Advertisement
Research| Volume 33, ISSUE 4, P483-489, August 2017

Download started.

Ok

Effects of barefoot trimming and shoeing on the joints of the lower forelimb and hoof morphology of mature horses

      ABSTRACT

      Twelve mature American Quarter Horses (450–572 kg) were used in a switchback design for a 140-d trial to determine the effects of shoeing on joints of the forelimb and digital cushion depth. The study consisted of 3 phases: d 0 to 42, horses were barefoot trimmed; d 49 to 91, horses were shod (SD) on the forehand with standard St. Croix plain lite shoes; d 98 to 140, horses received another barefoot trim. Horses were exercised 3 times per wk on a linear dirt track. Measurements and blood samples were obtained every 21 d following exercise. Joint circumference was measured using a soft tape measure. Serum was harvested, and prostaglandin E2 was analyzed by ELISA. Digital cushion depth was measured ultrasonically through the superficial frog. Stride lengths were measured at a walk and trot using gait analysis software. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS. Mean stride lengths at the walk (P < 0.05) and trot (P < 0.01) and carpal joint circumference (P < 0.01) were greater in the SD phase than the barefoot phases. There was no effect (P ≥ 0.47) of d or treatment on digital cushion depth; however, on d 42 of each of the phases, mean digital cushion depth was greater (P < 0.01) in the barefoot phases compared with the SD phase. These data indicate that a shod foredigit may cause changes in hoof morphology due to alterations in lower limb movement and hoof load dispersion, which could increase the incidence of lameness over time.

      Key words

      To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

      Purchase one-time access:

      Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online access
      One-time access price info
      • For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
      • For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

      Subscribe:

      Subscribe to
      Already a print subscriber? Claim online access
      Already an online subscriber? Sign in
      Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

      LITERATURE CITED

        • Balch O.
        • White K.
        • Butler D.
        The effects of different pads on locomotion forces exerted by a horse exercising on a high speed treadmill.
        Proc. Annu. Meet. Assoc. Equine Sports Med. 1991; 10: 3-7
        • Bertone A.L.
        • Palmer J.L.
        • Jones J.
        Synovial fluid cytokines and eicosanoids as markers of joint disease in horses.
        10.1053/jvet.2001.28430
        11704948
        Vet. Surg. 2001; 30: 528-538
        • Bowker R.M.
        Contrasting structural morphologies of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ footed horses.
        Proc. Am. Assoc. Equine Pract. 2003; 49: 186-209
        • Calder P.C.
        Dietary modification of inflammation with lipids.
        Proc. Nutr. Soc. 2002; 613: 345-358
        • Clayton H.M.
        • Schamhardt H.C.
        Equine Locomotion.
        W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, PA2001
        • Dyhre-Poulsen P.
        • Smedegaard H.H.
        • Roed J.
        • Korsgaard E.
        Equine hoof function investigated by pressure transducers inside the hoof and accelerometers mounted on the first phalanx.
        10.1111/j.2042-3306.1994.tb04404.x
        7988538
        Equine Vet. J. 1994; 26: 362-366
        • Goodrich L.R.
        • Nixon A.J.
        Medical treatment of osteoarthritis in the horse—A review.
        10.1016/j.tvjl.2004.07.008
        16427582
        Vet. J. 2006; 171: 51-69
        • Gunkelman M.A.
        • Hammer C.J.
        A preliminary study examining the digital cushion in horses.
        J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2015; 35: 423
        • Hood D.M.
        • Taylor D.
        • Wagner I.P.
        Effects of ground surface deformability, trimming, and shoeing on quasistatic hoof loading patterns in horses.
        10.2460/ajvr.2001.62.895
        11400847
        Am. J. Vet. Res. 2001; 62: 895-900
        • Huguet E.E.
        • Duberstein K.J.
        Effects of steel and aluminum shoes on forelimb kinematics in stock-type horses as measured at the trot.
        10.1016/j.jevs.2011.09.069
        J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2011; 32: 262-267
        • Moyer W.
        • Anderson J.P.
        Lameness caused by improper shoeing.
        1110198
        J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 1975; 166: 47-52
        • Raber M.
        • Lischer C.J.
        • Geyer H.
        • Ossent O.
        The bovine digital cushion—A descriptive anatomical study.
        10.1016/S1090-0233(03)00053-4
        15080874
        Vet. J. 2004; 167: 258-264
        • Roepstorff L.
        • Johnson C.
        • Drevemo S.
        The effect of shoeing on kinetics and kinematics during the stance phase.
        10659269
        Equine Vet. J. Suppl. 1999; 30: 279-285
        • Simon E.L.
        • Gaughan E.M.
        • Epp T.
        • Spire M.
        Influence of exercise on thermographically determined surface temperatures of thoracic and pelvic limbs in horses.
        10.2460/javma.229.12.1940
        17173534
        J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2006; 229: 1940-1944
        • Stashak T.S.
        Adams’ Lameness in Horses. 4th ed. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, PA1987: 786-788
        10.1111/j.2042-3306.1999.tb05235.x
        • Taylor D.
        • Hood D.M.
        • Wagner I.P.
        Short-term effect of therapeutic shoeing on severity of lameness in horses with chronic laminitis.
        10.2460/ajvr.2002.63.1629
        12492275
        Am. J. Vet. Res. 2002; 63: 1629-1633
        • van Weeren P.R.
        • Van den Bogert A.J.
        • Barneveld A.
        • Hartman W.
        • Kersjes A.W.
        The role of the reciprocal apparatus in the hind limb of the horse investigated by a modified CODA-3 optoelectronic kinematic analysis system.
        10.1111/j.2042-3306.1990.tb04744.x
        9259816
        Equine Vet. J. Suppl. 1990; 9: 95-100
        • Willemen M.A.
        • Jacobs M.W.
        • Schamhardt H.C.
        In vitro transmission and attenuation of impact vibrations in the distal forelimb.
        10.1111/j.2042-3306.1999.tb05227.x
        10659261
        Equine Vet. J. Suppl. 1999; 30: 245-248
        • Willemen M.A.
        • Savelberg H.H.
        • Barneveld A.
        The improvement of the gate quality of sound trotting warmblood horses by normal shoeing and its effect on the load of the lower forelimb.
        10.1016/S0301-6226(97)00130-9
        Livest. Prod. Sci. 1997; 52: 145-153
        • Willemen M.A.
        • Savelberg H.H.
        • Bruin G.
        • Barneveld A.
        The effect of toe weights on linear and temporal stride characteristics of Standardbred trotters.
        10.1080/01652176.1994.9694511
        22077857
        Vet. Q. 1994; 16: 97-100