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EDSS Graduated Perforated Pads Product Improvement

Pads with a flat foot surface are difficult to fit or accommodate large frogs that are trying to reach the ground.

The EDSS graduated perforated pads which have a throat to accommodate the large frog are a perfect solution to this problem.

In this type of foot, the frog generally moves upwards as the foot leaves the ground and downwards again as the foot is loaded, causing the centre of the pad to be flexed countless times.

There has been a small number of pads that have split down the centre due to this flexing.

In response to this potential issue, some changes have been made to the material used to make the pads so this flexing can be better accommodated, rubber has been added to the plastic material which has made the pads more flexible and durable and is a massive improvement over the original pad design.

In addition to this change, using a firmer type of Total Foot Protection Impression Material – 35 (pink) or 50 (Yellow) shore, medium or firm grades. will reduce submitting the pads to excessive flexing and creating more stability to the rear of these over functioning feet.

EDSS Perforated Pads

EDSS/TFP Impression Material

Making the most from saturated Hooves by David Nicholls

David J Nicholls Master Farrier AWCF Cert Euro Farrier Certified Lameness Specialist

This winter has been excessively wet of course we all hate the hand we have been dealt.

Horses’ feet seem to do well in a consistent environment, whether it be wet or dry. The greatest challenge seems to be when we are dealing with constant changes from wet to dry or dry to wet. Wet hooves and farriery do not go well together and is a working disaster. Wet feet are impossible to rasp, there is no sound or feel when driving nails, so there is a high injury risk to both farrier and equine alike.

The constant expansion and contraction of the hooves stretches the construction at micro level and of course when the hooves dry out they fall apart. The dryness obviously gets the blame for this, although it was the saturation that is the culprit.

What as farriers or owners can we do to mitigate the disaster, after all, it is not possible to keep horses in a dry environment 24/7.

Prior to coming into a wet period, apply Keratex Hoof Gel around the whole hoof, sole and frogs. This action will prevent the excessive uptake of water from the environment and prevent hoof saturation,

Prior to coming into a dry period, stop the Hoof Gel and paint on Keratex Hoof Moisturiser daily. This product will slow down the process from wet to dry and also dry to wet. Using this will prevent the hooves from the shock changes that appear whilst transitioning between climatic differences.

Controlling the environment may not be possible as people generally have a structure or routine which they apply to their horses’ lives. This leaves us as Farriers to come up with a solution to the weakened feet.

It is possible to provide support to the soles, frogs and hoof walls whilst controlling the environment. Adding a DePlano leather pad to each of the affected feet, using Magic Cushion hoof packing combined with Farriers’ Hemp.

The Magic Cushion will deal with the saturation whilst reducing the over functioning hoof walls. The hemp will add more stability to the Magic Cushion which, when combined, with the DePlano leather pads, provides additional stability to the hoof walls. This package slowly dries out the structures and stabilises the structures as a whole.

I have used this regime with many equine patients and succeeded to improve the feet in every case so far. A large proportion of the affected feet have become better than they have previously been, prior to becoming troublesome.

In many cases, an unexpected improvement in action and soundness has arrived unexpectedly.

Keratex Hoof Gel 1ltr

Absorbine Hooflex Magic Cushion Hoof Packing

Climatic Stress on Hooves

Because of the climatic conditions in this country, wet winters and then summers interspersed with wet and dry periods, hoof horn is certainly too wet for probably five or six months of the year, starting when the hooves are saturated with water from high Winter rainfall and suffer due to “environmental stress”

Hoof horn is at its strongest and most durable when it has a stabilised moisture content of around 25%. Unfortunately, here in Northern Europe most horse-owners, seeing hooves in this condition, would pronounce them to be too dry. But that is exactly as they should be to withstand the stresses of work and shoeing.  Even if the moisture content of horn cannot be maintained at this sort of level it is essential to control and stabilise moisture at a constant level otherwise cracking will occur.

When hoof horn is saturated, it swells to accommodate excess water molecules. The swelling causes the surface cracks and defects to disappear leading the uninformed observer to believe hooves are at their best when they are wet. Although they may look better, the horn is actually very weak when saturated with water when they can be easily bent and torn. Thus, hoof distortions and collapse are common in saturated feet and difficult to manage without lameness occurring.

