Here we have examples of work undertaken on a regular basis. Remedial work is very interesting and motivates us to improve our level of care to our clients.

May.

This pony is suffering from chronic laminitis which has unfortunately lead to a rather severe sole abcess. We applied a heart bar shoe to support the frog and welded a bar across to enable the owner to pack the hole with iodine swabs.

This pony made a full recovery and is now barefoot.

Mags.

This horse was coming back into work after a long lay off. Due to him being quite unfit he was dragging his back feet badly in the sand school and wearing his toe away quite significantly. We welded a metal plate across the toe to prevent any further wear until he strengthened up and started to use his back legs as he should.

Torus

This split is the result of a wire injury that has damaged the coronet band, thus impeding the correct growth of the hoof wall. We cut the majority of the split away to reduce the constant tearing and associated pain with the coronet band. Once debrided we applied a normal riding shoe. The horse was then sound.

Bar Shoes

Barbie (left) is a laminitic shire. Due to the size of her feet remedial shoes are not available off the shelf, so we made a giant straight bar, then welded a frog plate into it.

Odde (right) was quite toe in on the left front. We made this half heart bar on site to support her collapsed outside heel. As she was a young horse, she responded well and went on to event and hunt.

Gwen

This horse had a severe bacterial infection that was eating away at her whole hoof, pedal bone included. We placed a tournequet on her foot and then resected all dead tissue, we applied a heart bar with provision for a hospital plate ( the four holes you can see in the shoe on the right, hospital plate bottom right) Twice daily Gwens owner had to change the iodine soaked dressings to keep the wound clean.

Manuka honey was also used to aid healing. Without the dedication of Gwens owner and the support of Laura from Isle Vet Group, Gwen certainly wouldn't have survived to recover well enough to become a brood mare.

Welfare Case

This pony was subject to severe neglect. I guess he hadn't had his feet trimmed for over 2 years. He was very uncomfortable and had a lot of heat in the back of his legs due to the constant strain on the flexor tendons. It took over an hour to get his feet correct again, but it was a very satisfying job. Hopefully he will go onto be rehomed as a riding pony.