Shiloh's Laminitis

(Photos show the improvements in the toe length, heel height and width, pastern angles, and changes to the coronet band's shape. )

When I arrived for Shiloh's initial consult and setup trim in March, he had already been tender footed for a few months. His owner was diligent in addressing pasture access and sugars, along with increasing the nutrients he was lacking in his diet . She had also used several natural remedies to support his digestive tract health and immune system. Shiloh was an atypical laminitis case because unlike most Insulin resistant horses, he was lean - with no metabolic fat pads.

In the setup trim I lowered his heels to just above live sole. He had a major medial / lateral imbalance in his front right hoof that I addressed as well. I started him on a 3 week trim cycle. This short period between trims gave Shiloh enough time to develop more sole depth, meanwhile the old stretched lamelar wedge was beveled each visit to ease break-over and prevent any further damage to the new connected wall growing down.

The most obvious wall flare affected the front feet between May and July. Once we reached September the majority of the initial damage caused by the lamintic episode had been grown out and trimmed away. His heels were lowered during every trim, eventually bringing the back of the foot into a more natural weight baring role.

Shiloh's owner treated his frogs for thrush during the first month of the rehab. He also wore boots and pads between March and April during his tender period. Shiloh became sound on most terrain by mid April. His recovery is not complete yet, and has not been without challenges- The photo taken in November shows the stress rings which have occurred a few times over the last 8 months. Overall, Shiloh's hooves have come a long way in a short time.