Spinoff- Casting a hoof

[Catersun]

Ok. So mostly I've seen EqTrainer post about casting a hoof, but I've also heard of this from a few others...

Please do tell how is is done.. what is it done with.. Why do you cast a hoof.. just all the bits and pieces if you would... Please. I'm sure if I'm wondering this then others are too.

TIA

[EqTrainer]

Well, here's a quickie, using this horse as an example.

His other foot is very sore so he is putting more weight on the one I casted. I casted it to give him frog and sole support while he is overweighting it.

I mixed up some ACS packing material, packed his foot, and put a cast on without any Adhere. Just in case he didn't like it, I wanted to be able to take it right back off. Since he is stuck in the stall I am not worried about it falling off.. he might step on it and pull it off. That's ok, I have more.

So that's just one application. Took about 8 minutes :)

[Mary in Area 1]

I had a horse this fall whose foot was falling apart due to the wet/dry cycle we were experiencing. He couldn't keep a shoe on and had developed a bad heel abcess, so we really wanted to protect that area from crushing, so we didn't want to try the barefoot route (he has crummy TB feet to begin with.)

SO, we casted an eggbar shoe on his foot. We held it in place with two toe nails and that great purple sole packing stuff (name escapes me just now) and then put on the cast. We found that we just wear gloves (it is super-sticky stuff that doesn't come off hands easily) and opened the package and just wrapped it carefully around the shoe and hoof like applying vetwrap, being very mindful to NOT get it above the coronary band. Keeping it going around under the heel and up, over the toe, then under the toe and over JUST THE HORN part of the heel, then up and over each side, etc. Smooth it out each time around and when done, put the hoof down. THEN sprinkle the hoof cast with a little water and rub it into the cast.

The casting directions say you can soak the roll of cast first, but we found it too hard to work with that way, and adding the water at the end allowed us to smooth and really press it all together.

It will wear out over the toe area after about 3 weeks of normal turnout and then needs to be redone. We could add another nail after the first 6 weeks (2 casts) then another nail after 6 weeks, then we did two more casts with nails, but the cast on to hold the foot together. At the end of this time period, we took the eggbar off the foot, nailed the shoe normally, and the horse was as good as new.

Magnificent stuff!

[Catersun]

So is this stuff the same stuff or similar for a human getting a cast when a bone is broken? and it is applied similarly? Anyone have a link to the product handy? Pictures?

I'm having a time wrapping my brain around the idea. Probably because I'm thinking of the wrong definition of casting. As right now while my coffee has not kicked in I can think of three uses for the same word and that is just really confusing right now.

I'm not normally this dense... but I've had a sick toodler for the past three days. A little extra sleep deprived.

[Secretariat2]

I have a horse with a full hoof cast right now. In this case it is a heavy duty cast that was put on at the clinic after surgery and the vet is coming out next week to remove it. Then I plan to replace it with an Equicast and an Equi Pack, rather than doing a shoe with a pour in pad. This horse is particularly good at ripping off shoes, so he should do better with a cast that I can replace as needed until he has grown some good sole again. Have a look at http://www.equicast.us/hoofwearsystem.html

[onelanerode]

Here you go :)

http://www.equicast.us/

I don't have pictures, but I've watched EqT cast twice before and it's really neat.

[Auventera Two]

I put Equicast on my foundered horse several times because she had NO toe wall at all. The idea was to help distribute load to the quarters and heels. Every time she broke over at the toe, I was concerned that it was too much pressure on the distal edge of the sole. I used Equipak CS a couple times under the casts. I like casting, quite well, but I don't think its a good idea for all horses. It does limit the flexibility and distortion of the hoof to some degree, so if the horse has badly contracted heels I'd be cautious about it. KC's perfect hoof wear is supposed to be more flexible than Dave's Equicast.

My horse wearing Equicast: http://www.hphoofcare.com/equicastfounder.jpg In subsequent uses, I didn't wrap it all the way up the hoof wall, but the first time, I did. To just below the coronary band. In subsequent applications, I only wrapped the bottom 1/2 of the foot.

[Daydream Believer]

I use Equicast occasionally. I find it can really help a tender or weak walled horse transition well out of shoes and it is invaluable for a thin soled horse to thicken and harden the sole. It can also be used protectively for an injury to the bottom of a hoof. I have used it successfully for a founder also.

[EqTrainer]

Hey A2 - I have had lots of horses *de* contract in casts. I figure it makes the entire foot more comfy so they are more willing to load the back of the foot. Whatever it does, it helps.

I also use equipack CS on those horses, that may be part of the formula for success.. most likely, it is. But you need that cast to keep it in :)

[Catersun]

Wow.. cool stuff! pictures and link really helped!

cansomeone explain to me a bit more how it would help in a founder situation?

[Auventera Two]

Really! Well, that's good to know! :) I was afraid to use it on situations with contraction because it just seems to go against mechanics. But its good to hear you've had success. :cool:

[EqTrainer]

Dave is *great*. So helpful :)

[irishcas]

Catersun:

I have pix on my site, but they are seriously outdated, I do it much different now, with a much prettier result. I guess I need to update the photos/page.

Pete Ramey also has an article out on his site about casting and his newest DVD set has EXCELLENT details on casting, how to do it, how it helps and why.

But if you don't want to buy his, what you need to do is call Dave Richards and order:

3x4 casts
4x4 casts
Impression Material
Adhere with tips (Dave sells the smaller tubes)

The call Easycare and order thin and thick comfort pads (if you are dealing with a sinker/founder) or frog support pads for a contracted, navicular horse.

I have used the casts on founders, thin soled horses, contracted navicular horses.

I find it helps a foundered foot in 2 ways.
1. It holds the capsule more rigid, preventing excessive movement of the
weakened laminae and the CB
2. It provides a solid protective barrier for the thin sole

I get all my tools and materials laid out, including wax paper and a bucket of cool water.

Usually for founders I use the 4 x 4 roll and just don't use the entire roll.

I take a tube of ToMorrow or a Pete's Magic Butt Creme (recipe on my site) and squeeze it in the collateral grooves along side the frog and a dollop into the central sulcus.

Then I take Impression Material and fill the foot with it, put wax paper on it and set the foot down.

I then do the same to the other foot.

Then I take my first roll of cast, put it in the bucket of water. Immediately after doing so, I place a bead of Adhere from heel to hell about 1/4 way up from the groudn on the outer hoof capsule.

Then I take my cast out of the water, squeeze it gently but not to hard and start my wrapping. I use up about 1/2 to 3/4 of the roll, then cut off the rest.

I smooth the end on the hoof capsule, and then set the foot on a pad (garden kneeling pad usually) I immediately pick up the other foot and hold it up for about 1 minute or so.

Word of caution, I sprinkle sand on the pad now, after having a horse almost slip and fall :eek:

Then I repeat on the other foot,

I leave the cast on between 2 - 3 weeks. The reason for the shorter "ON" cycle is for founders I like to trim more frequently. This prevents the hoofwall from becoming a "peripheral loading" mechanism.

So that is how I do it.

Again, Pete's DVD is excellent for showing how DIY.

Regards,