There is an old saying ‘no Hoof, no Horse’ which underlies the fact that hoof problems lie at the heart of many lameness and soundness issues in horses.
FormaHoof is a revolutionary new hoof care and equine podiatry system developed to tackle equine soundness from the hoof up and is designed to offer vets and farriers a highly effective, easy to apply and cost-effective solution to every hoof care challenge.
Robert Stevenson, a world class farrier with many decades of experience in equine podiatry and hoof care, developed the FormaHoof concept to provide a supportive, effective and non-invasive solution.
Rob comments “I spent many years working and consulting in top equine organisations and centres around the world and have dealt with most hoof care challenges a farrier could see. I knew a better way to treat foot related soundness issues was possible and set about researching and testing materials and technologies. I was fortunate to be introduced to Alexander Papantoniou, a product development specialist with great experience in high-tech industries, in particular 3D printing and scanning, and together we designed and developed FormaHoof”.
FormaHoof is a liquid fit, reusable mould process. The reusable FormaHoof mould is shaped internally with all the features of a healthy, strong, balanced hoof, including a concave sole, reinforced support for the heels and heel bulb region and an optimal hoof pastern axis. The mould is placed onto the horse’s hoof and an adaptable polyurethane resin applied into it. Once the FormaHoof AP resin has set, the mould is removed and the resulting hardened resin application then mimics a perfectly healthy hoof, offering protection, support and a fully balanced hoof.
FormaHoof allows a vet or farrier to quickly and effectively correct any hoof imbalances, structural weaknesses or conformation challenges and “gives the best chance possible for a lame horse to return to full soundness and for sound horses to stay that way”.
With an epidemic of overweight horses and ponies, insufficient exercise during lockdown and hard ground conditions around the country, Laminitis is one such challenge that many horse owners are facing right now.
Rob continues “The beauty of FormaHoof is that it can be used for pretty much any hoof-related issue in horses, from thin soles and white line disease to conformation, developmental and poor performance issues and it’s fantastic for treating laminitis. The vet or farrier can apply mediation if needed under the application, the mould delivers the perfectly shaped hoof and the resulting FormaHoof AP application protects and supports the horse’s hoof, offering immediate relief from pain. The AP resin has similar structural properties as healthy hoof, which allows it to expand and contract on movement, just as a healthy barefoot hoof would.”
FormaHoof is the result of many years of research, development and extensive trialling and is already widely used with great success in the USA, Australia and Dubai where it was first introduced. Now available in the UK and Ireland, all the information that you may need to decide if FormaHoof is right for your horse is available at www.FormaHoof.com
