Veterinarian, PhD, Expert in Equine Laminitis and other pathologies of the horse's foot
The D’Arpe Method
After so many years of activity I have preferred to differentiate the services to allow you to better understand what to expect, so as not to disregard your expectations and better organize my intervention with the greatest guarantee of possible results.
To better answer the customer’s request for help, I have differentiated and schematized the most important and frequent pathologies of the equine foot in a single reference table.
To be clear often the pathologies of my table are confused only under two non-exhaustive generic names: “Laminitis” and “Naviculitis”.
To better meet the expectations of the horse’s ownership I have divided the services into:
Performance improvement of the athlete horse’s foot
Are you a trainer, an instructor, a rider? Your equestrian world revolves around gallop, trot, show jumping, complete, dressage, raining, cutting, endurance …?
You have a horse that doesn’t limp, but you feel it could do more, better express his athletic potential and well-being. The Corium affects the muscles and vice versa, are you a very high level professional and would you like to find a way to unblock your sample and allow it to improve performance by increasing the vascularization of the Corium at rest and the action of the muscles in locomotion?
Try to approach the performance of your horse by looking beyond just the bones and tendons, we can now consider the muscular district syndrome correlating it to the vascularization of the foot.
Prevention of lameness for active athlete horses (loss of performance)
Would you like to reduce the risk of unexpected and uncontrolled foot lameness?
This foot lameness prevention service includes: diagnosis, trimming and shoeing or shoes / prosthesis to improve blood flow to the Corium during rest in the box. In this way, the Corium is better protected during locomotion and athletic gesture, allowing a significant improvement in performance and also lengthening the duration of the competitive career of your athlete horse.
Often hematomas of the sole can be confused with a diagnosis of Naviculitis. o Podotrochlear Syndrome. In my unique experience, creating a hyperemia of the sole and protecting it from traumas with the soil helps in resolving hematomas and avoiding the recurrence of bone, tendon and muscle problems that are diagnosed with resonances, scintigraphies, CT scans and other diagnostic imaging tools.
In detail
After many years of activity in the emergencies of “Acute Laminitis”, some close collaborators are starting to deeply understand my approach on the Corium. They asked me to organize a lameness prevention service, because they deeply understood that many athletic horses do not have real pain, but the hematomas of the Corium of the sole, even if compensated, cause an ostelysis of the third phalanx and a decrease in performance. .
Even without obvious pain, the lameness is frequently misdiagnosed in a generic way as “podotrochlear syndrome or naviculitis” instead of a more specialized diagnosis of traumatic soleare coriumitis as I have personally exposed in the 2007 European and world congresses in Venice, 2008 in Munich and 2010 in Berlin.
With great satisfaction I developed with them specialized radiographic techniques and measurements for the Corium thus obtaining great and unexpected successes on athletes of various sports disciplines.
In my approach, I truest farrier decision about the competitive shoeing and locomotion to the “Corium educated”. I choose this approach because farrier have specific skills for that sport discipline, while I take care of the aspect of resting in the box, paddock and training on penetrable ground surface for the rehabilitation and rehatletisation of the Corium.
This collaboration has led us to identify different conformations of the foot that drop performance even before a real lameness usually diagonosed as “navicular syndrome”.
Some examples are solear traumatic coriumitis (D’Arpe 2007, 2008 and 2010), 1 ° -2 ° contracted feet (Redden 2004), negative palmar or plantar angle (Redden 2002) up to the atrophy of the digital cushion (D’Arpe 2019 ) and finally the Latero-Medial imbalance which I illustrated at the Equi-meeting 2019 as a real vascular pathology and induce inner and greater pain than the well known asymmetry of the collateral ligaments.
How does this service work?
Just contact the secretary by the email (office.lorenzodarpe@gmail.com) and organize one appointment or more days in professional stables. Before the shoeing 6 podiatric radiographs will be taken for the Corium-views and 4 after the shoeing. The shoes, rest, training and lifestyle of the horse is evaluated together with the stable manager, riders and farriers.
There is rarely a need for venography because with the experience I have achieved over the past 20 years I can draw what would appear on a normal X-ray without contrast liquid. I see these horses 6-9-12 times a year at the shoeing day with the farriers every 4-6 weeks. The goal is to restore thickness and density to the sole to avoid blue hematomas and re-find a purple red Corium.
