I have been shoeing horses for over thirty years and in
that time there has been some huge developments in veterinary and farriery
knowledge concerning the equine lower limb. With this extra understanding,
I have been involved with many new ideas on the treatment of farriery
related problems, some good, and some not so good!
Every now and then something new comes along which you
know is going to help out some old problems by giving you another tool in
the box, and I believe Andrew Poynton’s thermo-plastic shoe concept is just
that something. We have been using the Imprint products for over two years
mostly on laminitic ponies; we only use the shoes on the most severe cases
of laminitis, hand in hand with the veterinary profession and have had some
excellent results. There are always disappointments but after all, these
are extreme cases, but with the help of owners and vets we have together
helped over 90% make a good recovery.
As well as laminitic cases we have used the Imprint
shoes for limb correction in young stock, hospital plates for pedal bone
injuries, and the thermo-plastic granules for hoof wall repairs, but I feel
sure there will be many other uses too.
However there are no cutting corners in farriery, you
must fully understand the problem you are dealing with and be able to
correctly balance a foot and limb before you apply any shoe, but the
pleasure it gives you when the animal recovers cannot be measured.
It is truly a very exciting new product, giving a new
dimension in farriery to compliment old practises and it is just these
developments which come along now and then, which make this job so
inspiring.
Wayne Upton RSS (Hons) AFCL
West Sussex
(08 September 2005)