Can Natural Hoof Care Reverse
Laminitis?
Debra R. Taylor DVM, MS, DACVIM at
the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine thinks it’s possible, and
is doing the research to prove it.
EasyCare, Inc has helped by providing funds and encourages those who
have an interest in natural hoof care to do the same. EasyCare’s donation helps fund intern Adam
Cooner. Dr. Taylor is recording and studying the results of natural hoof care
on chronic laminitis cases. Hoof care practitioner Pete Ramey is currently
traveling to Auburn every three weeks to expand the preliminary study- hopefully to include 50
horses. The study has consistently shown rotation reversal, increased sole
thickness and profound improvement in levels of soundness. Several case horses
have also demonstrated reversal of distal descent of P3. The goal is to publish
this data as a scientific paper; it would be the first time a successful method
of reversing chronic laminitis has been published. If you have a laminitic
horse you would like to add to the study (and can haul to the University)
please contact Dr. Taylor at the vet school. Boarding is available at nearby
farms.
"Here are a couple of pictures Dr. Taylor wanted me to send you. These
were taken last Monday, when I shadowed Dr. Taylor and her ambulatory students
as they followed Pete Ramey to check in on some of his rehab patients (I'm the
one decidedly overdressed for ambulatory rounds). They show Pete Ramey reminding us of some
hoof anatomy, using the dirt as a chalkboard and his hoof pick as chalk.
-Adam
Dr. Taylor has begun additional studies to prove out the
clinical relevance of the research findings of Robert Bowker VMD, PhD.
This summer she will use ultrasonography, cadaver dissection, histology,
radiography, MRI and CT to
establish parameters for evaluating lateral cartilage and digital cushion
development. This preliminary cadaver study will pave the way for a planned
study to track the caudal foot development in live horses over time using
radiography, ultrasonography, MRI and/or CT. Currently, there are a limited number of veterinarians in the
field that recognize the significance of internal foot development, and its
ramifications to the horse’s longevity and soundness. Experts in the
field of hoof imaging, rarely address the anatomy, structure or health of the
lateral cartilages, the digital cushion or heel depth when interpreting MRI results on horses with heel pain- in other
words, half of the total volume of the foot is rarely taken into consideration.
This study linking Bowker’s cadaver studies to MRI,
ultrasound and radiographic parameters should become critical to the future of
lameness treatment and prevention.
Click here to see radiographs of two of the cases
from a study.
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