Impar Ligament and Eggbars... help!

_jetset_

_jetset_

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My mare's MRI showed she had mild inflammation of the Impar Ligament in her right fore. She has been prescribed 3 weeks of walking under saddle (starting 20 mins, increasing to 35 mins), IRAP treatment and Eggbar shoes with the Equipak added,

My mare is completely sound when she has first been shod, but then towards the end of the shoeing period (5 weeks) she starts to go footy and short. She has low heels and long toes which we have been trying to rectify since January and although there is an improvement, albeit a small one, we would like to see better results.

The vet said the other option was wedges but this was not recommended due to the problems that can arise from these...

I am presuming that the Impar Ligament is being strained as the toe gets longer and the heel loses some of the support? So that when she is newly shod and the foot back in balance, the ligament is no longer put under pressure...

Does anyone have any experiences or information regarding this they could offer? Perhaps one of the farriers who frequent here???
 
I went to a seminar by an American researcher called Robert Bowker. What you are describing was exactly what he talked about - he reckons that this situation is what actually causes navicular in the long term (he was very positive about it being reversible too before you panic!). He also talked about horses that have very poorly developed digital cushions - their heels feel soft and squishy instead of firm and cartilaginous. He is very much a barefoot fan, and talked about trimming the hoof so that it's the sole that takes the horses weight rather than the walls - it was all very interesting and I'm sure there will be stuff by him on the web. My horses are all barefoot now and I've been trimming them according to his principles and it seems to be going well. I think you're spot on with what you say about the hoof getting out of balance towards the end of the shoeing period - perhaps it would be worth having her without shoes for a while so that she can be trimmed more often (mine need at least every four weeks in the summer) and then when her feet are in better balance try shoeing again. Mine all compete without their shoes though, I just have to be careful if it's ground that needs studs as obviously I can't stud up!
 
Thanks... At the moment the vet has instructed she must have shoes on, so for now I am going to stick to shoes as she also has your typical TB feet and she gets very foot sore on stony ground etc (and we have a lot of that around here!)

Interesting to read it could be something which leads to navicular, that is what I have found with my research... You can understand how this could happen if left untreated.
 
It sounds like you've caught it early. One of our horses grows a lot of toe and get low on it's heels so we have him shod every 4 weeks. Expensive but that week makes all the difference if we try and go 5 weeks
 
My main question would be why hasn't your farrier suggested bar shoes / egg bars before it has even reached the stage of scans etc due to her low heel?
Didn;t you do a post ages ago about egg bar shoes? Did your farrier not suggest it then?
IMHO I would be changing my farrier!!
 
This farrier has only done two shoeings... and in all fairness he has done a really good job in that time. He knew we were going back for a check up so he did not want to make any big changes until the vet had looked at them again. He has now spoken to the vet and they have a plan of action between them from the MRI and xrays.

It is unfortunate, but over the past 12 months I have had to use four different farriers due to moving yards (I moved out of my original farriers area) and other circumstances. In January I started using an absolutely fantastic farrier but he let me down a few times (not just a day, it would be weeks at a time) and I was wasting so many days of holidays from work by booking them off and the farrier not turning up
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So I started using my current farrier and have so far been impressed. He did mention about using bar shoes last time, but as we had the Regionals immediately after I did not want to make any changes, especially when we were heading back to the vets soon after.

She did have xrays done in Jan on her fronts which showed that the angle of the foot was too shallow and we tried to solve the issue without MRI scans. There has been a good improvement since January, so we have been heading in the right direction, but obviously this ligament has been irritated and now needs treatment.
 
I'm sorry to hear that, farriers can be very annoying.
But I really can't believe that out of 4 no one suggested putting a bar or egg bar on - really they should suggest it if the horse has poor foot conformation to warrant it, or as in your case, low heels long toes? Quite disgraceful IMHO they should at least suggest it straight away or at the VERY least point out her low heels to you
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I am beginning to feel exactly the same _DJH_ ... As I say, the fantastic one did suggest them but then disappeared
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I feel that one or two have simply turned up, knocked some shoes on and just not listened to me! I have found one quite arrogant when I questionned them about it, and needless to say after my other mare lost a shoe just a week after (she has never lost a shoe in the 9 years I have owned her) and they couldn't come back for three weeks that I looked for someone else
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I wouldn't have minded, but I pointed out the low heel and long toe, my concerns and what the vet had seen on the xrays!

