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It is generally considered inadvisable to remove the shoes in acute cases, but frog supports should be taped to the feet at this stage.
It is when the acute stage of laminitis has settled that consideration will be made on how to trim the feet and what shoes, if any, are to be applied.
When this is done will depend on the individual case and the individual vet or farrier.
Some farriers are now using glue on mouldable plastic shoes (Imprint Shoes) in acute laminitis cases. (www.imprintshoes.co.uk)
There is some disagreement whether the heel should be lowered in the acute laminitic or whether they should be wedged up. Ideally the vet and farrier agree on how the feet are treated.
In some cases it will be considered best not to reapply a shoe and solar or frog support may or may not be re-applied.
If shoes are applied they will generally be of a type that will give support under the frog and the caudal portion of the foot and protect the area under the tip of the pedal bone. Some of them will provide a means to breakover easily, not just anteriorly but also medially and laterally.
Shoes can be metal or plastic and may be nailed on or glued on. The glue-on plastic shoes probably are less traumatic to the foot but are more expensive.
They may be heart-bar shoes, which have a tongue that lies under the frog.
It is considered very important that radiographs are taken prior to applying this type of shoe so that it can be positioned correctly; otherwise excessive pressure can be applied under the pedal bone.
The glue-on plastic shoes provided by the Laminitis Clinic at Dauntsey in Wiltshire have an adjustable tongue to the heart-bar and can be tightened or loosened with the use of a screw.
The Equine Digit Support System (EDSS) consists of a shoe, a pad that is applied under the shoe and dental impression material that is used to fill the space in the posterior half of the foot. www.hopeforsoundness.com source in UK www.tfp.uk.com
This system also comes with "rails" or "wedges" that are screwed onto the shoes at the heels. The reason that these are applied is to reduce the rotational pull of the deep flexor tendon. A natural balance trim is used with this type of shoe.
Another that is available is the Eponashoe which is a flexible plastic shoe that is glued on to the foot with packing filling the caudal part of the foot. www.eponashoe.com
There is an endless range of other shoes that farriers apply including normal shoes placed on back to front, shoes with wedges and even a "clog" (the Steward Clog), which originally was a piece of wood screwed on underneath the shoe that allowed the foot to breakover easily in all directions.