Fancy footwork

A new plastic horseshoe is working wonders, writes Fiona Pendlebury

Kafi the purebred Arab horse had always been a bit of a handful for owner, Jane Burnham-Slipper. So when the 19-year old got depressed and lay about the stable listlessly, Jane suspected something was seriously wrong. After calling in horse specialist Chris Pearce from The Barn Equine Surgery…she was told Kafi had acute laminitis – inflammation of the hoof wall which, in the worst cases, can cause the bones in the hoof to move or collapse.

But Kafi is now on the way to recovery after becoming the first horse in Dorset to be treated with a new system of shoeing horses using mouldable plastic horseshoes.

Bournemouth vet Chris Pearce is so impressed with the new shoes he plans to use them on all future laminitis cases. Laminitis is thought to be caused by horses being overfed, or getting concussion.  There is even a new theory that they can get it from eating frosted grass, says Chris.

Andrew Poynton, a farrier from Malmesbury, Wiltshire, has pioneered the new shoeing system. The horse’s damaged feet are trimmed and prepared before the shoes are placed on the feet.  Nails are not used to attach the shoe but it is moulded to the hoof after being heated in water. Unlike the old Heart Bar shoe used to treat laminitis, the new type can be specially moulded to the unique shape of the horse’s hoof.

The shoes have also been successfully used in the treatment of orthopaedic problems in developing foals’ limbs and feet. As an added bonus for those concerned about the environment, the shoes are biodegradable.

The old method of shoeing horses with laminitis can take up to three hours, and involves the horse having to stand with one hoof in the air for long periods.  Often the shoes come off once the horse starts walking about again. The new type of shoes only take half an hour to fit Chris explained: Laminitis is such a painful condition which causes many horses to be destroyed every year. “Now Kafi has got every chance of pulling through.”

“In the worst cases of laminitis the bone inside the foot can move away from the hoof wall.  It is a bit like your fingernails being pulled out. Kafi had the worst form.” He added :“The benefit with the new shoes is that they can be put on more quickly and they are more comfortable. It is much kinder than banging nails in when they have got a painful foot.”

“The shoes are also affordable. I will be using them for all cases of laminitis from now on.”