Page 265 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

provide support to the frog and also to the back half of the foot which improves the horse’s

comfort. The thick Styrofoam pad is cut so that it covers the sole of the foot and it is then
VetBooks.ir taped onto the bottom of the foot and allowed to compress for 24–48 hours (Figures 6.48a
and b). The pad is then removed and hoof testers are applied to determine which parts of the

foot are painful. The front part of the pad is trimmed off and the back part is reapplied to the
foot so that it sits 1 cm ( in) behind the painful part of the foot. A second pad is applied to

the whole hoof and bandaged on top of the trimmed pad. This has the effect of distributing
the weight of the horse onto the non-painful area of the foot. With this system in place, it is
important to keep the horse on a firm, even surface as a deep shavings bed is too unstable.

Figure 6.48a and b Styrofoam Support: a) trimmed Styrofoam pad; b) the pad is taped to the foot and allowed to compress
for 24–48 hours

Another system is the use of impression materials combined with thinner foam pads. This
is often more suitable for small ponies that may not be heavy enough to adequately crush the

Styrofoam.
Whatever the method, the aim of supporting the foot is to reduce the pull on the deep

digital flexor tendon and to provide upward pressure on the frog to counteract rotation or
sinking of the pedal bone.

OTHER MEDICAL TREATMENTS

Several drugs have been used to try and improve the blood flow to the laminae in the feet.
They include:

• acepromazine

• isoxuprine

glyceryl trinitrate patches placed over the digital vessels.