Performance Leverage Reduction (PLR) shoes

[starsky]

Hi,
Does anyone have any experience of their horse being in these shoes? If you don't mind please can you tell me why they were used and whether they fixed the problem?

One of my horses has ongoing bilateral lameness in front. It has been isolated to the hoof using nerve blocks, but we are not doing an MRI at this stage. The vet is suspecting something bone related (navicular etc, although xrays showed no navicular changes 6 months ago) or ligament (possibily collateral).

We are at a bit of a last chance saloon stage :-( He has suggested using PLR shoes for 6-8 weeks to see if they provide any benefit. I have tried to research them, but there seems to be very little out there in terms of their use and success.

I'd be interested in any stories you have to share? Have posted this in Competition Riders too as wasn't sure where it would get the most replies.

 

[pines of rome]

I have used these for navicular and they did improve things for a while, I did find that they wore out quickly and tended to slip back on the hoof!
My boy started to go lame again especially after shoeing, so he is barefoot now and slowly improving and much happier!

 

[Oberon]

It looks like a Natural Balance shoe with an extra crease to the inside to allow smoother lateral movement.

Natural Balance shoes were invented by a farrier who studied wild hooves and wanted to create a system that mimicked the functions of a healthy, well functioning hoof.

It would be much cheaper and quicker for you to just take shoes off for a while and let the horse do all the hard work on his hooves - rather than invest in a magic shoe that tries to duplicate that process.

 

[maggiesmum]

^^^^ This!!

 

[Marydoll]

Ive just 4 weeks ago had aluminium PLR shoes put on my wee mare for bilaterall collaterall ligament desmitis, horse was very lame on a circle on hard ground, changes showed up on x ray where the ligament inserts into the bone.
I believe they allow her to place her foot in a way that is comfortable to her while giving the foot the support it needs.
It is early days she is meant to be on box rest, but went nuts and ended up colicking in the past when on box rest, so she is turned out daily in a small 14x14 paddock that is changed to fresh grass in the afternoon allowing her to stay out all day. She isnt as lame in fact possibly only 1/10 on off fore at present but she is off for at least another 3 months when she will be reassessed im hoping then the controlled in hand walking will begin, but again in the past it was like holding a 10 bob Rocket, so im hoping to drop a stone and ask to ride her rather than walk her.
I dont know how long these shoes will be needed, or if they can be replaced by natural balance shoes at a later date.
I did ask my vet and farrier about barefoot but both said not for this type of lamenes.

 

[starsky]

Barefoot is not an option for this horse and although I appreciate your opinion, I really don't want this thread to turn into another barefoot/shoeing debate. I am interested in experiences in using this type of shoe.

Marydoll - that is interesting as collateral ligament damage is suspected for him. It is encouraging that you are seeing an improvement after 4 weeks. It's hard to find much information on these shoes or people's experiences of them. Most collateral ligament stories I can find have a poor outcome. Thank you for responding.

 

[nickyb]

My horse has just come out of these after 5 months for collateral ligament damage. I believe the idea is so the horse can wear the shoe where it is most comfortable and it allows the foot to move about better, however we were knocking these shoes out in about 3 weeks as I was doing so much road work, we have now gone back into natural balance but my farrier rasps off where he knocks the sides out to mimic what the plrs did.
How old is your horse? Mine is 16 and was eventing up to one star, he's now sound ( touches wood) and is currently up to canter work and schooling work. Ask your vet to medicate the coffin joint was the best thing we did ( on top of shock wave treatment) and months of walking.
Good luck x

 

[starsky]

Hi, My horse is 13 and nowhere near one star eventing He is a 13.2 NF. I had heard that they wear out quicker, but his level of work is probably lower than your horse. Max would be a mixture of schooling and hacking 5 days a week. I have competed him quite a lot at dressage and would love to continue this, but it doesn't matter if he can't. I just want him to be sound, not in pain and happy, it's so hard :-(

My vet has talked about medicating the coffin joint, but I think he wants to try the shoes first to see if they help. He is currently in natural balance shoes. Have you found that rasping off the side works as well as the PLR shoes?

 

[nickyb]

Can't really say I saw a massive difference in the shoes to be honest but definatley did with the coffin joint injection, I wish I had done that first over all the shock wave.
It doesn't cost that much to have it done either.

