GB2517176A - Horseshoe for laminitis - Google Patents

Abstract

A shoe 100 for fitting on to the foot of laminitic horse, pony or other equid, to relieve pressure in the toe sole, alleviate pain and aid recovery, comprises; a front portion with an extended toe plate 130 having a ground-contact surface and a foot non-contact surface, a bilateral side portion 150 having a ground contact surface, a foot contact surface and a recessed foot non-contact surface and a bilateral heel portion 140 having a ground-contact surface and a foot-contact surface, wherein the thickness of the side and heel portions is greater than the thickness of the front toe plate portion. The inner and outer edges of the ground contact surface of the front and side portions may be bevelled. The front toe plate portion may be oval shaped, extending centrally toward the frog of a horses foot. In this case the foot non-contact surface of the front portion is recessed and joins with the recessed region of the bilateral side portion.

Description

I

Horseshoe for Laminitis The invention relates to a horseshoe placed on the foot or feet of a horse or pony suffering from Laminitis'.

Horses feet can suffer from a number of ailments or conditions. Many of these cause the horse significant pain or discomfort; some conditions may even lead to the animal being euthanized. Rapid correction is therefore desirable.

One particular condition that can often be difficult to treat is laminitis, (literally: inflammation of the laminar). The horse's foot consists of; bone, cartilage, ligaments, tendons and a dense network of blood vessels contained within a fairly rigid structure the keratinous hoof wall, all of which support the animal's considerable weight. Laminitis is a complex condition with differing causes and degrees of severity. Briefly, the hoof becomes inflamed and due to the rigidity of the hoof wall the inner structures have no where to expand except downwards, the inner part of the foot tears away from the hoof wall causing considerable pain to the animal. This may lead to the bony structures themselves moving downwards and in some extreme cases erupting through the sole of the foot. (See illustration Fig. ic.) Common treatments for this syndrome include the use of use pads placed between the horseshoe and the horse's foot, this treatment is less than ideal and often results in euthanasia of the animal as the pad, whilst protecting the painful sole merely increases the pressure within the foot.

Another treatment is that of placing a heart bar shoe' on the foot (See illustration Fig. 2a.) A heart-bar shoe' is the shape of a normal shoe with extended length at the heel bent and welded into a w' shape and thus the overall appearance is that of a shoe in a heart shape, hence heart-bar shoe. This additional structure is designed to give support to the frog, however it gives neither support nor protection to the highly sensitive toe sole area nor does it alleviate sole pressure, also it is not bevelled for breakover: Another similar treatment is the use of a thermo-plastic glued-on cuff with a heart-bar support. As with the heart-bar shoe' it does not give the full protection from the tip of the frog to the front of the toe wall, similarly there is no recess on the foot surface to alleviate sole pressure nor bevelled edge all-round but only at the toe.

(See illustration Fig. 2b.) According to the invention, there is provided a shoe for fitting on a horse's foot, the shoe comprising: a front portion with an extended toe plate having a ground-contact surface and a foot non-contact surface; a side portion having a ground contact surface and a foot contact surface with a recessed inner edge and a heel portion having a ground-contact surface and a foot-contact surface, wherein: the thickness of the side and heel portions is greater than the thickness of the front toe plate portion; and the inner and outer edges of the ground contact surface of the front and side portions are bevelled. The ground contact surface of the side portion has a fuller its entire length; which is drilled for nail holes for the placement of nails to attach the shoe to the horse's foot.

The ground contact surface of the shoe is at the same level such that it contacts the ground completely and distributes the horse's weight evenly around the weight-bearing circumference of the foot. The bevelling of the outer edge of the front and side portions of the ground-contact surface allows the horse easy breakover; that is less effort is required by the horse to move its foot and body weight which means less pressure inside the foot and consequently pain is reduced. Also the bevelling of the entire front and side portions means the horse has a choice of direction of movement to one that gives most relief. (See illustration Fig. 3a and Photo Pic. A.) On the foot contact surface of the shoe, the material of the shoe at the toe plate portion is reduced in thickness relative to the side and rear portions so that the sole area on the horses foot between the point of frog and the toe wall is completely covered by the toe plate portion but is not in contact with the toe plate portion. This means that the sensitive sole toe area is completely protected from projections from the ground surface and that it does not have contact with the shoe that could transfer pressure through the shoe and onto the sensitive tissues in the sole toe region of the foot, this relieves sole pressure and also stops dorsal wall leverage.

