Recent discussions on the main list got me thinking about this concept when
trimming foundered (rotated) horses.

During his recovery, my horse was trimmed aggressively and the laminar wedge
removed. I think Dr Bowker has talked about his concerns regarding bone
remodeling when this is done. I'm wondering what other folks experiences
have been when not removing this wedge but working as Leslie has suggested,
making the hoof wall passive?

For those of you who have just heard him, my recollection of Dr B's concerns
are that removing too much wall, even on a laminar wedge will have an impact
on bone changes in P3. The Ski tip is one example of remodeling changes due
to too much pressure from the rotation. But external pressures - or lack
thereof - might also have an affect on the back of P3 the wings of bone
there.

Most of us are familiar with the ski tip. But with the elongation of the
wings the horse is trying to make up for what he¹s missing by throwing more
bone. So, if I remember correctly - admittedly a big if - Dr B has thrown
out the idea that removing the hoof wall can cause the bone to modify due to
change in the exterior pressure from the hoof wall.

Does that make sense? Hopefully I am not skewering Dr B too badly. I am
excited to see him again in June (at Vicki Kline's in Hamburg, PA) Œcuz I¹ll
get so much more from it than I did the last time - two years ago.

Nancy C and Beau and Gabe in NH

Nancy Collins wrote:

During his recovery, my horse was trimmed aggressively and the laminar wedge
removed. I think Dr Bowker has talked about his concerns regarding bone
remodeling when this is done. I'm wondering what other folks experiences
have been when not removing this wedge but working as Leslie has suggested,
making the hoof wall passive?

This is pretty much how I work, Nancy. I have been leaving as much of the wall capsule as possible for a few years now. I have several reasons, and the advantage in the end is that I can create a quick, easy trim, it's easy to explain/diagram to consulting clients by e-mail, it's relatively intuitive to understand, and it works great!

Here's why:

1) I used to back the wall up vertically at the breakover point. I had this great old fellow I was working on who had an abscess tract up through his laminar wedge. One day after his trim & diet corrections he was feeling so great he got to ripping and tearing around the pasture, and came up lame. The owner called me out because "his crack was worse" (I had been calmly reassuring her not to worry, that when everything was right it would grow out). Well it was worse. His foot had split in half right up the dorsal wall. Now, a year and a half later, I've got it grown out about 3/4 of the way down. It's been a project. The situation is one of those "we do the best we can" ones. Horse is very uncooperative when he hurts, there are family issues, etc. etc. and of course under perfect control this would not have happened. If the trim is right and the horse's exercise is restricted, of course this wouldn't happen. I can't control all of that - I need to trim to keep control of what I can, and so leaving the wall of the hoof capsule intact has been a sort of insurance policy for me. It only took one of those to forever spook me about what I do at the toe ...

2) I like to watch the growth patterns change over time as the foot grows out. The wall is like a journal of the last year, and if I leave it there I can really watch what's going on as the foot grows down.

3) It works fine. My mentor told me years ago - long before I started shoeing! - that the best way to grow a better foot is to put the shoe where you want the foot to grow to. That is a tried & true approach in shoeing, *but it works in trimming too*. KC LaPierre repeats "the best stimulus for growth of the foot is pressure". The converse is also true. To reduce too much growth, reduce the pressure. In other words, trim the foot where you want it to end up. If you put the footprint in the right place (ground parallel coffin bone, weightbearing just outside the rim of the coffin bone and on the frog, and weight-sharing on bars and sole) the foot will come out right.


With the chronically foundered foot that often means the footprint is on some tissue that LOOKS LIKE sole (actually it USED TO BE sole) and the wall must be made totally passive to the weightbearing rim of "sole". The weird thing is, when you get that right it's like magic.

(Footnote though is that the DDT still applies in spades, and often the circulation in the foot benefits from nitric oxide support as we use it under Dr Kellon's protocol. That really turbocharges the trim. Halfway measures get halfway results, too, and if the nutrition can't support the horn growth in the foot, changes may be slow.)

-Abby

also PS - I'm going to be away for the holiday w/e so if I don't reply later I'll be back late Sunday or Monday.


--
**************************
Abby Bloxsom
www.advantedgeconsulting.com

Hi Nancy,

When working on feet with very poor white lines (stretched or eaten
away), I like to use a 'radical' trim which removes the wall from
weight bearing, to prevent further levering and tearing of whatever
laminae are still in existance. To do this I use a bevel right back
into the white line, right from heel to heel in most cases. This
places all the weight on the sole, frog and bars instead, perhaps
with some on the wall if the horse is on a deformable surface and
the foot sinks in some.

With this method I've seen stretched white lines grow back strong
and tight, as well as reducing distal descent when it was
excessive. The only time the white line has remained stretched is
the case of a mare who's Insulin Resistance isn't controlled well :-(

All that said, I'm unaware of what effect a lack of pressure would
have on cb remodelling. With a 'radical' trim though, there is
still pressure on the coffin bone right the way around, so it isn't
a consideration <G>.

Claire Vale
New Zealand


--- In ECHoof@..., Nancy Collins <threecatfarm@...>
wrote:

Recent discussions on the main list got me thinking about this

concept when

trimming foundered (rotated) horses.

During his recovery, my horse was trimmed aggressively and the

laminar wedge

removed. I think Dr Bowker has talked about his concerns

regarding bone

remodeling when this is done. I'm wondering what other folks

experiences

have been when not removing this wedge but working as Leslie has

suggested,

making the hoof wall passive?

For those of you who have just heard him, my recollection of Dr

B's concerns

are that removing too much wall, even on a laminar wedge will have

an impact

on bone changes in P3. The Ski tip is one example of remodeling

changes due

to too much pressure from the rotation. But external pressures -

or lack

thereof - might also have an affect on the back of P3 the wings of

bone

there.

Most of us are familiar with the ski tip. But with the elongation

of the

wings the horse is trying to make up for what he¹s missing by

throwing more

bone. So, if I remember correctly - admittedly a big if - Dr B

has thrown

out the idea that removing the hoof wall can cause the bone to

modify due to

change in the exterior pressure from the hoof wall.

Does that make sense? Hopefully I am not skewering Dr B too

badly. I am

excited to see him again in June (at Vicki Kline's in Hamburg, PA)

Œcuz I¹ll

get so much more from it than I did the last time - two years ago.

Nancy C and Beau and Gabe in NH

Hi Claire

Welcome to the list! Glad you and Walt are here. For those of you who have not met
Claire, she and Walt are co-moderators fo teh barefoothorsecarelist.

Thanks for your reivew of how you work on a foundered foot. It is very much the way my
guy was trimmed.

With this method I've seen stretched white lines grow back strong
and tight, as well as reducing distal descent when it was
excessive. The only time the white line has remained stretched is
the case of a mare who's Insulin Resistance isn't controlled well :-(

And THIS is definitely the case with Beau. My issues are iron overload and my testing the
limits of trim and exercise compensation with time out in the pasture. Sometimes you
have to be hit on the head a couple of times to get it. His feet should be so much better
than they are now.

All that said, I'm unaware of what effect a lack of pressure would
have on cb remodelling. With a 'radical' trim though, there is
still pressure on the coffin bone right the way around, so it isn't
a consideration <G>.

Clearly, I have not done the explanation justice, but hope to get it right when seeing Dr
Bowker again this summer. I'll let ya know!

Thanks again Claire!

Nancy C and Beau and Gabe in NH