My current farrier turns up at the exact time I am booked in for, he listens to everything I tell him (and he asks me how she is going etc etc too which I found a novelty) and he tries his hardest to get there as soon as possible when you lose a shoe or are unsure about something. I am hoping between him and the vet we can get her completely sound full time from now on in.
 
It may be worth investigating PG shoes. They were 'all the rage' a while back, but now are not so common.

We used them on a horse with the problem of low/collapsed heels that just would not come up, despite the farriers best efforts. He also became rather pottery when due for shoeing.

We used the PG shoes, and within 6 months he had a good heel. He continued to wear them for a further 6 months, and after that time he went back to 'normal' shoes, and his heel never collapsed again.

This horse was shod every 4-6 weeks.

They work by providing lots of support over the whole of the foot, and not just at the heels, but without the pressure that wedges produce (which I believe makes the heels collapse even more).

They do look funny, and we did have problems of them being pulled off, but, the horse was out at least 10 hours a day, was interval training and jumping/ xc - not a prob you would have
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The only thing i can suggest is that apart from going barefoot to trim and shape the feet more often you are probably going to have to shorten the shoeing cycle which may seem expensive but in the long run may not be as expensive as the problem getting worse. You need to avoid strain to the ligament and the horse getting footy for a few days every five week means its bieng strained and the healing time will be lengthened. The ligamanet needs time to heal and this needs to be free from regular strain.

If you find she cant stand up too the shoeing cycle you may have to buy her some boots or there are various plastic shoes and sole guards to use (for going barefoot) as well as products that can be used on the hoof itself so that the wall is protected from the more regular nailing (such as hoof cast)
 
Hi Jetset
Link for you...PG Shoes
I am sorry you have had a difficult time with farriers but I wanted to say in PS's defense, as he is a good friend of mine (and an excellent farrier
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), didn't he put a bar shoe on when he initially saw Grace and you had your trainers farrier take it off? Just to reassure _djh_ that not all farriers are bad!!
Your new farrier sounds excellent though too, so I am sure that you will get her sorted very quickly - which is the main thing. It is so important and difficult to find a farrier that you trust to do a good job, but it is equally as important they are given chance to do their job well when in majority of cases the results may not be immediately obvious. (((((())))))) to you and Grace!!
djh - I have pm'd you
 
When I was dealing with a tricky foot balance issue problem I found the Farrier & Hoofcare Resource Center full of information about complex stuff that I couldn't seem to find on google.

Lots and lots very experienced farriers worldwide use the forum and offer advice and information to each other and horse owners. Was a few years ago that I used it but having had a quick look it looks much the same, I'm sure you would find some people with similar problems and experiences on there.

I hope Grace makes a very speedy recovery, she is very lucky to have someone dedicated enough to take such early steps to identify the problem whilst still fixable x
 
The PG shoes look interesting, I hadn't seen them before, but they do look like a huge amount of effort compared to going barefoot and using hoof boots (with comfort pads if you want extra support). The EasyCare site has a huge amount of information, and my TB with rubbish soft feet goes well in his Old Macs with comfort pads.
 
It was PS who went missing
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I was gutted because he was doing a really good job!

He did put an eggbar on back in December but it was not quite right for the issue we were dealing with unfortunately. So on the vet's advice and my trainer's farrier's advice, we removed it and that is when she went up to Halifax for treatment initially and we were given a plan to follow with regards to the shoeing. At that point, the vet did not want bar shoes on, so that is what we did. As I say, there has been some improvement since then, so hopefully we are on the home stretch now.

I would have continued to use PS, but he just stopped turning up and I could not get hold of him, so unfortunately I had to get someone else up as they had gone 9 weeks by that point
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I ended up wasting holidays from work waiting for him to turn up... and I NEED my holidays
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It's a shame as like I say, he was doing a good job and was very attentive to the shape and balance of the foot. He is a great farrier!

I am off to look at all the links and suggestions that have been made... thank you all for taking the time out to add those for me
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Please don't let anyone tell you that your mare's flat feet mean that she cannot go shoeless. If you managed to take her barefoot she wouldn't have flat feet any more. The transition period for a flat weak footed TB can be many months and I can understand why you wouldn't want to go that way. But don't let anyone tell you that you can't, because you could. And it would fix your mare's problem.
 
Where abouts are you in Lancs? I have a fab farrier who is extremely good at working with owners and vets to solve probs...PM me if you'd rather..
 
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