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| Author | Topic: Five Minutes with Farrier Josh Kemp |
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Esco Buff, PhD, CF (Moderator) |
posted 7/15/08 7:19 PM
Five minutes with ... farrier Josh Kemp Sports By Betsy Parker Source: Loudoun Times-Mirror TUESDAY, JANUARY 22 2008 Farrier Josh Kemp uses innovative techniques to address limb disparity At 22, Fredericksburg native Josh Kemp is already an innovator in the field of farriery. The owner of Sound Shoeing, Kemp is a blacksmith and farrier working all around northern Virginia's horse country. He graduated from the Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in California. Kemp is a member of the American Farriers Association and Virginia Horseshoers Association. Though much of his business is regular monthly care for area horses, Kemp has a keen interest in solving lameness problems. To that end, he has done extensive work with Dr. Esco Buff, whose studies on Limb Length Disparity are providing new information to horse professionals about soundness and durability of the equine athlete. We hooked up with Kemp at Kathy Knies's farm near Midland recently, to watch him work and to hear more about his findings — and fixes — for LLD. Fauquier Times-Democrat: "Limb Length Disparity" sounds pretty scary. Explain what that is. Josh Kemp: It is really just an observable body imbalance, when one leg (in a pair) is functionally a different length than the other. LLD can result in a loss of performance, durability and overall soundness as well as being a potential source of lameness. Horses reluctant to pick up one of their (canter) leads can be indicative of LLD. FTD: How can you see this? Does it require special knowledge to diagnose? JK: Distinguishing LLD requires a thorough evaluation of muscles, skeletal structures and movement. What you're looking for is imbalances. As has been borne out by many a saddle fitting, numerous horses have uneven withers, and, connected, uneven scapula heights. The horse, then, in almost all cases, will be unwilling to pick up (one or the other) lead at canter. If LLD is in the forelegs, the horse will typically "point" the longer limb (when grazing or eating hay off the ground), so, yes, sometimes it is actually quite easy to "see" LLD. The shorter limbed foot will also be more upright, sometimes slightly clubbed. FTD: So what do you do about it? Can you shoe, or trim, to correct this? JK: I find the key is to even out the scapula heights as near as possible — not just by raising the heel but...by using a flat pad, not wedges. The shoe on the shorter limb should then be fit to give a wider base for the horse. The longer limb should be kept with a quick breakover, with plenty of heel support to alleviate any sole pressure. Hind-limb LLD shoeing is in some manner educated guesswork. It is best identified by videotaping the horse walking, then breaking the tape down frame by frame to analyze any gait faults. Shoeing in this situation is usually confined to wedging about two degrees on the shorter side and regular shoeing on the longer limb. The point is to achieve maximum performance, soundness and durability. Of course, there are many other factors to take into consideration, namely work load, congenital deficiencies, injuries, spinal or muscular problems. Reach Josh Kemp via e-mail to joshuakemp1@yahoo.com. |
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