Guignol
Active Member
Our vet has said our pony with sub clinical laminitis needs these imprint shoes at approx £130 a pair!!!!!
Has anyone used these and had any success?
Has anyone used these and had any success?
Imprint shoes - anyone used them and what do they think?
- Thread starter Guignol
- Start date
Happytohack
Well-Known Member
My pony came down with acute laminitis (was then diagnosed with Cushings) and pedal bone rotation. My vet fitted frog supports which crippled the poor pony. My farrier and I discussed imprints and he fitted them for me. The pony showed instant relief. My farrier is wonderful and the pony had imprints on his front feet for a year at a cost off £100 a pair. Luckily the pony grows little foot, so each pair of imprints lasted 3 months. I am sure they saved his life. That was 7 years ago and he is still going strong 
but is carefully managed for Cushings. I know it is expensive, but Imprints are wonderful but they must be fitted by a farrier who knows exactly what he or she is doing! My farrier filled the heels as we did have a few maggots (yuk) with the first shoes.
but is carefully managed for Cushings. I know it is expensive, but Imprints are wonderful but they must be fitted by a farrier who knows exactly what he or she is doing! My farrier filled the heels as we did have a few maggots (yuk) with the first shoes.Guignol
Active Member
Oh brilliant. Do you still use them now? Can you go on the roads and gravel tracks etc with them and your pony is still sound?
Supertrooper
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't hesitate to get them, for the three months my mare had lami (she was sadly put down after developing lami in her back feet) the six weeks she had these on she was so much more comfortable. They arn't cheap, I was paying £200 for a pair xx
Supertrooper
Well-Known Member
The white ones are not for ridden use but the black bottomed ones you can ride in xx
Hedwards
Well-Known Member
Connie had one imprint on when she got concussive lami in one leg, in all honesty i think it probably saved her life, almost as soon as it went on she came sound. I didn't turn her out or ride her while she had it on, she was still on strict box rest, however they are so worth the money!
Guignol
Active Member
Thanks everyone!
Do they come off in the field by chance? Is it a long term thing though as our pony has very sensitive feet even though no rotation has occurred...
Do they come off in the field by chance? Is it a long term thing though as our pony has very sensitive feet even though no rotation has occurred...
Oberon
Well-Known Member
I appreciate you're not going to like this reply....but I get frustrated by vets sometimes...
It's so much more involved than a pair of magic shoes
Firstly - WHY the lami. It's no good dealing with the symptom without looking at the cause.
Sort diet to ensure healthy gut function, low sugar and high minerals.
Shoes off - decent trim (relieving any leverage on the laminae).
Deep bed to allow sole pressure at horse's comfort level.
Hoof boots and pads for movement (they will last a long, long time).
I strongly disagree with keeping shoes on a lami horse. Restricting the circulation and hanging the horse from the wall of an already weak laminae is a really bad idea to me.
There has been very positive results from keeping the hooves in cold water to divert any further lami from developing. But this isn't a single cure - everything needs to be addressed together.
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19147
It's so much more involved than a pair of magic shoes
Firstly - WHY the lami. It's no good dealing with the symptom without looking at the cause.
Sort diet to ensure healthy gut function, low sugar and high minerals.
Shoes off - decent trim (relieving any leverage on the laminae).
Deep bed to allow sole pressure at horse's comfort level.
Hoof boots and pads for movement (they will last a long, long time).
I strongly disagree with keeping shoes on a lami horse. Restricting the circulation and hanging the horse from the wall of an already weak laminae is a really bad idea to me.
There has been very positive results from keeping the hooves in cold water to divert any further lami from developing. But this isn't a single cure - everything needs to be addressed together.
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=19147
Happytohack
Well-Known Member
My pony is not ridden anymore. He is now 24 and was 17 when he was diagnosed with Cushings and had the Imprints. He just had the white ones, the black ones are the next stage up and can be used for gentle riding. There is loads of info on the Imprint website. My boy had them for a year and then again for 6 months when he went a bit footy. I wouldn't hesitate to have them again as I am sure they saved him from being PTS.
Happytohack
Well-Known Member
Oberon - My pony had lamintis and was then tested positive for Cushings. The Imprints gave him relief where as the frog supports didn't. He was on a deep bed. He has always been fed a low sugar and starch diet with analysed hay.