There are many products available that moisten, make hooves more flexible and generally soften hooves, which makes no sense to me at all. The hooves are the foundations of the horse and as such are there to support the horse. Softening the foundations an any structure is suicide for the structures that are designed to hold up 500 – 700kg.

From a Farriers perspective;

It is miserable to shoe wet horses that I have to lean against and try to get some friction on to hold up their legs and feet.

When trying to remove the shoes, the shoe pullers compress the hoof walls, which can be very uncomfortable to the equine patient, making them unlevel and sometimes chewing bits out of the walls when the shoes are pulled.

We are reliant on texture and other landmarks for accurate and safe hoof preparation and when wet we lose all the landmarks, which makes it a hit and miss affair at best and very unsafe for all parties.

Our rasps are sophisticated hoof planes with multiple blades, when the hoof is wet these teeth just clog up and become blunt making it impossible to level the hoof walls for the shoes to be fitted to.

Burning shoes onto saturated hoof walls creates super-heated steam which can scald horses, creating lameness that can last for weeks at a time.

We are reliant on the sound and feel when driving nails into the hoof walls. When the walls are wet, there is no sound or feel so the risk of driving the nails into sensitive structures is high.

It is impossible to get the shoes tight onto the hoof walls as the harder you pull the nails down the hoof walls, they just rip everything underneath the nails.

When the hoof walls dry out, they shrink and the shoes then become prematurely loose making shoe loss more prevalent.

Keratex, who are at the forefront of modern hoof care have amongst their range two specific products that have been specially developed to repair and protect hooves against the effects of environmental influences.

Keratex “Hoof Hardener” is the only product (it is Patented) that actually repairs the molecular structure of hoof horn after it has been weakened by the effects of water. It does this by a process called cross linking and adds atoms to repair the intermolecular bonds which support the molecules of keratin that make up the major part of hoof horn and give it optimum strength. (Do not confuse this product as just Formaldehyde. It is a complicated formula that will not work if anything is added or removed from the formulation)

Having recognised that water is one of the main culprits in the cycle that weakens hoof horn Keratex developed “Hoof Gel” This liquid actually provides a protection to the whole hoof capsule that works in the same way as the ‘breathing’ fabrics used for country clothing. (i.e. Gortex)

Hoof Gel stops all types of moisture, including urine, from entering the hoof, but it still allows air into the hoof and lets gases and excess moisture out. But it has many other benefits. It disinfects the hoof with every application and by preventing environmental water getting into the hoof it keeps the hoof capsule in a more healthy state by excluding the organisms that cause such conditions as seedy toe, white line disease, thrush etc. as the organisms responsible for these conditions are all carried into the hoof in absorbed environmental water.

The result of using Hoof Gel is that the hoof is virtually cocooned in an invisible coating that protects the horn and other hoof tissue without compromising any of the natural functions, so that the hoof develops to be naturally stronger and healthier. It also makes the hooves easier to clean, by shrugging off water and mud, and helps stop manure etc, adhering to the sole and frog.

Due to the influence of environmental factors in Northern Europe the molecular structure of most horses hooves will be in some way affected and the symptoms may range from slight cracking around the nail holes to frequently lost shoes and ripped away hoof wall.

Because the horn structure usually needs repairing we would always start treatment with Keratex Hoof Hardener and then follow up with Keratex Hoof Gel as an on going maintenance and protection throughout summer and winter. We have found the following regime gives the best results on all conditions of horn. Read the instructions fully, but use the following application frequency:

Start off with Keratex Hoof Hardener over six weeks with the following frequency:

(For general use Keratex Hoof Hardener is best applied in the morning after the horse has been brought in for the night and the hooves have had a chance to dry off.)

Hoof Wall: Every day for the entire six weeks

Sole:                Week 1: Every day

Week 2: Every other day

Week 3: Twice

Weeks 4 & 5: Once

Week 6: Every day

Week 6: Bring the horse in onto a clean dry bed and keep it in for a full seven days.

This is to allow the hoof structure to dry out thoroughly and hopefully revert

to a moisture content of around 25%. During this week do not allow the horse

out at all if possible and certainly not on grass or anywhere which is the slightest

bit damp.  Keep the bed scrupulously clean and dry.

