Equicast Hoof Wear - Protection System

Treating a Hoof  with Shelly Walls

Or A Loose Shoe

with Equicast

 

It’s as easy as 1 – 2 – 3

 

1. Step 1 - Shelly Walls - Clean the hoof off well with a wire brush

2. Step 2 - Finished Cast - Over Raised Clinches Directions

3. Step 3 - Solar View - Sole and Equicast 

 

An owner, trainer, barn manger or farrier can perform this casting procedure it’s easy and you can continue to ride your horse while the hoof grows out, or your farrier can fix the loose shoe. Another benefit with this method is a topical WLD treatment like Kopertox can be applied while a cast in on few times a week; clean the sole area really well and apply Kopertox to the bottom of the cast (ground surface) and sole. The medication will travel up the hoof wall and into the shelly - broken up walls.

Working Conditions

When the temperature is over 80 degrees place pouch in a cold bucket of water for 10 minutes before opening the pouch. If you want more wrapping time do not wet cast first sponge on water after wrapping process. After the hoof has been trimmed and balanced put on a pair of latex gloves to open the Equicast pouch.  Pour cold water into the pouch, or dunk the casting tape in a cold bucket of cold water for about 5 seconds then squeeze out excess water and apply, you only have about 1 minute before the cast starts setting up so be ready.

Equilox Glue

Apply about 3 cc to 4 cc of Equilox glue on to a clean dry hoof wall. When preparing the hoof for gluing DO NOT use any cleaners, they will soak into the hoof wall and/or leave a residue. File the hoof wall clean, remove any hoof wax or oils, dry with hair dryer if the hoof is wet. Apply a line of Equilox from forth nail to forth nail mid way up the hoof wall, then without any wasted time (quickly) start wrapping the hoof with Equicast. After the first few wraps press the tape into the glue (do not set hoof down) just press your fingers against the hoof wall over the glue, to make sure the glue penetrated the weave of the colt, this works with both the wet & dry method.

Starting the Wrapping Process

How to Apply Equicast

Hold the hoof like if you were going to shoe or trim the hoof. Start on the right hand side of the hoof wall about where the last nail goes. Start unrolling the tape near the hairline on one side and drop down to the ground surface of the heel on the other side of the heel. Wrap the hoof with about two-thirds the casting tape covering the walls and one third covering the bottom of the hoof (white line). The bottom of the hoof should look like a bar wedge is covering the frog. No tape should be on the hairline or soft bulbs. Only cast the horn of the hoof, not the bulbs. You should go around 8 or more times. Cut tape so you end on the bottom of the hoof.

Heel Support

Heel Support

After a cast is applied notice the support that's behind the widest part of the hoof. The goal here is to add support to the walls and heel area this method is effective because of the banding effect created in the wrapping process. A majority of the casting material is now behind the widest part of the hoof, this will add more support to the frog bars and heels. Giving the hoof a chance to grow a stronger healthier sole, frog, and wall.

Forming Pad

Place freshly cast hoof  on a forming pad (soft sand, sawdust) this will press the cast up into the sole area, adding support to the sole and frog of the hoof. Lift the opposite hoof off the ground for about 30 to 45 seconds. This allows the hoof you just wrapped to expand within the cast.

Note: Do not get any casting tape on the hairline or the soft heel area. If you do, trim while the cast is curing.

Nailing Over a Cast

Once the cast has set (about 5 minutes) shape the cast with a rasp removing any cast that is not needed and leaving cast where support is needed. Fit a shoe to the cast and nail or glue (if shoes are required). Cast can be used with or with out shoes depending on the amount of work and footing conditions.

Clean out any white line desease

White Line disease and Thrush

Care should be taken when applying any kind of protection device on the bottom of a hoof that mayh coverup and white line disease areas. Clean any WLD or Thrush as well as can safely be done. DO NOT remove any hoof wall when treating WLD it's not necessary when using casts and treating it topically with any of the WLD products, SSD (silver sulphadiazine) works really well on WLD and Thrush. Have the treatment all ready apply before casting.

