is
> right now. The horse is long-term sound, seems to be balanced, and is
> doing what he does without seeming impediment: I'd figure I had things
> on a downhill pull and wouldn't change anything until the horse
> demonstrated that he needed things changed.

> > We have all been so fixated on that old break that we assumed it was
> > causing the trouble... but is it? Was it all minutely incorrect heel
> > balance? Always remembering, that if we are wrong and it *was* the
> > break, we'll probably be looking at a 3 to 4 month layup while he gets
> > over the bruising...

> Quien sabe? Why worry about it?

> > Opinions invited. Meanwhile, the current trialogue makes me grateful
> > for my CJF farrier who knows he doesn't know everything...

> I know where he's coming from. The more I learn about a horse's foot,
> the more I realize how little I really know.

> Tom Stovall
> AFA Journeyman Farrier

> http://SportToday.org/~stovall

>  * SLMR 2.1a * Better to look down at the grass than up at the roots...

I would certainly have to agree with Tom on these points. Most
especially - "Don't fix it if it isn't broken (unless you're a
consultant)".

M. W. Myers, D.V.M.