At the end of the sixth week after the horse has been kept in, and immediately after the last application of Hoof Hardener has dried, start applying Keratex Hoof Gel every day during winter or wet weather and two or three times a week in dry weather. Remember early morning dew preceding a hot sunny day can be quite damaging if it is absorbed into the horn and then quickly dried in the heat of the day, so continue using Hoof Gel all year round. Use Hoof Gel over the whole hoof, walls, sole, frog and heels

For those of you worried about appearance for showing or special events then that is easy with Hoof Gel. Just allow it to dry fully and then rub gently with a soft shoe brush. The result is a perfect natural shine that does not pick up grass or bedding. Farriers, Vets and show judges will appreciate not getting oil all over their hands!

This regime can be started at any time of the year, but it is of paramount importance to get the hooves absolutely dry before starting with Hoof Gel.

Keratex Hoof Hardener is a very advanced, and patented, formulation designed specifically for use on hoof horn and because of the way it works, by adding atoms into the structure, it is impossible to over harden the horn. Some of horse owners have been told by their Farriers that the hoof is getting too hard, but this is not the case. Unfortunately, many Farriers are so used to working on soft water saturated horn, which is very easy to cut, that when the horn is at the correct moisture content they notice it is much harder to work on. Hard, dry horn is strong horn and should not be confused with the dry brittle horn that occurs after winter water dries out during hot weather.

A final word of caution here, I do know that regular hoof soaking dry feet will create severe damage to dry feet and must be avoided at all costs as the sudden uptake of moisture will damage the hooves at molecular level. (An identical problem that plagues wet feet).

 

Copyright © David J Nicholls – The Equine Lameness Prevention Organisation -[The Farriery Practice  – 2012 –Colin Reeves- EPC Ltd

Keratex Hoof Gel 1ltr

Keratex Hoof Hardener

 

The Dangers of a Wet Horse

I don’t think I have ever met a Farrier in any country that hasn’t complained to me about being given wet equines to work on. I have lowered the incidences of this happening in my own practice through education. There are perfectly good reasons why we hate wet horses to work on below.

I don’t want to sound like Mr Moan; however I do only have one absolute rule which is that horses have to be DRY! This doesn’t mean, a bit damp, almost dry, only a bit wet or any other not dry variation. When presented with wet muddy feet I feel personally insulted that anyone would have such a low opinion of my skill and worth.

If you were having a carpenter do some work for you, the last thing you would think of doing is taking the wood outside into a field get it saturated and covered in mud, then returning it to the craftsman to work on. You cannot cut, plane or attach anything to wet wood, the same follows for horses’ feet.

There are some very important reasons for taking this absolute stance.

It is miserable to shoe wet horses that I have to lean against and try to get some friction on to hold up their legs and feet.

When trying to remove the shoes, the shoe pullers compress the hoof walls, which can be very uncomfortable to the equine patient, making them unlevel and sometimes chewing bits out of the walls when the shoes are pulled.

We are reliant on texture and other landmarks for accurate and safe hoof preparation and when wet we lose all the landmarks, which makes it a hit and miss affair at best and very unsafe for all parties.

Our rasps and sophisticated hoof planes with multiple blades, when the hoof is wet these teeth just clog up and become blunt making it impossible to level the hoof walls for the shoes to be fitted to.

Burning shoes onto saturated hoof walls creates super-heated steam which can scald horses, creating lameness that can last for weeks at a time.

We are reliant on the sound and feel when driving nails into the hoof walls. When the walls are wet, there is no sound or feel so the risk of driving the nails into sensitive structures is high.

It is impossible to get the shoes tight onto the hoof walls as the harder you pull the nails down the hoof walls, they just rip everything underneath the nails.

When the hoof walls dry out, they shrink and the shoes then become prematurely loose making shoe loss more prevalent.

I have shod horses with wet feet in the past, however not for the past forty plus years as working down to such a low level is unpalatable to me and I don’t feel comfortable depriving our equine friends of the skills I have at my disposal.

I hope you can see that my explanation is not a rant but a serious attempt at giving my reasons why we need horse’s feet DRY for trimming and shoeing.

 

By David J Nicholls Total Foot Protection Ltd

 

For more information on horses hooves in wet or dry conditions follow the link below –

The Effect of Climatic Conditions on Hoof Horn – Wet/Dry