Natural Hoof Prints

Volume 1 ~ Issue 3

"New Hope for Soundness" Book

For about the last 2 years straight we have received a steady flow of phone calls, letters and e-mails requesting more information on the EDSS, NBS, WRP and the Natural Balance principles. We have the EDSS promo tape that has served as a good introduction to the system and a few pamphlets and brochures that tell a little about our products and information, however we do not have anything substantial. Until now!!!

Gene Ovnicek and myself (Cody Ovnicek) have recently completed our introduction and overview of the Natural Balance principles and their related materials. The book entitled, "New Hope for Soundness - Seen Through the Window of the Wild Horse Hoof Patterns" is finally available for all horse owners, trainers, farriers and veterinarians. We have put a lot of time and effort into making this publication one that has something for everyone. As a first time introduction to Natural Balance or for those who have been using it for years, this book will be a worthwhile tool. We have made a special effort to include a multitude of graphics and drawings so that the information will be that much more understandable and clear. We cover several hoof care procedures that although are not complete instruction, they are very useful for general referencing. There are five chapter

• The Wild Horse Study
• Recognizing Hoof Deformity
• The Natural Trim
• Natural Balance Shoeing
• The Equine Digit Support System

We think you will find it informative and very useful no matter what your hoofcare involvement may be. Thank You!

A Learning Experience

I have frequently mentioned how important I feel it is to share the information and experiences that every practitioner or horse owner has, whether deemed successful or not. Kathy Wardenaar of Roslyn, WA recently wrote to us concerning a particular situation that although she felt was not totally successful, she none the less learned some very valuable lessons for herself. I would like to share this letter with all of you in hopes that her experiences may be useful to others as a learning tool.

In your first Natural Hoof Prints newsletter you mentioned you would be taking letters dealing with successes, failures and other findings. I would like to submit this letter on a recent World Race Plate crisis I had.

First of all let me say I am an advocate of Natural Balance trimming, the NB shoe, EDSS and World Race Plates. Unfortunately as farriers we are not able to learn every potential problem or the way to avoid failures by reading, attending clinics or following the normal hoof preparation procedures. Sometimes we have to learn by experience. Sometimes bad experience.

I was recently called to shoe a barrel racing horse who had been reaching and pulling shoes in the deeper footing. I had only nailed on one other pair of WRP shoes which is what the owner’s vet wanted this horse to continue to wear. It would not be my shoe of choice for this horse because of the poor integrity of her sole. She had tall, underrun heels and flares at the toe. The breakover on the shoe had been placed about 1 ½" in front of the tip of the frog and the heels of the shoe were about 5/8" ahead of the widest part of the frog.

My first mistake was in not using the hoof testers on the mare even though I suspected poor sole quality. She was sound so I didn’t bother. I trimmed the hoof, followed the sole plane, but left a little more heel and toe than I would have on a healthy foot (about 1/16"). I placed the breakover of the WRP 1" in front of the tip of the frog on this very small ‘00’ or #5 WRP hoof. The mare walked off without forging and trotted soundly, now landing flat instead of slightly heel first as before. The owner was happy and I was happy.

The next morning I received a call. The mare was lame! I went to see the horse that evening. The vet was there as well. Sure enough she had a lot of sole pain. The vet was irate with me saying I had cut off all the heel and had left no foot to work with. Adding, we would be lucky if the mare didn’t founder over this. I used a felt rim pad after seating out the shoe more aggressively, which I think was a large part of the problem in the first place. I applied turpentine to the pad with a syringe and hoped for the best.

After a week I called back to check on the mare. The owner had hauled the horse to another farrier who had previously done the horse. He pulled the shoes, used a grinder to further seat out the shoe and placed the shoe more forward on the hoof as it had been previously. The mare was kept on bute and was improving enough to be entered in a barrel race the following weekend.

Of course my name was dirt and more disturbing to me is the possible misrepresentation of the hoof preparation and shoe placement method I so strongly believe in. There are several things I learned from this experience. I was not familiar enough with WRP shoes to use it on a hoof that I recognized as distorted. I believe the added "string" of an aluminum shoe was not the best choice for this placement. Also, if ever presented with having to do a horse in a way that the vet specifies, I will speak to the vet personally, do the horse with the vet present or decline the job if it is contrary to what I am familiar with doing.

A hard lesson, I take responsibility for my mistakes. On the positive side are the 100 success stories I have been blessed with for every one that goes wrong. Really, this is a letter of encouragement to those of you who are not perfect and agonize over mistakes and failures as I do. No pain, no gain I guess. Let’s keep learning from each other for the betterment of our horses. I appreciate the valuable input many of you have given me and I will continue to listen attentively.

Kathy Wardenaar ~ Roslyn, WA

I would like to thank Kathy for sharing with us her experience. I think that she makes a very valid point about the possibility of encountering "ups and downs" when working with new tools or information. Even though Kathy has been using Natural Balance principle for years, there can always be some other factors that can influence any given horse at any given time. It’s all part of the learning curve each of us go through every day. Keep working hard Kathy.

What is happening when severely foundered horses walk on their toes?

Horses that walk on their toes and are painful to hoof testers over the sole surface of the foot, as well as the full length of the frog and heel buttress, are likely developing an abscess. The abscess should be encouraged to surface and drain before any support is applied.

What if there is no hoof tester response over the rear of the frog and in the heel buttress, yet pain is present over the sole ahead of the frog (which is the area of the foot they choose to walk on)?

I feel this is an indication that there is an inflammatory pressure within the rigid hoof capsule, causing severe pain when the heels are lowered and tension is placed on the deep digital flexor tendon and digital cushion. The pain induced internally by the function of the digital cushion is greater than the pain from walking on the painful sole below the tip of P3. The decent of P2 into the digital cushion also has an influence on pressure created within the hoof capsule. This condition seems to occur when support is not adequate or maintained consistently (in chronic cases). P3 descends and rotates into the coronary groove of the hoof wall creating vascular restriction. Hence, inflammation follows with a contraction of the coronary band. If this situation is not tended to, the heels and bars accelerate their growth and abscessing generally occurs at the coronary band to help disconnect the contracted portion of the hoof wall. When freedom is finally given by a groove separating the upper and lower potion of the wall, the heel and bars are there to offer support in the area of the foot that is designed for that purpose. Unfortunately the tip of P3 generally pays a huge price during this transition period. Damage to the tip of P3 can set up another episode of rotation that is similar to, but separate from the original insult. A visible ridge generally forms just below the coronary band early in the toe walking episode, giving you some warning as to what is coming.

I have looked at this natural sequence and have employed a procedure that works very well for more patients that were previously candidates for tendon surgery or euthanasia. A groove is made at the sight of the ridge that has formed on the dorsal hoof wall. This groove must be made deep enough to palpate soft tissue of the lamina or until necrotic fluid is seen. A small drop of blood seen will tell you where your depth limits are. The groove is generally cut to a point that does not extend to the widest part of the foot on each side. Grooving will generally get the horse back to heel first landing and on a healing pathway.

This information can be used in addition to an earlier article called "Releasing Internal Pressure" from the first issue of "Natural Hoof Prints."

This page was last update on 10/18/99. Copyright © 1998 Wild Horse Publishing & Equine Digit Support System, Inc.. All rights reserved. Terms of Use