Ice Boot Therapy and Laminitis

As an experienced horse owner, I know all too well the difficulties that one encounters when a horse goes down with laminitis, commonly known as founder. Other than a broken leg there is probably nothing that happens to our horses that forces everything to come to a halt until we can attempt to correct the problem. Through my own experience and research, and my talks with professional farriers, I have come to the conclusion that one of the first courses of action you should take at the onset of founder is to apply dry cold therapy to reduce the inflamation and ease the pain in your horse.

HOOF-it Technologies has collaborated with MacKinnon to create an ICE HORSE® product that has more than proven itself to be effective in treating the inflamatory phase of founder or laminitis, the Big Black Boot.

Laminitis is a painful condition of the feet. The disease is usually associated with digestive disturbances. The actual word laminitis means inflammation (itis) of the sensitive laminae of the foot. These laminae are the membranes which hold the bone of the foot (pedal bone) in place inside of the hoof. When laminitis occurs the laminae becomes inflamed. It is as if your horse has to stand on very badly bruised fingernails. The pain of laminitis must be similar to how we would feel after we accidentally slammed our fingers in a car door. However, it is much worse for our horse because he or she has to try to stand on the hurt hoof and take the pain, or in the worst case, go down.

Symptoms of laminitis include: rocking back on the haunches, lameness, reluctance to move, general stiffness, heat in the hoof, increased fetlock pulse, laminitic rings, sensitivity to hoof testers, and dropped soles. Laminitis most commonly affects the front feet, but cases occur in all of the hooves. Horses with laminitis stand in a characteristic way that lets you know the horse is trying to take weight off of their feet. In severe cases horses may constantly shift weight from one hoof to the other showing obvious discomfort. At some point the horse will go down so that no weight is on its feet.

Laminitis can start rapidly or slowly. I have walked into my barn and found a horse down with founder, lying in its stall and unable to rise due to the pain. Other times you may notice just a slight lameness and a little warmth in one or more hooves.

Generally, laminitis will start as an acute event. This means that it starts quite rapidly and causes a lot of pain. If such a condition is treated quickly it can be stopped in a reasonable time frame and be over in 10-14 days. If it is not treated quickly and effectively and if preventative measures are not used it can progress to become a chronic case. I have found the Big Black Boot ice treatment to be the perfect first treatment in acute cases of laminitis.

Chronic laminitis is a problem which drags on and on and never quite goes away. The horse in question has repeated mild attacks of founder and the feet are so affected that any change in diet brings on the problem again. A chronic laminitic horse may still suffer from acute attacks requiring immediate attention.

Cold therapy is the first recommendation for most acute or chronic injuries, including the localized heat, inflammation and swelling that occurs in laminitis. Standing your horse in cold water will help, but the water can be detrimental to the already traumatized hoof.

The ICE HORSE® Big Black Boot dry cold hoof therapy provides a safe way to get the vital first aid to your horse when he or she founders. If you are anything like me as a horse owner, you know that getting your animal out of pain and back to soundness are the most important things. I think that you will find that the Big Black Boot is an effective, easy to use, natural anti-inflamatory treatment for your foundered horse.

Dr. Daniel Montoya is a cowboy freelance writer who is doing research for HOOF-it Equine. Let him know if you have any questions about using the Big Black Boot. You can comment on this post or contact him at danny@hoof-it.com

HOOF-it Pads for Soundness

We had our farrier out yesterday to put new steel shoes on Greg's horse. The horse has over 1000 miles for the season and had 405 miles on this particular set of steel shoes. Greg and Qamaar had done 250 rocky miles - five days in a row, 50 miles each day- at Grand Canyon, and then three weeks later another 155 rocky miles at the Smokey Killen three-day ride in Nevada. The shoes were paper thin on the rear with the nail heads completely gone from the road side of the shoes. After trimming the hoof and paring out the sole, the farrier commented that the hooves looked like the horse was ridden in the arena! We used hoof-it pads all 405 miles, and the hoof-it was what kept the shoes on when they were paper thin. Many riders were very interested in what Greg was using to keep his horse sound over so many rocky miles, and how he could ride 405 miles in the same shoes. Cyndee Pryor

My foundered mare is walking great...

Thank you. The pour in pad worked just like you said it would. My foundered mare is walking great, thanks to a good farrier and your product. Pattie

Low Heel Problems

I purchased a set of Marathon shoes for my Peruvian mare (age 19) that has had a problem growing heels and does not do well with steel shoes. I put the shoes on in April and pulled them off in February. That set of shoes went through four resets before they wore out. The mare was taken on several mountain type trail rides as well as being ridden on the paved urban trail quite frequently during the summer and fall. The paved trail does give a way to dirt after the first 1/4 miles, so she wasn't on the pavement all the time. When the rain set in, she was worked in a covered dirt arena. My farrier was amazed with the heel the mare grew and I was amazed at how long the shoes lasted. I have used other composite shoes in the past but have never had these outstanding results. As a result of my trying the shoes and using them on two other Peruvians, my farrier is now recommending them to his clients. The majority of whom own trotting horses. This year we are shoeing several more horses with the HOOF-it composite shoes and I will be happy to let you know the results. They work well on our gaited horses because they do not inhibit the gait, nor do they enhance the gait. They do help keep the horses with flat feet or low heels from bruising which is a problem in our area because of the wet winters effect on the hooves. Thanks for a great product. Karen Kent, Washington

Contracted Heels

Which one of your shoes would you recommend for contracted heals? Leigh

Leigh,
The standard Hippoplast shoe works well for contracted heels. This is link for the Hippoplast:
HOOF-it Hippoplast Shoes

Carriage Horses

I have a horse drawn carriage business in Nashville, Indiana and have been looking for something to help absorb some of the shock to my horses legs. I was serfing the web one day and came across your site. I was wondering if these type of shoes would uphold to this type of work. I have two percheron geldings who work at least 30 hrs. a week on the streets. My boyfriend is a farrier and has never herd of these shoes. I was curious if we could have a trial pair. My one percheron wears a size 8, and I didn't know if you even carry anything that big.
Thanks, Hilary

Dear Hillary,
I shoe the carriage horses at Cinderella Carriage Co. in downtown San Diego with these shoes. During the summer months we get 5 weeks from the shoes and during the winter months the shoes will last from 7 to 8 weeks.
The Bigfoot draft shoe is modeled after a Werkman size nine shoe and should fit your Percheron. The dimensions of the shoe are 7 7/8w x 8 1/4l. Measure your horses hoof to determine if it will fit.
This is the link to the shoe :
Hoof-It Big Foot Composite Shoe