[RC] Barefoot/circulation and studies - Candace Kahn
Hi Heidi,
In one of your last posts on this subject you
asked me for case studies. I have done some investigating and submit the
following:
> "I'd sure like to see studies that back up this notion that the
> expansion is limited.
Equine Vet J Suppl. 2001 Apr;(33):54-7 In
vivo and in vitro heel expansion in relation to shoeing and frog pressure.
Roepstorff L, Johnston C, Drevemo S.
You have to pay to get the
fulltext of the paper but you can view the abstract here:
The
mean values given for heel expansion in a live (not cadaver) fore hoof
were:
unshod walk: 0.44 mm shod walk: 0.34 mm
unshod trot: 0.67
mm shod trot: 0.51 mm
> I've yet to see anything
convincing on this > subject, other than horses with happy, healthy feet
with good > circulation who have worn shoes for much of their
lives. (Yes, I'm > aware of cadaver studies that don't take into
account whether the > shoes were properly applied, or whether the horses
did anything in > their lives besides stand in a paddock--lack of
exercise is far more > apt to cause decreased circulation than are
properly applied shoes!) > I've watched the
tapes of treadmill studies in which one can > SEE the expansion and
contraction as it occurs--and one can't see > one whit of difference
between properly shod and unshod feet on > those. > Additionally,
one can see that most of the expansion occurs > posterior to the
quarters--which is only logical, given that there > is no "opening" at
the toe, as there is at the heel. How can there > be restriction if
there is nothing whatsoever inhibiting the hoof > wall posterior to the
quarters?
Equine Vet J Suppl. 1998 Sep;(26):86-95. Variation in surface
strain on the equine hoof wall at the midstep with shoeing, gait, substrate,
direction of travel, and hoof shape. Thomason JJ.
The
main difference is in the way the hoof capule expands, it's amount reduced
in a shod hoof, and the deformed shape is different, that is what the term
"strain reorientation" in the abstract
means.
> With regard to the degree of
expansion--on many of our horses, > the edge of the shoes are often as
much as 3/8" outside the non- > expanded hoof wall at the heels--and
sometimes we STILL have issues > with so much expansion that the feet
will overgrow the outsides of > the shoes when the horses are very
active. That's because they are > expanding PAST the
edges of the shoes at the heels. And one can > verify that
with the wear marks.
The hoof becoming larger than the shoe is not caused
by the same (elastic) expansion mechanism as above but by growth of the hoof
in its natural concical shape. Any farriery text should point this
out.
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