Mouldable, thermoplastic, glue-on frog-supportive shoes change hoof kinetics in normal and obese Shetland ponies.
Authors: Sleutjens J, Serra Bragança F M, van Empelen M W, Ten Have R E, de Zwaan J, Roelfsema E, Oosterlinck M, Back W
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary Obesity and hyperinsulinaemia are significant risk factors for equine laminitis, yet evidence supporting specific hoof support interventions remains limited. Researchers applied mouldable, thermoplastic glue-on frog-supportive shoes to five normal and five obese Shetland mares, measuring hoof kinetics via pressure plate analysis before shoe application, immediately after, and at 72 hours, with particular attention to vertical impulse, peak vertical force, stance duration, and the distribution of loading between toe and heel regions. Vertical impulse and peak vertical force both increased significantly by 72 hours compared with baseline and immediate post-application measurements, whilst the distribution of loading between toe and heel regions became more similar between normal and obese animals following shoe application. The obese ponies demonstrated more cautious loading patterns (reduced toe loading) than their normal-weight counterparts, a difference that converged after intervention, suggesting the animals experienced improved comfort and potentially reduced pain within three days. For practitioners managing metabolic ponies and those at laminitis risk, these findings provide evidence that frog-supportive shoes may offer measurable biomechanical benefit, with particularly pronounced effects in obese individuals—though the authors appropriately note their study could not ethically evaluate outcomes in acutely laminitic animals.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Frog-supportive shoes show measurable biomechanical benefits within 72 hours, particularly for obese ponies that naturally load the toe area less during movement
- •These shoes may help normalize loading patterns between normal and obese animals, potentially reducing laminitis risk in high-risk populations
- •Consider frog-supportive shoes as part of management strategy for obese ponies, though welfare considerations limit evidence from acute laminitis cases
Key Findings
- •Vertical impulse and peak vertical force increased significantly 72 hours after frog-supportive shoe application compared to baseline and immediate post-application
- •Obese ponies demonstrated decreased toe loading and more cautious movement patterns compared to normal ponies at baseline
- •Toe-heel hoof balance curves and stance duration indices became more comparable between normal and obese groups after shoe application
- •Pronounced comfort improvement occurred in obese ponies 72 hours post-application, suggesting frog-supportive shoes may be particularly beneficial for this population