Horse news, research and information

A farrier in New York has developed a new horseshoe care product to combat horseshoe diseases, including white thread disease, wall separation and cracks.

Doug Ehrmann first experimented with an antibacterial zinc-coated insert to help grow hoof defects from the inside, and was encouraged after seeing an improvement in growth.

If ignored, wall problems can affect horse performance, speed up limp or lead to expensive horseshoe repair procedures.

Preventing and treating hoof wall problems has always been a challenge faced by professionals and owners. This prompted Ehrmann to develop his "DE Hoof Tap", which promotes tighter new wall growth and healthier white lines.

The galvanized DE hoof taps are inserted into the hoof wall and tapped lightly until they are flush with the supporting surface of the wall; they may be covered by shoes or boots, or exposed on the hoof without shoes. When the trimmer or farrier returns, use the standard farrier's nail puller tool to remove the tap and evaluate the result.

Sold in 25 containers, each British-made steel faucet has an antibacterial zinc coating and three shallow anchors to fix the faucet to the wall outside the white line.

The hoof beat will not hinder the natural foot flexion and extension of the barefoot horse. Under the soles, they are non-chemical assets that promote healthy growth. For some horses, they are also a substitute for rear foot shoes, and are useful for the transition to barefoot when appropriate. Some horses only wear one tap at a time; others wear a few. Any type of shoes can be used with hoof taps.

The hoof faucets are manufactured in the UK and tested at the Horseshoe School at Cornell University’s School of Veterinary Medicine in New York, where coach Steve Kraus, CJF describes them as “a lower cost method that prevents Barefoot hooves fall off, or help grow cracks."

Hoof Taps were used by New Jersey equine veterinarian Brendan Furlong (the long-term team veterinarian of the Land Rover US triathlon team) and USET veterinarian Wendy Leich in the four Olympic Games. They are early adopters of DE Hoof Taps for their own sports horses. In fact, this winter, they scored 80% of the points on a young barefoot dressage horse in Wellington, Florida. This spring, they chose to install a faucet on the horse's feet instead of shoes.

Farrier Ernest Woodward of the Southern California Equipod Center in Rancho Santa Fe is dedicated to solving the hoof problems of upper sports horses and has documented the practical and innovative uses of hoof taps, including stimulating wall growth of toe cracks on slow-growing hoofs .

"I've been using them right away in barefoot dressage in Southern California," Woodward said.

"Especially a horse in a barn full of pavers and asphalt; it has been severe for six months because the wear has exceeded the growth. The veterinarian ordered the shoes to be taken off, and the hoof went in. . Then the customer called a few weeks later to report that the horse had grown so large that it needed to be trimmed in advance!"

Florida farrier Curtis Burns once wore shoes for the Triple Crown champion Justify. He often uses his Polyflex rubber shoes to solve the hoof problems of high-profile sports horses. Burns reported that he tried to use hoof pats on two performance horses suffering from heel separation with positive results.

"When there is a wall hole in the heel, I cannot glue it without the filler underneath the shoe. For these horses, I added a faucet. It is filled with Keratex and copper sulfate, just like I usually put on the sole I did that. I came back and found the separation under the shoes was hard and dry. They looked promising; the remaining Hoof Taps boxes will be used!"

KC LaPierre, barefoot hoof protection educator and alternative hoof protection innovator, recently added DE Hoof Taps to his courses in the United States and Europe. "Hoof Taps shows great potential in rehabilitation podiatry," La Pierre said.

His uses for hoof taps include Perfect Wear casting tape for repair boxes and asymmetrically grown hoof wires.

DE Hoof Taps can be purchased from major horseshoe and tack dealers.

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