Page 24 - Speedhorse Canada Spring 2018

cost more money than my clients could afford. When we first started using the wooden shoe, for the first 25 years we were doing them here at the clinic for $150 and that included x-rays. The problem I experience now (which is actually a good thing) is that most veterinarians are correctly handling the easy (typical) cases and the ones we get here are the really tough, complicated ones,” he says.
“I believe that when a horse has colic surgery, he should immediately be put in some kind of orthotic system to proactively address the possibility of laminitis. We tape on EVA pads (ethylene-vinyl acetate,
or memory foam) with the same design as the clog, to reduce the leverage forces on the laminae from the hoof wall and also to transfer the weight of the horse from the laminae to the bottom of the foot. This concept should be standard care after colic surgery or any other complicated surgery. Sole impres- sion material taped into the sole of the foot would be helpful and you can do this even with conventional shoes. Veterinarians don’t typically take these precautions because they
are in a hurry and the surgery is the primary focus. Also, until recently, these concepts have not been widely accepted as beneficial,” he says.
Preventative care pays huge divi- dends in laminitis cases, however. All too often, laminitis can be the after- math following surgery or illness. There are many horses that could benefit from the wooden shoes, and these should be put on before the laminitis occurs rather than after the damage is done.
“If a person puts something like the Clog on the feet and adds cold therapy, this could prevent most cases or at least reduce the severity by about 90%. It has been frustrating for the past 30 years trying to bring about change and get this concept accepted. Dr. Ric Redden allowed me to present this concept at the Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium at Louisville, Kentucky, in 2002. Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital thought the idea was valid and helped me present
it at the AAEP program in 2003. Otherwise, very few people would even know about this simple but effective treatment. Now this shoe is
mentioned in the Veterinary Merck Manual and is used throughout the world,” he says.
“I’m currently working with a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and have rehabilitated a lot of his horses’ feet in this system. After we come out of the wood shoe, we use leather and EVA pads, which is basically putting a tennis shoe on the horse. One of his mares just ran second in a stakes race in Iowa after she had been in this shoe system for about three months. We swam the horse in the shoes, and then ponied her with an arm on a 4-wheeler. That was our main rehab—taking the weight off her back and feet and rehabbing the foot,” says Steward.
Although this nonconventional idea may have been slow to catch on, the benefits of treatment with this special shoe have proven to be successful.
For more information on the Roller Motion Horseshoe (Steward Clog), contact Dr. Mike Steward, Shawnee Animal Hospital Shawnee, Oklahoma, at (405) 275-0990, or visit www.shawnee- animalhospital.com.
“One of his mares just ran second in a stakes race in Iowa after she had been in this shoe system for about three months.”
24 SPEEDHORSE CANADA, Spring 2018