EQUIFLEX REVIEW REPORT  JULY 04

After using these shoes since Nov 03 on 4 horses, I have concluded they are NOT for ALL horses.

I noted the following issues and problems.

1. The shoe does not offer adequate support for horses that are pastured in soft wet conditions. The mud and rain here has caused the hoof wall and sole to be quite soft. A few horses display soreness of the heal and frog area. I think the heel bridge placed too much pressure on the frog.

2. I noted excess flaring on 2 horses. The shoe gives quite allot, I think the wall tries to grows to the edge of the shoe. They appear to over grow the shoe very fast. We have tried to allow for a wider  edge on the shoe. Our thought was to leave the shoe very full and give more support. That has not worked. The foot-hoof wall just flared out to the edge of the shoe. 

Both horses are back in steel using the LUWEX pads and the growth is normal.

3. Nail holes split. Suspect this is due to the high flex of the shoe. We have noted this on all 4 of the horses.

4. My had working horse showed a short stride and appeared to come off  the heels. That is, he acted like he did not want to drop the heel down. He did not want to land heel first. I suspect the  heels were sore. When we pulled the shoes he tested heel sore and showed some cracking in the heel bars. He pointed and dragged his toes. This really wore off the shoe. He did this more in the rear then the front. Since he did not move correctly, I noted an unbalance way of going. He tended to trip more. At an LD ride he ended up sore in both front ankles.

It appeared he also drove the shoe back into the nails and under the foot. Like he was walking out of the shoe. The nail shanks were bent from the hoof wall back to  the shoe at an angle

We took him out of this shoe put him back in the shoes that were working along with the LUWEX pads and noted a major difference immediately after shoeing. Within the week he was back to his normal full swing stride and way of going.

5. All but one horses has lost one or more shoes between the 5 week reset cycle. I think they just work loose and fall off.

As it stands now I will only be using this shoe on one horse. She appears to do well with them.

I am quite disappointed in the long term performance of this shoe. I know they work well for many other horses. I believe my conditions here preclude the use of this shoe.

I think I gave this shoe a very good test period over 4 horses. At first the shoe appeared to work well, but over time problems occurred. I think this shoe would be best suited for   horses in a high dry solid environment.

RR