I don't think the discussion is about Imprints being a cure for laminitis - just a tool to help pain relief and while the laminae are healing.
I don't think the discussion is about Imprints being a cure for laminitis - just a tool to help pain relief and while the laminae are healing.
Guignol
Active Member
Hi Oberon
i do apologise as I haven't given the entire story - just asking about the last chapter in effect.
Our pony is a slim 7 year old welsh A. He is fed on anti-lam feed, sparce paddock and soaked hay. I have been battling with him for 2 years now not understanding what is going on as he is always footy on the road. We had x-rays and all came up clear. I went to a second vet last week, a highly regarded one and he said about these shoes to give him 2 months for him to come sound. He did say he needs to lose 50 kgs which i must admit i am worried about as he is slim and will end up being a very bony section A. He has no crest what so ever and i can feel his ribs if i press down. Anyway, i am at the end of my tether with it all and not sure what to do. I had him like a hat rat last winter and he was still footy. He was in a stable all summer on a strict laminitis diet and again, still footy... I want to cry really as I have really done a lot of research and ALWAYS been ever so careful.
i do apologise as I haven't given the entire story - just asking about the last chapter in effect.
Our pony is a slim 7 year old welsh A. He is fed on anti-lam feed, sparce paddock and soaked hay. I have been battling with him for 2 years now not understanding what is going on as he is always footy on the road. We had x-rays and all came up clear. I went to a second vet last week, a highly regarded one and he said about these shoes to give him 2 months for him to come sound. He did say he needs to lose 50 kgs which i must admit i am worried about as he is slim and will end up being a very bony section A. He has no crest what so ever and i can feel his ribs if i press down. Anyway, i am at the end of my tether with it all and not sure what to do. I had him like a hat rat last winter and he was still footy. He was in a stable all summer on a strict laminitis diet and again, still footy... I want to cry really as I have really done a lot of research and ALWAYS been ever so careful.
Oberon
Well-Known Member
Thank you but I was replying to the OP and not to your own situation as I am sure you did the best for your horse.
It usually takes me about 20 minutes to post a reply - so there were no other replies to OP when I started
unbalanced
Well-Known Member
Hi Guignol,
What are you feeding? I went through this with my section D last summer. She was slim, so slim you could see all her ribs so condition score 2.5 out of five (where 3 is perfect). It wasn't concussive laminitis as the five days before she got it she had only been in the school working on a good surface. She was only turned out in a starvation paddock and when she was in during the daytime she was fed soaked hay. As she was 21, my vet was absolutely convinced she had cushings as we felt we had ruled out the normal causes. So we spoke to the laminitis trust and did the cushings and the IR tests - both came back negative.
Now I have just taken her shoes off and I have started reading the ingredients on my feed bags which is something I never did before. Last summer I was feeding hi fi lite and blue chip lami lite. I thought they were both ok as they had lite in the name and they were approved by the laminitis trust. It turns out that lots of Welsh ponies are sensitive to alfalfa and wheatfeed - well hi fi lite is mostly made of alfalfa and moglo (sort of molasses) and the main ingredient in blue chip lami lite is wheat feed, a binder to keep the pellets stuck together which never even did her any good. So it's possible that she got laminitis from her diet hard feed, or maybe even likely, given that we never found any other causative factors. If your horse is not overweight (although if you have to press down to feel the ribs, that sounds like more fat than I would like on a laminitic personally) then I would look at the diet very carefully for any sensitivities and make sure you know exactly what you are feeding.
What are you feeding? I went through this with my section D last summer. She was slim, so slim you could see all her ribs so condition score 2.5 out of five (where 3 is perfect). It wasn't concussive laminitis as the five days before she got it she had only been in the school working on a good surface. She was only turned out in a starvation paddock and when she was in during the daytime she was fed soaked hay. As she was 21, my vet was absolutely convinced she had cushings as we felt we had ruled out the normal causes. So we spoke to the laminitis trust and did the cushings and the IR tests - both came back negative.