The toe plate region here permits for engraving for lettering or a logo, e.g. to indicate a product name or identifier and/or a manufacturer or brand or the like.

(See illustration Fig. 3b and Photo Pie. B.) In a normal healthy foot the pedal bone (the crescent-shaped bone inside the horses hoof), is attached to the hoof wall by laminar (interlocking, finger-like projections). After the initial inflammatory phase of laminitis the condition may progress to laminar breakdown causing the pedal bone to detach from the hoof wall, this in turn can lead to the pedal bone rotating downwards relative to the ground. As the pedal bone rotates, it compresses the sensitive tissues between the bone and the sole, causing considerable pain and discomfort. It is therefore desirable to de-rotate the pedal bone back to its normal, healthy position as part of the treatment process.

De-rotation of the pedal bone is achieved by dropping the heels of the horse's foot Any type of heart-bar treatment can over-load the frog when dropping the heels.

The invention however, does not affect the frog so the heels can be dropped as much as is needed.

The front toe plate portion represents about one fifth (2/laths) the entire shoe length and extends centrally towards the point of frog about one third the shoes entire length. The side portions represent about one half (5/lOths) the shoes entire length and the heel portion represents the remaining length (3/1 Oths).

The front toe plate is about one half the thickness of the side and heel portions at their thickest depth, preferably thick enough to give rigidity and strength to the shoe and preferably thin enough to avoid contact with the sensitive toe sole region of the foot. (See illustration Fig. 3c and Photo Pic. C.) The inner recess of the foot contact surface of the side portion is the same thickness as the front toe plate thickness at their join and graduates in a concave pattern to eventual full thickness of the shoe Preferably the shoe is made from a lightweight material that requires less effort on the horse's part to move his foot, thus reducing the stresses on the damaged tissues of the foot. The material preferably also has a strength and pliability so that a skilled person may shape it to fit the shape of the foot. More preferably the shoe is made from an aluminium or light steel material.

It will be appreciated that the shoe can be designed for different sizes of feet. A skilled person can readily select the appropriate size.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying photos and diagrams in which: Diagrams Fig. I a shows a lateral view of a horse's foot; Fig. lb shows a sagittal section of a normal, healthy foot; Fig. I c shows a sagittal section of a laminitic horse's foot with a rotated pedal bone; Fig. I d shows the solar (underneath) view of a normal, healthy foot; Fig. 2a shows a heart-bar shoe; Fig. 2b shows a thermoplastic shoe; Fig. 3a shows a view of the ground-contact (under) side of The Shoe; Fig. Sb shows a view of the foot-contact (upper) side of The Shoe; Fig. Sc shows a view of the front of the foot together with the shoe; Fig. 4a shows a view of the ground-contact (under) side of The Shoe; Fig. 4b shows a view of the foot-contact (upper) side of The Shoe; Photos Pic. A shows a view of the ground-contact (under) side of The Shoe; Pic. B shows a view of the foot-contact (upper) side of The Shoe; Pic. C shows a view of the front of the foot together with the shoe; Pic. 0 shows a view of a horse's foot from beneath with the shoe attached Pic. F shows a view of a horse's foot from beneath with the shoe attached and in tilled with hoof gel.

Figs. lb and 1 d show a horse's foot from the side and underneath respectively.

The hoof capsule 200 is designated generally by reference numeral 200. The toe sole area, which can prolapse downwards, is identified by the crescent shape 210 in Fig. Id and shown by dashed lines 215 in Fig. ic. Fig. ic illustrates the sagittal section of a horse's foot viewed from the side, showing a prolapsed sole, again identified by dashed lines 215 and showing a rotated pedal bone identified by solid line 220 (which would be attached to and parallel to the hoof wall in a healthy hoof), but is detached from the hoof wall and rotated downwards towards the ground (sole) region of the foot.

Fig. 3c shows the dorsal (front) view of the hoof capsule 200 with the shoe 100 attached. The area of non-contact at the front toe can clearly be seen.