Note that is not my intention to overlap with colleagues who are trained looking for pathologies above the foot, indeed my work is to be considered complementary, but not superposable, as a matter of fact I look for little problems to the Corium that can create overloads of the upper big structures. I work with athletes horses that do not express their maximum potential for a Corium vascular problem.
Treatment of foot diseases for breeding horses
These end-of-career horses often begin a new career with goals on well-being and longevity. They can show foot pain for a Corium that is not adequately protected causing a decline in fertility and average life span. I am often called to prevent Choriomosis, in fact on these horses it is better to prevent it rather than rushing to try to cure it after damage has already occurred when there is nothing more to do but not be able to bring them to birth or give them one or two years of life in more expensive.
Does your horse have no foot pain, but does he walk with sensitivity of the sole? style = “color: # 51665d;”> your bitch doesn’t get pregnant?
Your farrier and trusted veterinarian told you about “Laminite “And proposed an inverted iron or Napoleon or other?
Unfortunately, the results obtained were not satisfactory because the level of severity of the vascular disease is much higher to the one imagined?
I designed an assistance service on the prevention of foot pathologies and if necessary the treatment with assistance to the hands Scalco (trained on the Corium) and veterinary referents with venographic diagnosis, assistance with trimming and shoeing or choice of shoes or prostheses to improve the condition and well-being of the Corium in the rest in the box to avoid the release of endogenous prostaglandins protecting the Corium to improve the quality of pain-free life of the feet and extend the average life and fertility of your stallion or mare.
In detail
This is the prevention and sometimes maintenance service for horses predisposed and suffering from chronic diseases that after seeing them in urgency, if the level of severity requires it, I follow regularly, dedicating a day to them between travel, evaluation (often with venography), therapeutic solution and quick, in professional stables I can follow several farriers at the same time, if trained on the Corium.
Among the pathologies that are often commonly summarized under a single diagnosis of so-called “Chronic Laminitis”, often referring only to the pain of the feet, I can list: Onychomycosis or White Line Disease and 3 ° -4 ° contracted feet (Redden 2004).
Prevention: Solar Coriumitis (D’Arpe 2007), Coriumosis (D’Arpe 2015) and Latero-Medial Diseequilibrium (D ‘Harps 2019).
How it works
In this case, depending on the gravity score of your horse, I prefer to devote myself to a stable for a full-day or for several days to have the highest level of quality in the service together with the property, the farriers (trained on the Corium) and regularly I meet the stable veterinarian in order to follow the horses to ensure the care and treatments during the shoeing period which in this case is preferable to keep at 4-5 weeks for prevention and I prefer 6-8 weeks for the cure.
The success of this service for stallions and mares has led some professional breeders to also ask me for advice on foals, weanling, yearling up to the athletic maturity of the horse to ensure the best possible protection of the Corium to face the their competitive career better.
Foot pathology treatment for affected horses
Does your horse have foot pain?
Calling your farrier and trusted veterinarian have talked to you about “Laminite” and proposed an inverted iron or napoleon or other?
Unfortunately the results obtained were not satisfactory Why is the level of severity higher than expected?
I propose a consultancy service on care with assistance to the farrier and veterinarian referents with venographic diagnosis, assistance with trimming and shoeing or choice of shoes or prostheses to improve the condition and well-being of the Corium during rest in the box to protect it and improve the quality of life without pain and extend the average life of your horse, stallion or mare.
In detail
This is the maintenance service for horses suffering from chronic diseases that after seeing them in urgency, if the level of severity requires it, I follow regularly, dedicating a day to travel, evaluation (often with venography), therapeutic solution and report. Among the pathologies that are often confused under a single diagnosis of so-called “Laminitis”, often meaning foot pain, I can list: true solaric choriumitis (D’Arpe 2007) and laminar with rotation (Stick 1997), onychomycosis or White Line Disease and contracted feet of 3rd-4th (Redden 2004).
How it works
In this case the goal is to trying to solve the pain, but since I am often called late when the horse already has damage already advanced, I found myself a few times having to use considerable aggressive surgery as tenotomy and wall ablations. After 2008 with the use of instrumental therapy (Continuous prolonged cryotherapy, Hogh Power Laser, Radiofrequency diathermy and shock waves) I reduced my surgical aggressive by 80%.