Now I have just taken her shoes off and I have started reading the ingredients on my feed bags which is something I never did before. Last summer I was feeding hi fi lite and blue chip lami lite. I thought they were both ok as they had lite in the name and they were approved by the laminitis trust. It turns out that lots of Welsh ponies are sensitive to alfalfa and wheatfeed - well hi fi lite is mostly made of alfalfa and moglo (sort of molasses) and the main ingredient in blue chip lami lite is wheat feed, a binder to keep the pellets stuck together which never even did her any good. So it's possible that she got laminitis from her diet hard feed, or maybe even likely, given that we never found any other causative factors. If your horse is not overweight (although if you have to press down to feel the ribs, that sounds like more fat than I would like on a laminitic personally) then I would look at the diet very carefully for any sensitivities and make sure you know exactly what you are feeding.
Erin
Well-Known Member
Have you had him tested for EMS/IR & Cushings?
Oberon
Well-Known Member
I'm sorry you are having such a hard time.
I will say that most 'lami feeds' I would not feed a chicken with. DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THEY WRITE ON THE FEED BAGS!
I would also take a Laminitis Trust logo with a pinch of salt. The feed companies pay for the right to use that logo. It has nothing to do with feeding a lami horse well.
Current thinking is that lami is the symptom of such things as Insulin Resistance, EMS, Cushings (except when it is the traumatic, post operation or 'got into the grain bin' type) - so I would treat a lami prone horse as though they are IR.
The most important thing to understand is that you should never starve a lami horse. If you starve the horse, the bacteria in the gut will die and the toxins will cause more lami. This is how you can get neglected, starving horses, still suffering with lami.
So you need to restrict their sugar intake but provide plenty of forage and minerals.
UK forage is often low in copper and zinc - which are very important for insulin creation and control among other things and magnesium is essential.
A sparce paddock = short, stressed grass that is very high in sugar. Add frosts to that and you might as well be feeding candy floss to your pony
Soaked hay is great - little and often. Boots and pads will allow exercise comfortably to shift that extra weight.
A really good mineral mix (Pro Hoof or Equimins META Balance - they both contain yea-sacc to make gut happy) in a small amount of unmolassed, non alfalfa feed like FastFibre/unmolassed beet/hay chaff/oat straw chaff.
If your 'Lami feed' contains mogolo, molasses or wheat feed - you might as well throw it out.
I have heard that the herb Jiaogulan is good for nitric oxide - often low in IR horses
http://shop.forageplus.com/epages/es137718.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es137718/Products/J12
The Yahoo Cushings and Insulin Resistance Group is a wealth of free information that I've learnt plenty from recently.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/EquineCushings/
Spottyappy
Well-Known Member
I have used imprints successfully. What I would advise about their use is,if possible,turn our in small paddock. Mine had to be kept alone so he didnt hoon and risk them coming off.Although I had no problems keeping the shoes on,I was advised to minimise the chances of them coming off,and a reduced area was also advised.
Just to add my own experiences of laminitis,its not always down to concussion or feed/grass. It can be many things,especially including changeable weather. I have had to rug according to how cold it is,even on a shetland,and leave stabled during frosty conditions. Stress can contribute too,although suspect thats not the case for the OP.
Just to add my own experiences of laminitis,its not always down to concussion or feed/grass. It can be many things,especially including changeable weather. I have had to rug according to how cold it is,even on a shetland,and leave stabled during frosty conditions. Stress can contribute too,although suspect thats not the case for the OP.
Guignol
Active Member
Thank you everyone so much for such wonderful advice. Sorry I have not been on here for a few days.
Oberon - I had never heard of the issues with anti-lam feed - fascinating. I wonder if that has caused it then??!! How scary is that. I will stop feeding him that gradually over the next few days. However he was like it when we had him and was not fed anything so even though it might not be helping might not be the route cause?? Still, i will stop it anyway as it it might be even 1% chance of helping I will do it!
Thank you again....
Oberon - I had never heard of the issues with anti-lam feed - fascinating. I wonder if that has caused it then??!! How scary is that. I will stop feeding him that gradually over the next few days. However he was like it when we had him and was not fed anything so even though it might not be helping might not be the route cause?? Still, i will stop it anyway as it it might be even 1% chance of helping I will do it!
Thank you again....