An embodiment of a shoe 100 according to the invention is shown in Figs. 4a and 4b. Fig. 4a shows the shoe 100 with its ground-contact (under) surface 160 showing uppermost in the figure with its outer and inner bevelled edges. The under surface 160 is substantially flat across its entire extent. The shoe can be divided into three sections: the heel section 140 is bilateral and located at the rear of the shoe 100, designed for placement underneath the heel of a horse's foot. This section of the shoe 100 is thicker than the front toe plate portion 130. The third section is the bilateral side section 150, which extends forwardly (towards the toe end) from the heel portion 140. The front toe plate section is designed to be located centrally underneath the toe sole area of the horse's foot. The outer edge of the front toe plate portion 130 and the outer edge of the bilateral side portion 150 are bevelled to allow for easy breakover. The inner edge of the front toe plate portion 130 and the inner edge of the bilateral side portion 150 are also bevelled to allow for ease of access from the cutting machine during production and for safe handling, reducing any sharp edges.

Fig. 4b shows the foot contact upper' surface 170 of the shoe 100. In use, the upper surface 170 is placed in contact with the lower surface of the foot. In practice, this means that the upper surface 170 will contact the hoof wall of the horse's foot in the bilateral side portion 150 and the bilateral heel portion 140 but will not contact the front toe plate portion 130. The side portion 150 of shoe 100 is the same thickness as the heel portion 140, i.e. it is thicker than the front toe plate portion 130, however unlike the heel portion 140 the side portion 150 has an inner edge recess in a concave pattern graduating to the thickness of the front toe plate section 130 at their join. The front toe plate portion 130 is substantially thinner on its upper surface (the surface facing the foot), i.e. it does not contain any other structure projecting from that surface towards the foot which could make contact with the foot and transfer pressure through the shoe and onto the sole of the horse's foot during weight bearing. Minor engraved lettering may be provided on the flat surface without ill effect and such surfaces are still considered to be substantially flat. The lettering may indicate a manufacturer, product ID, size, or similar. The lettering is preferably only about 1 mm deep.

The front toe plate portion 130 of the shoe 100 as referred to in this document is defined to be the whole of the shoe 100 other than the heel portion 140 and the side portion 150.

Pic. E shows the shoe 100, together with standard hoof gel. The gel in fills the inner sole area surrounded by the shoe 100, except for the area under the toe sole plate 130 which must remain free of any contact. This design is to further protect and support the sole area and the bony column (the bones of the limb) without increasing any pressure and may aid the absorption of concussive forces from the ground surface. Together, the combination of the shoe 100 and the hoof gel will contact flat ground over substantially the entire lower surface of the foot, except the sensitive toe sole area which remains free from any contact and protected under the front toe sole plate 130.

While a horse is being treated for laminitis, it will normally spend more (or all) time on flatter, even ground, more preferably confined to a stable, to facilitate recovery.

The shoe 100 is nailed onto the horse's foot in the conventional way, by a suitably qualified, skilled person. To facilitate the treatment; standard hoof gel is used in the conventional way, by a suitably qualified, skilled person.

The shoe may be provided in a number of sizes for different sized feet, which can then be shaped (by the use of hammer and anvil by a suitably qualified, skilled person) to the exact shape of the foot to be treated.

An example of a set of shoe dimensions are as follows: Shoe No 5 Length (centre of toe to heel) 125 mm Width (left to right) at widest 120 mm Height of front portion 6 mm Height of heel portion 10 mm Depth of front toe plate at centre 45mm The fitting process is straightforward and maybe one of two methods; method one is to nail the shoe on, method two is to glue the shoe on. In both methods the shoe is first shaped and sized to the shape and size of the horse's foot. Then in method one: the shoe 100 is positioned onto the underside of the horse's foot and nails are driven through the shoe and the hoof in a conventional fashion so as to hold the shoe to the hoof. In method two: Glue is applied to the upper foot-contact surface of the shoe with the exception of leaving free the foot non-contact surface front toe plate portion 130, and around the hoof wall on the underside of the foot, the shoe is then glued onto the foot in the conventional way so as to hold the shoe to the hoof.

The shoe 100 is designed to be fitted along with a filling of hoof gel, which is applied in the conventional way, with the exception of leaving free the front toe plate portion 130, this can be achieved with the use of hoof putty, placed on the inner edge of the shoe at the toe plate. a