|
|
By popular request from horse owners around the country, we are now offering to come to your clinic and teach you and the farrier that you work with regularly how to look at and address hoof capsule distortions using the Symmetrical Hoof-care Protocol (SHP).
This approach was developed over a total of 10 years of research on the subject of Hoof Capsule Distortion. That research was performed on horses that were in work and showing. It has proven helpful to all disciplines of equestrian sports; including, but not limited to Competitive Trail horses, Dressage Horses, Reining Horses, Thoroughbred Race Horses, Barrel Racers, Hunters, Draft Breeds, Western Pleasure Horses, Jumpers, Laminitic horses,etc...
The thing to understand here is that this is actually a way to look at the foot in an objective manner, then use a physics based methodology to address the concerns of that specific hoof capsule. It does not lump all feet in the same mathematic mold, but instead uses the axiom of physics that says,"Form Follows Function".
The way that hoof care has been practiced for centuries is that we assume that if we simply change the form of the foot (add wedges or square the toe as examples) that this will alter the function of the limb and the horse it supports.
While that approach may appear to work for a short while, what follows is a new set of distortions (need for even more wedges, or continued and more aggressive squaring of toes as examples). We have had it backwards for too long. Function does not follow form, FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION! It always has and always will.
What we do at The Hoof Redevelopment Center is alter the function of the hoof capsule so it is capable of then restoring itself. We use highly technical trimming and technical application of standard horseshoes, to alter the function of the hoof capsule back to that as it was originally designed. That way the form of the hoof capsule itself will IMMEDIATELY begin to redevelop itself into the strong stable structure it desires to be.
 |
|
|
Please click below to download a PDF file on why the traditional approach to Long Toe Low Heel has not been productive. Make sure you check out both files.
|
This PDF file is an example of the type of case we are often asked to look at. This horse had a history of lameness that could not be diagnosed. After traveling to look at this horse we could quickly determine that there were multiple issues with the feet that very well can cause lameness in other areas of the horse. SO click below to download the PDF file of this case.
|
If you are interested in developing new skills in your practice. If your farrier is looking for new approaches to correct problematic hoof capsule distortions; you should contact us to get on the schedule to bring this new educational opportunity to your clinic.
The Equine Podiatry field is growing in the veterinary profession. But too often the approaches are based on anecdotal ideas instead of proven data based research and development.
The highly technical sub-field of Hoof Redevelopment Specialist will be growing quickly. Be the first clinic in your area to get this skill developed in your practice!
|
This is a PDF file of a horse that had terrible heels and a lot of flares. The time frame covered here is short to show that progress can be seen relatively quickly. Click below to download this PDF file.
|
Contact us for additional PDF files on cases such as the ones you are presently dealing with. We have many to share upon request.
E-mail to consulting@thehoofcenter.com
Or call: (910) 947-9476
|
Click here to see the thought process that we used to develop a protocol for hoof capsule distortion. Here you will see a foot that has an extremely "low heel" and then photos of a hoof capsule that had many of the same issues. In the hoof capsule you can easily see why simply adding a wedge or bar shoe to this foot would not REVERSE this problem. FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION, with this PDF document you can readily see why we must alter function of this hoof capsule if we are ever to expect to see the for REVERSE itself. Click here to download this wonderful PDF file.
|
When Dr. William Moyer of Texas A&M University addressed the 2005 International Hoof Care Summit with a talk entitled “Telling fact from fiction in horse-shoeing”, he offered the following about common farrier practices….”There have been a lot of wrong things that have been out there for a period of time….”….”Most of what we know, or think we know, is based on tradition and experience rather than actual facts”…”A huge percentage of the horses we see at Texas A&M, more than 30%, leave the University with a diagnosis of ‘I don’t know’” (1)
That is a good synopsis of the feelings that have plagued me over the years as I used many of the “accepted” corrective shoeing techniques and some of the less main-stream techniques; most with limited success and some with no success. Through this process over many years, I have slowly pieced together the empirical data of actions, reactions and interactions of trimming, shoeing, and hoof response. While the protocols that I have developed are still based on (my) experience, I am now able to consistently and reliably produce successful results in correcting most of the “ailments” seen in our horse’s feet today…regardless of their breed or discipline. I believe that the reason for this is that the “ailments”, from thrush to flares to under-run heels, etc. are really “symptoms” of the anatomical breakdown of the hoof capsule caused by inefficient stress loads on the feet. Consequently, the degree of success in treating these conditions depends on the ability to optimize the stress loads given the horse’s conformation and existing integrity of the hoof capsule. There is no one trim, or one shoe, or one pad that “works”….but re-establishing the stress balance DOES work….and works very quickly!!
If you would like more information, please e-mail us at consulting@thehoofcenter.com. Or call our office at (910) 947-9476 (1) The American Farriers Journal; Volume 31, Number 2; March, 2005 Pages 53-57
© Martin D. Kenny 2008
|
|
|
|
|
 |
