Clogs to Treat Laminitis

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Christy West, Digital Editor/Producer
November 10 2010, Article # 17206

These wooden shoes help a horse treat himself

Who ever heard of shoeing a horse with plywood, screws, and a drill, especially a laminitic horse? It might sound like the worst kind of backyard farriery, but this method is finding favor with a growing number of veterinarians and farriers. The procedure has been presented twice at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, three times at the International Hoof Care Summit, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, the International Laminitis Symposium and it was published in the April 2010 Laminitis issue of Veterinary Clinics of North America-Equine Practice.

They aren't high-performance shoes by any means, but these wooden clogs seem to provide the healing environment that many damaged feet need. "If sole impression material, screws, and cordless drills were readily available in 1887, this shoe design (suggested in Magner's Classic Encyclopedia of the Horse, 1887) and technique possibly would be standard procedure in the therapeutic treatment of laminitis," says Micheal Steward, DVM, of Shawnee, Okla., inventor of the clogs.

What Does a Horse Clog Look Like?

There are up to four components of the clog shoeing system: Plywood, deck screws, sole impression material, and glue or casting tape for further anchoring the wall to the shoe, if needed. These materials are easy to find and relatively inexpensive, which is one of the reasons why Steward came up with the concept. In his Oklahoma practice, he has had many clients come to him with laminitic horses, but not a lot of money to treat them...

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