A yearling colt, found in his field with a deep laceration of the lateral plantar quarter of his right hind foot. This was a complicated case, which involved structures above and within the hoof capsule, resulting in a ‘false quarter’.
Initial treatment involved stabilising the sensitive structures, in order to allow them to repair – this was achieved by bandaging. (Pictures 1 and 2.)
Once the coronary band had knitted back together, the next step was to alleviate the pressure caused by the ‘flap’ of hoof capsule. Debriding the area and applying an imprint shoe resulted in stability and relief for the false quarter. (Pictures 3, 4 and 5.)
Nine months later, the false quarter is stabilised and structurally sound. Dennis now just requires regular trimming to maintain structural integrity.
A 3* event horse, presented lame due to a medial/lateral imbalance in his left fore foot. I dynamically and statically assessed Herbie, to see how the imbalance was caused. I then shod him with a ‘half heartbar shoe’ and ‘floated’ the medial heel, to allow the imbalance to relax.
Herbie continued to compete at 3* level, both here and abroad.
A seven-year-old hunter, presented bi-laterally lame. Nerve blocks showed complications (improvement when foot was blocked but not completely sound). X-rays of the front feet showed large calcification of the lateral cartilages (side bones) of both front feet.
We made new shoes to mimic the wear of Mac’s old shoes, along with trimming his feet to maintain good medial/lateral balance. With this and the work of an equine physiotherapist, Mac came sound and returned to full work.