Hoof orthopedics
Hoof orthopedics is a special form of hoof treatment on an unshod horse. Orthopedics in humans is a specialty of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and therapy of diseases of the musculoskeletal system. In the horse, this term has nothing to do with academic training, but hoof orthopedists like to use it because it is not protected. Hoof orthopedics is used both proactively / preventively and to treat acute and chronic problems. These problems can be very diverse: From a disease directly on the hoof such as Hoof orthopedics has a large field of activity, such as crevice formation, laminitis, thrush up to degenerative diseases of the entire limb (e.g. osteoarthritis, spatula). Usually several problems intertwine or follow one another, so that working on the hoof not only treats one symptom, but also improves the overall situation of the horse's limb (s).
An important conceptual approach in hoof orthopedics is to assume the healthy hoof as an indication of a healthy musculoskeletal system in the horse - a great many lameness and diseases of the musculoskeletal system therefore have their origin in hoof deformations. This results in the following objective: To keep hooves healthy from the day of birth in order to promote the health of the entire horse and avoid secondary diseases that can result from inadequate hoof conditions.
development
Around 1980, Jochen Biernat, the founder of hoof orthopedics, began to collect findings through observation, x-ray examinations and preparation of horse limbs about how anomalies and diseases of the musculoskeletal system affect the shape and position of the hooves and how the changed shape of the hoof pathological changes in the entire musculoskeletal system can result. The observance of the physical conditions in relation to the effect of the forces that occur during footing, in the support phase and during footing, as well as the associated wear and tear of the horn, played a major role. In numerous long-term observations, he developed a processing method that in most cases makes it possible to stop the changes that usually increase with increasing age of the horses, and in the best case even to reverse them. In 1998 he began to spread this method through teaching. The method is still in the development process and is not undisputed. Hoof orthopedists, farriers, hoof carers and hoof technicians are vehemently discussing how to properly work on a horse's hoof.
Differentiation from other methods
Hoof orthopedics works entirely without fittings and largely without chemical support, although this, in contrast to the Straßer method , is not rejected in principle. According to hoof orthopedic doctrine, it is necessary to leave the hoof unshod except during periods of unusual stress in order to achieve the necessary changes or improvements. According to the doctrine, permanent fogging is counterproductive. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with iron or plastic shoeing as abrasion protection on a healthy hoof during temporarily unusually heavy use. The actual work on the hoof is very different from other working methods. A difference that should be emphasized is that in hoof orthopedics, as a rule, the supporting edge is not shortened on one side from below in order to avoid the associated abrupt adjustment of the horse's limbs. Rather, the aim is to increase the wear and tear of the corresponding bearing edge areas, so that a gradual change in the position of the hoof and, as a result, a gradual improvement in the shape of the hoof can result without causing a sudden change in position that would put excessive strain on the joints, tendons and ligaments.
Possibilities and limits of hoof orthopedics
The use of hoof orthopedics requires patience on the part of the horse owner, since an improvement in the condition of the hoof depends primarily on the hoof growth in addition to the measures taken. It takes about nine months for a hoof to consist entirely of newly grown horn after the initial treatment. Before this, improvements in the hoof situation are often hardly noticeable for the layman. At this point, however, u. Under certain circumstances, no complete healing can be expected, but initially only an improvement in the condition of the hoof, which can continue to improve with continued treatment. Hoof orthopedics focuses on long-term improvement of the hoof situation. This can mean a temporary loss of use for the horse - not an unusual occurrence in terms of the Animal Welfare Act. The long-term nature of the method implies starting treatment as early as possible in order to avoid problems from the beginning or to be able to counteract them in good time.
See also
