| On
this website there are detailed instructions on “How to Apply 2”, 3”
& 4 Cast” explanations on how when and why cast are USed. Equicast
is radically different then conventional shoeing methods and as with
any new product there will be critics and skeptics. Take a few minutes
check out this website read testimonials from satisfied clients that
have tried the ETSS for their horse's hoof wall problems. See how
people from all over the world are trying the ETSS for the first time,
then writing back, on how they are sccessfully treating hoof problems
and coming up with other ways casts are working for them. |
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| Ralph Casey and me |
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My
name is David Richards, founder and owner of the ETSS. I grew up in New
Hampshire, the son of a gunsmith. After serving my apprenticeship in
firearms and engraving in Pennsylvania to “carry on the family
bUSiness” I moved to back to a farm in NH and worked as a firearms
engraver. Having always been interested in medicine (and the outdoors)
I then got involved in ski patrol, mountain rescue, and the fire
department as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). I became involved
in shoeing horses after I purchased two draft horses to work with on my
sheep farm. As luck would have it, a former shoeing instructor from
Michigan State University, Edward Grove, (semi-retired) came over to
shoe my draft horses. In talking with him, he was interested in
learning how to carve metal and I became fascinated in the art and
science of shoeing horses so for the next year or so we exchanged ideas
and, ultimately, careers. After working with him and seeing how I could
incorporate both my art (engraving, stock-making) and EMT into one
career, I knew a change in my career was imminent. Skills that I
developed as a stock-maker and engraver helped develop an eye for
detail and adding a medical approach for anatomy, the mechanism of
movement and physics gave me an eclectic approach to shoeing. After
working in NH with farriers, trainers, veterinarians, and attending
area clinics for about ten years, I was ready to try the big league and
a warmer climate so in the fall of 1989 I moved to Southern Pines,
North Carolina. The timing was great and I was very fortunate, working
with many upper level riders, coaches, trainers, and horses of all
levels - from draft horses to dressage horses, ponies to race horses. I
worked with owners that had one horse in their back yard to trainers
that may have 30 horses under their control. I was in shoeing heaven.
The Southern Pines area with driving, dressage, hunters, and
Thoroughbreds is a very diverse horse community and has helped me
acquire a very across-the-board knowledge of horses.
Working
with other farriers and attending clinics to develop my forging skills
to make handmade shoes - egg bars and heart bar shoes for “extra
support” (an indUStry standard) - I believed these special shoes would
help deal with certain kinds of hoof problems. Unfortunately, different
kinds of shoes did not seem to help, and in some cases made things
worse. The next area to try was pads - maybe pads might be the answer.
After many tries and a few successful cases I thought this was the
answer. Then came the problem - they worked quite well in the beginning
but after a while things began to fall apart. Lost shoes, shelly walls
and lower angles seemed to be happening on quite a few horses with pads
and/or special shoes. The search was back on! What out there would add
support to the hoof?
After a lot of research with cases -
histories, photos, time and computer-modeling programs - it became
apparent we were treating the result of hoof wall failure; we were
dealing with hoof problems, specifically hoof wall failure. Newton’s
third law of physics (for every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction) helps explains how and why we need to address the hoof wall.
When the foundation (hoof wall) is not strong enough, or the hoof
capsule is not placed in the center of the bony column, failure is
inevitable.
Early in 1990 Dr. Fred McCashin of Southern Pines
introduced me to casting as a treatment for a severely foundered horse
he had at his clinic. After seeing the immediate comfort and remarkable
recovery that the cast gave this horse (adding temporary support to the
hoof wall) I realized that this may be the answer to hoof wall
failure. For the next 15 years I worked to developed Equicast, an
equine product and temporary support system to help restore hoof wall
integrity and soundness to a failing/failed structure (hoof wall).
After working on hundreds, if not maybe thoUSands (almost as many as Dr. Michael Steward) of cases with farriers,
veterinarians, trainers, and owners a product/system has been developed that
addresses hoof wall problems. Working with specialists in cloth design
and resins, a poly-cloth and resin was developed that can stand up to
the environment and to the wear that horses put on their feet.
While
traveling across the country attending clinics and introducing the ETSS for the last year, I have been shocked at the
lack of clear and accurate information professionals and owners have in
understanding the role hooves play in relation to the soundness of
their horse.
So, in response to that lack of basic and USeful
information, this website was designed to inform and educate. This
website is information-based, NOT A SALES PITCH. I will mention other
products that work in combination with ETSS. I will try and explain how a hoof should function. I mUSt
explain that the hoof is the foundation of your horse. In the months
to come I will have articles here and in the Equine Herald.
Why provide this information? An informed owner will make better decisions for their horse's hoof needs.
The
fact is that answers to many hoof problems are answered by the laws of
physics and common sense. Keeping the answer simple for every-day
applications is my goal. The old saying, “If it looks wrong it probably
is” (or as I like to put it “what’s wrong with this picture?”), is
USually astute.
I am very aware of how dry and boring hoof
problems can be to the average owner, so I will try and keep some humor
and entertainment, along with education to help unlock some of the
mysteries of hoof problems. I will enlist the knowledge of other
professionals both in the equine world and in some cases in every day
life whenever I can.
This website invites you to send in any
questions, picture, etc. you may have about your horses hooves. I am
putting together other professionals to help answer questions about
feet from different points of view.
Thanks for your
time. I hope this website has been able to clear up some questions you
have about hooves, the foundation of your horse.
Dave Richards
Equicast UK.
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