In this case, depending on gravity score of the patient, I prefer to devote myself to only one patient for a full day to have the highest level of quality in service together with the property, the farrier (formed for Corium) and the referring veterinarian who follow the horse to ensure the examinations and treatments during the shoeing period, that in this case it is preferable to stretch as much as possible to 6-8 weeks in order to have maximum hoof mass possible avoiding lever arms that can occur after 9 weeks.
Reading X-rays and Venographs of the Foot
In this case I can quickly look at the x-rays in 10 minutes and advise the farrier (formed on the Corium) by phone by phone, or draw a drawing on how to position the iron, then with the podiatric photos it shows me how the iron is positioned and I approve or ask to move it.
Sometimes I am called for horses which unfortunately cannot be consulted on the spot and I am asked to take a look at the x-rays and sometimes Venographs. For my nature and professional inclination I would like to help them all, but then the farrier who perhaps has not followed a training on Corium is unable to apply the concepts that I try to convey to him and the risk of error increases exponentially; that’s why I prefer to use this service more to follow horses that I have already evaluated and touched with a prepared and organized team and that are going too well to request my presence.
Acute Laminitis Urgency (prime 72h)
Has your horse been diagnosed with acute “Laminitis”?
Do you want to evaluate the opportunity to save his life for emotional or economic reasons? Or at least try everything possible.
YOU HAVE 12 H TO ACT because AT THE END OF 72H THE DAMAGES WILL ALREADY BE IRREVERSIBLE.
This advice is based on a close relationship between the experienced veterinarian acting as conductor with the owner and rest of the team made up of the referring veterinarian, farrier, nutritionist, osteopath and nurse in charge of care.
To face this moment I will ask you three fundamental questions:
1) are you culturally ready? That is, do you know the danger of this pathology.
2) are you emotionally ready? </ strong> That is, you will be able to remain lucid to make the right choices for you and for the welfare of the horse in this rowing ocean crossing; because even a marathon ends in one day while here to see the light it takes several seasons, sometimes years.
3) Are you financially ready? That is, you know that despite all the efforts the horse could still die in the next 2-6 weeks.
Then I am ready to give you my best.
In detail
I take care of patients only and exclusively with the form filled out in the fastest and most detailed way possible, speed is a priority, but having information before touching the horse benefits me in investigating the primary cause. “Laminitis” is not a diagnosis, but only a diagnostic suspicion of a secondary Corium dermatitis, so it is essential to have the most information from the owner, veterinarian and farrier who refer the patient to me in consultation in order to identify the primary cause and arrive as soon as possible at a correct diagnosis of:
Solaric choriumitis possibly associated with the laminar one, but above all due and therefore secondary to:
hyperglycemia, toxicosis (black walnut, placental retention ..), endocrine imbalance ( PPID), type 2 diabetes (EMS), or a subtle and asymptomatic Choriumosis from stasis and prolonged venous compression in the previous weeks and months (Load Laminatis).
With these procedures, the success rates and the level of well-being of the animal when it arrives on time and technology supports us.
In this case the goal is to trying to solve the pain, but since I am often called late when the horse already has damage already advanced, I found myself a few times having to use considerable aggressive surgery as tenotomy and wall ablations. After 2008 with the use of instrumental therapy (Continuous prolonged cryotherapy, Hogh Power Laser, Radiofrequency diathermy and shock waves) I reduced my surgical aggressive by 80%.
How it works
This is the service with which I have built my reputation by guaranteeing that I will be with the horse the next morning for the venographic evaluation, the briefing to share the possible best solution and the implementation of the surgical or conservative therapeutic solution. I usually see the horse at least twice 4-7 days apart for a whole day, then it will be evaluated if, how and when to see it again to obtain, where possible, the restitutio ad integrum, that is, the return to normality; I have seen this level of results only after 2008 with continuous prolonged cryotherapy (Pollit and VanHeps 2007)).
If we have obtained “only” a more or less compensated chronic Laminar Coriumitis we will see how to manage it according to the level of severity with the Pathologies service.
I’ll be at your horse in the blink of an eye (Flash of Genius 2009) depending on the logistics of the moment and the necessary materials that we will discuss by telephone.
100% of lame horses were healthy before, is your horse already lame or is it still healthy?
Have you ever thought about a path to prevent foot pathologies for your horse?
Let’s find out together, fill out the form and I will be happy to meet you and prepare together the most suitable path for your horse’s health.