01/07/2024
I find retracted soles so interesting, and I have a theory that negative palmar/plantar angles (lack of soft tissue structure in the back of the foot) and the compression of the vascular system of the solar corium are at play (i.e. Less blood supply = sole corium becomes thin, hence cannot produce good thick sole).
We also see it more commonly in wet conditions, and I think perhaps there is a second relationship between sole depth (or lack of) and almost a "curling" effect of the soft tissues within. Which in turn create a bull-nosed dorsal wall (or a slouching) in addition to the retracted soles. I feel when so much sole is lost due to over-exfoliation you lose so much structural stability...
💡... imagine a steel beam in a building and cutting a chunk out of it from the middle, the ceiling would surely droop in the middle??? Poor analogy, but it makes sense in my head. 😂
I also think there could be different types of retracted soles, the type where the horse is only environmentally challenged, these horses have good caudal structures otherwise and bounce back quickly once they are back on dry ground, because the vascular supply isn't actually compromised. They are just temporarily exfoliating sole at a faster rate than they can grow it, as the wet ground is acting like a scouring pad.
And then I think you have the group of horses that could be suffering with low grade inflammation/laminitis. Again, directly affecting vascular function - which is crucial for growing anything, as it is the blood cells that carry nutrients and oxygen to bodily cells and helps remove cellular waste products too.
A separate group could be those horses that are npa, where the "slouching" is what is compressing their vascular network. Once angles are improved, and providing all systemic inflammation is kept to a minimum, the corium could heal, and produce good sole once again??
And then perhaps the group that are most severely compromised, are those horses that are both npa and low grade laminitic?
The outward appearance may look the same, but the route to recovery may differ completely. Some horses may just need drier ground and some time.
Perhaps others need to have their angles corrected to prevent compression of the solar corium, so to improve blood supply so that thicker sole can be created.
Perhaps some have systemic inflammation, which could stem from a number of culprits! I am highly suspicious of poor gut microbiome health being a major contributor. There is already research out there suggesting that certain strains of bacteria have a direct link to the onset of metabolic disorders in horses.
Perhaps... Perhaps... Perhaps!! 😂
Hind gut dysbosis is unbelievably common in my practice, i've had several clients now take the equibiome test for their horses. And high levels of pathogenic bacteria have been found, alongside poor good bacteria colonies being present, and the gut being overrun with bad bacteria (which means good bacteria die, and when bacteria dies it increases the acidity of the gut, which then kills even more of the beneficial bacteria, and suddenly you're in a vicious cycle!) you end up with a horse with a lot of systemic inflammation (which affects the hooves!)
Sorry I am off on a tangent... And this is just me thinking out loud and I'm not saying I am correct. But I do keep seeing certain patterns.
I love this video that Lindsey has kindly created, I love all of her content as it sparks open conversation and thinking. Please do support her work, I can't imagine the time it takes to create such videos. Dissections are incredibly hard to do as neatly as this (i've done a few... And I made a mess) 😂
What are your thoughts???😀