How Casting Works

Newton's third law of physics (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction) helps explains how and why we need to address the hoof wall. When the foundation (hoof wall) is not strong enough, or the hoof capsule is not placed in the center of the bony column, failure is inevitable.

Hoof Preparation: balance the hoof to the boney column remove flares and dishing from the top of the hoof NOT from the bottom. Often horses are trimmed to short (trying to remove flares) leave distal wall support this will help in growing strong hoof walls and solid soles as well as help with frog function (hemodynamic & lymphatic systems). Once the hoof is balanced and in the center of the boney column an assessment needs to be made. Is the horse comfortable barefoot? If so then applying a cast and nailing a shoe for protection and traction is appropriate. If not then either Sound Horse dental material or Vettec Hoof Pack should be used on the sole from the apex of the frog back for added support. After the packing has brought the weight bearing surface even with the ground surface of the frog apply the cast as described here on the website (How to Apply 2″ & 3″cast). In cases of extreme dropped soles (prolapsed soles) 3″ or 4″ cast will be more appropriate.

Prolapsed Soles; generally it's a good idea to fit the shoe to the foot making sure that there is no sole pressure from, the shoe. Hoof packing (Sound Horse dental material or Vettec Hoof Pack) is used to support and protect the sole. Fit the shoe very wide with plenty of support for the heels, you can even extend the heels of the shoes past the frog for extra caudal support, no worries about the shoes being pulled off, the cast will cover the shoes and protect the hoof. If there is a need -prolapsed soles - grind out any chance of sole pressure on the EVA or EVA/Wood Shoe Be sure you check check sole pressure before you cast (stabilize the EVA/Wood Shoe with either a couple of race nails or a bit of glue). Now that the shoe has been stabilized cast with either 2″ or 3″ casts wrap the hoof as described in (How to Apply Cast).

Wearing Properties: casts applied over shoes do wear out faster then casts that are applied under a shoe for obvious reasons. An area that I would like to discuss is the different perceptions of hoof lameness, verses most other types of lameness issues like tendon, suspensory, or sesamoid injuries. When a horse has a non hoof problem, just mentioned) rest is often recommended and followed by the owner, however when a horse has a hoof problem people often want to continue with "regular work." Casts over the shoes can help with soundness issues and often greatly reduce recovery times. However, if casts over shoes wear out in two weeks or less or slows down heavy workout schedules like jumping (big jumps) or galloping this should be thought of as part of the healing process. I have had a few calls saying that casts applied over shoes wear out before the scheduled return "my farrier". What should I do? Well this is a two part answer: first what was your horse doing before casts were applied. If the answer is he/she was lame, then be thankful that the casts are working and that your horse is not lame, and can continue with light workouts. Or now that your horse is wearing through the casts before the next scheduled appointment learn how to apply a cast over the worn out cast. Sorry this sounds a little harsh but cast do help with many soundness problems and with recovery times, but it is not a magic bullet. Once a cast can be applied first and shoe nailed or glued onto a cast, then your horse can go back into regular training.

Cast Failure: as with any support devise understanding the working properties is critical for lasting success.

• A sign of cast failure is when a split develops over the frog and/or loosens up around the top of the hoof. Increase to the next size. Example if a 2″ cast is on and the cast splits I will increase to a 3″ cast. And make sure you use most if not all the roll on each foot. DO NOT try to get two (2) feet per roll.

• Moisture or water does not affect the integrity of the cast however horses the paw or travel on sand will wear the toe of the cast off faster then horses ridden in grass, clay or dirt footings.

Clean walls: make sure the hoof walls are clean and dry before applying any adhesives (follow the manufacturers instructions) I use and recommend Equilox Glue when casting feet that might need extra help, like straight walled hooves to help keep casts on.