Eli's Easyshoe Journey

When Eli came off the track he suffered from the same condition that many retired racehorses suffer and that would be long toe, low heel syndrome. He has had very little in the way of heel the entire time that I have owned him and it has always been a struggle for my farrier to pull back those toes.

He has been competing successfully in endurance since 2009, during which time he moved up in steel shoe sizes until he was eventually in a size 2. He would occasionally have a heel grab injury and his two lameness pulls were as a result of that. His first pull, he reached up and grabbed his shoe, twisted it and proceeded to puncture his sole with a nail. His second lameness pull was in a 75 mile event at around 42 miles when he reached up and severely bruised and blooded the back of his heel bulb. It was at that point that I decided to do something and see if my farrier, my vet and myself could not work together to help manage this issue a bit better.

Healing heel grab injury that required about 6 weeks off

I pulled his shoes and gave him a couple months barefoot but he didn't do well in boots and needed more support for his underslung heels and slightly prolapsed frog. In January of 2014, my vet did xrays and determined that his internal structures were healthy but he did need more heel support and a considerable amount of toe to come off.

XRays

So, with x-rays in hand, my farrier could now do his work with the knowledge of what was going on internally. So, from January to June, he was shod in traditional steel and some improvement was made but he was still somewhat sore in his heels. 

Photos January 2014

We continued to work on better balance but we were still struggling with his heels. I had really been wanting to try the new Easycare Easyshoe N/Gs on him so we decided to give them a try. 

Foot prior to first application of Easyshoe N/Gs

 Note the prolapsed frog below the hoof wall

 Note the excellent support for the back of the foot

 19 Days

 28 Days

The improvement in his comfort and movement proved almost instantaneous. The width change in his foot in 5 weeks was remarkable. So, the remodeling of the foot began. Within a month the frogs no longer had the prolapsed appearance and his heel soreness disappeared.

September 2014

 Frogs no longer prolapsed

 Now in a Size 3 Easyshoe N/G

 Great width achieved!

We have finished up a perfect season in AERC competitions and he is moving better than ever. I firmly believe that the Easyshoe has created real change in the shape of his foot capsule. His trot has extended from 13mph to around 16mph before switching gaits. He has done everything from mountainous 50s to 50s in the Sandhills in these and he is always moving great.

November 2014 Foot

Update December 2016

Eli is still doing phenomenal in the easyshoes and I can't recommend this product enough for horses with Long toe/low heel syndrome.