Words by Claire Brown

25 years ago, a curious mind – motivated by a desire to help suffering, severe laminitic cases – and an unplanned trip to A&E inspired the use of thermoplastics in equine hoofcare that the farriery industry had never seen before.

Fast forward a quarter of a century with a design award, peer-reviewed paper and exhibiting alongside Team McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 and Andrew Poynton FWCF’s ‘plastic fantastic’ has taken him across the world to work with horse owners, farriers, vets, equine hospitals, colleges and universities whilst being invited to present at many international conferences.

We sat down to look back at the incredible evolution of his product and to review its remarkable journey.

What inspired the creation of the Imprint Equine foot care system?

Trying to fit and nail shoes to distressed, severe laminitic cases, some with much hoof detachment. I subsequently saw in a hospital A&E low temperature thermoplastics used as a temporary cast for a broken arm. I thought ‘I wonder if I could make horseshoes out of that?’ I formulated the unique blend of plastics to as closely as possible assimilate hoof horn density and flex.

The first patient that I tried my new creation on was a Welsh pony suffering from chronic laminitis, with an acute flare up. When brought to Town Forge she was barely willing to walk, and in great discomfort. I did what I could with trimming and debriding, then fitted the plastic shoes to the feet along with a partial hoof build also made from the same materials. When she was asked to walk out, she was able to walk in a straight line comfortably although turning was still quite painful. The immediate improvement was incredible – and a shock – I already had considerable experience of treating many laminitics.

At that stage, I had not revealed exactly what or how I had achieved this result. The pony returned for follow up treatments and continued to recover and to have quality of life for some time.

Once these results were replicated in further cases, I approached a Patent Attorney. I had a novel product and technique for equine shoeing that was unique, undisclosed, and patentable. Poynton Ltd was established and patents filed internationally in the UK, USA, and many European Countries.

How did you continue to develop the product?

Design, make, and test was not a new concept having previously designed and used a variety of shoes, predominantly for foals. I still have the first mould, made in a low-tech way on a bench in the forge.

One of the advantages of the plastic I use is that it can be moulded at temperatures as low as 65 degrees Celsius – which is very useful when working close to soft tissue – and it can be shaped as desired which is important when fitting to the hoof. It can adhere to itself without adhesive or to a hoof that has been built or covered with the plastics. To achieve hoof assimilating properties I blended a mix of different molecular densities of plastic unique for this purpose. Incidentally, the plastics of the Imprint First shoe are bio-degradable: I don’t know of any other that is.

The adhesive we find best for this application is unaffected by moisture, unlike most adhesives on the market. Imprint Ultrafast Adhesive cures in just a few minutes. Very little volume of this is needed in application.

The original design of the shoe functioned better than I had expected. The first shoes I made had an upstanding rim extending around three quarters of the shoe – leaving the heels of the hoof freedom to expand – and a solid frog plate. This ‘flip flop’ design was not ideal for shoe retention. To maintain heel expansion a radiused slot in the back half of the frog plate was included. This became known as the ‘W flexing bar’ and was incorporated into the original patent application. The frog mating surface can be moulded three dimensionally, creating a comfortable ‘frog cradle’ – there is no need for any dentist impression material, silicone or pads. The sole can then be kept open for access and clean, dry, fresh air.

Hoof-like material

A main objective was to create something that was more akin to the hoof itself, both in structure and function. The materials used were less than half the weight of steel and flexible. The patented method of attachment is more than just glued on; the plastic of the rim was moulded and interdigitated with just the lower hoof wall, having a mechanical union too which works well.

“IMPRINT SHOES ARE AN INVALUABLE AID TO HELP IN THE REHABILITATION OF BOTH THE ACUTE AND CHRONIC LAMINITIC CASES, PROVIDING SUPPORT TO THE PEDAL BONE AND AS A RESULT, COMFORT FOR THE HORSE. I HAVE FOUND THE USE OF THE IMPRINT GRANULES IN THE TREATMENT AND STABILISATION OF SEEDY TOE AND SAND CRACKS TO BE ONE OF THE EASIEST AND MOST EFFICIENT REMEDIES AVAILABLE.”

SUSANNAH REYNOLDSON MA VETMB MRCVS

Beyond laminitics and Town Forge

Having seen marked patient pain relief from first treatment and better long-term outcomes I had further sizes of shoe moulds machined, still manufacturing at Town Forge, so that I could cater for larger equines such as flat-footed broodmares and foal shoes. If we can facilitate dramatic restoration to serious laminitics why not a lame athlete with dodgy hooves too?

If the wider equine world was going to benefit, a viable commercial approach was needed. CAD (computeraided design), CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) and CNC (computer numerical control) were becoming commonplace, and the Imprint shoe designs could be manufactured by the injection moulding method.

All design, development and manufacturing is still carried out in the UK.

Malmesbury is also the heartland of the James Dyson Empire; although I think he still may just have the edge on us!

The development of the Sport range was in direct response to the success of the Imprint First shoes and horse owners were asking for a durable sport shoe. Five sizes of each front and hind thoroughbred shapes, 4 1/2” – 6” were introduced on the market at the time of launch.

Reflecting on 25 years

A common denominator over the last 25 years has been the great hospitality, generosity and friendship shown wherever I travelled; the good side of humanity. This is further strengthened by our shared love of the horse and the art and science of farriery.

Dave Strange joined me on the road in the early days, helping to set up for the Imprint training courses. He has been an integral part of the business for many years and was responsible for our website, office and IT systems, orders and much more – many of which we couldn’t function without! We are grateful for his contribution.

Farrier Dean Bland’s consistent support over 20 years has been instrumental in delivering excellent training and practical coaching. We have travelled extensively and, whilst we are very different in our approaches, Dean is a brilliant teacher and a good friend.

My wife, Julia, has always run the office, keeping a keen eye on the finances and talked with hundreds of farriers, vets and horse owners over the years. She has had to handle a fanatical, obsessive inventor, whilst being encouraging and practical! Together we are a team, Imprint wouldn’t have happened without her skills and commitment.

Little did I know when I visited A&E all those years ago would it lead me to embarking on the most incredible time. I would like to thank all those horse owners, vets and farriers that have entrusted me and I look forward to continuing to promote equine soundness and longevity moving forward.

“IMPRINT FIRST AID HAS CHANGED THE GAME WHEN IT COMES TO LAMINITIS. IMPRINT SPORTS ARE A REVOLUTIONARY MULTI-DISCIPLINE SPORTS HORSE GLUE-ON SHOE THAT DO WONDERS FOR HORSES’ FEET. I HAVE FIXED MORE CRACKS AND HOOF WALL DEFECTS WITH IMPRINT GRANULES THAN I CAN COUNT. FANTASTIC COMPANY, QUALITY PRODUCTS.”

DECLAN EMMERSON DIPWCF