 

[nickyb]

Sorry pressed wrong button, personally knowing what I do now I would medicate first over the shoes, I don't think the shoes on there own is enough.
The shoes are expensive £90 for just 2 fronts.
The only thing with the plrs is because they are so soft you will see where the horse likes to be naturally then you can rasp the edges of the natural balance shoes.
I guess mine spent 4 months in them in total then I switched back and so far so good x

 

[ferrador]

£90.00 , your been seen off ,they are only a pair of shoes bought off the shelf , comparable in price to most other shoes , your farrier does not make them and they are put on to a correctly dressed foot as all shoes are , funny that these shoes are more commonly used in the sussex area than elsewhere in the country ,its not because the main distributor happens to shoe there is it ?

 

[RPM]

Hi, I don't often post as some of the attitudes expressed on this forum often seem arrogant and self important to me and I don't particularly want to get involved with the silly arguments that seem to be too common.

However, you've said your horse is at a bit of a "last chance" stage, so I feel strongly enough to post. You say you've done research into these shoes without much success. You also say your vet and farrier have said barefoot won't help your horse with this type of lameness.

Please, for the sake of your horse, do some open minded research into the benefits of the barefoot approach to help horses with problems get better. Many farriers and vets are barefoot friendly now - often those who have trained more recently, but also often those with years of experience who've seen horses recover that have been written off.

Many of these "remedial" shoes are money-spinners for the farrier involved. If you can't find out much about success rates, it's probably because the statistics just don't exist.

Consider trying no shoes for a while - many farriers as well as barefoot trimmers will be prepared to help. You can't lose anything - except maybe your preconceptions!

I've just noticed your comment that barefoot is not an option for your horse - 13.2 NF. Really question this assumption and don't let it stop you from trying an approach that might help. Think about all the ponies in the forest that never wear shoes!

 

[Equilibrium Ireland]

Just throwing this out there be because I hate when people use the words, "you have nothing to lose". Well she in fact does. Her horse. The horse is under farrier and vet care.

I try and respect both sides of the fence and I really wish I would have done more research on barefoot 8 years ago. I have a 2yo that I am determined to keep bare and have learned so much from her feet and my current farrier. So I don't think it's fair to have a post talking about afraid to post and ignorance while talking about the pro's of barefoot along with "what have you got to lose". OP has clearly stated she wants info on these shoes. It should be good enough.

Good luck OP. I don't know what these shoes are but have used plain aluminiums without fuss and drama. Has anyone mentioned a pour in pad as well? Just curious.

Terri

 

[china]

My tb is now on his last chance and has just had shoes off again after trying other avenues. So far do good.
Iv never experienced the shoes you are talking about but have used aluminium straight bars on my tb and they wore down extremely quickly and were very expensive! I spent a fortune on shoes with good results short term but it was soon short lived and he was lame again.

Eta- Just read my post and it sounds awful saying last chance. Putting it into context, if he doesn't come sound he will be retired. He is 14

 

[RPM]

This is maybe why I don't post very often..

I did not suggest ignoring the vet and farrier - and it is rather melodramatic to suggest the horse might die as a result of having his shoes taken off!

I have personal experience, like many other forum members, of a horse with bilateral foot lameness. We tried remedial farriery - strangely enough most likely the same farrier practice you may be using (West Sussex) that is tied up with many vets in the south. They were prohibitively expensive as they knew they could get away with charging the earth as most owners will do anything they can to help their horse get better. In our case, and this is several years ago, they were charging £300 for two EDSS front shoes with wedges and fracture plates.

Our horse had one pair with fracture plates and then one pair with nylon pads. One would keep coming off so the horse had to go on box rest as he couldn't walk round safely with one wedged foot and one bare foot! We had to keep taking him down to the vet to have the shoe put back on. Eventually the remedial farrier agreed to let our farrier put the shoe back on. It clearly wasn't working so our farrier suggested trying natural balance shoes. The horse was no better or worse. After a while he suggested taking the shoes off. Things began to improve.

Clearly all horses are different and all lamenesses are different. It is very important to take professional advise BUT it is equally important to question things and to carry on learning. And to respect other people's opinions.