How to Construct and Apply Atraumatic Therapeutic Shoes to Treat Acute or Chronic Laminitis in the Horse

摘要

An easy and safe therapeutic shoeing technique aids acute or chronic laminitic (foundered) horses by reducing mechanical forces and pain to the foot. This also helps to facilitate blood flow and soundness by providing static support to the third phalanx in a manner that is cost effective and requires a minimal amount of expertise. Success depends on the severity of vascular damage, amount of coffin bone sepsis and degeneration, proper shoeing technique and owner cooperation.Efforts to reduce mechanical forces and stabilize the distal phalanx are imperative to effective treatment of acute laminitis. Properly designed and applied therapeutic shoes have aided in pain reduction. Additionally, they may also help to reduce or prevent the magnitude of permanent laminar damage and prevent further movement of the distal phalanx within the hoof capsule. It is also possible that they may aid in the improvement or reversal of deleterious digital or laminar hemodynamics. These are some of the goals of treatmenta practitioner should implement into the treatment of acute laminitis1 along with proper medical therapy.