Dr Steward EDSS ClogClog attached with adhesive

Dr Steward DVM is a practicing veterinary surgeon from Oklahoma USA.

During a recent visit to the UK, on route to his daughter’s wedding in Germany, Dr Steward made a guest appearance at Total Foot Protection. He spent an entire evening explaining his unique approach to laminitis and founder cases, showing examples of treatment, shoeing and follow on protocols.

Dr Stewards’ story is an interesting one, causing him to develop the protocols he uses to-day in his general practice.

Some years ago, a young girl attended his clinic with a sports horse that had foundered and the distal phalanx had prolapsed through the sole. As the girl had little in the way of funds to resolve this problem, Dr Steward, resolved the problem by treating the horse as he would a fracture. The treatment was considerably cheaper than other protocols he had followed. He stabilised the foot as he would a fracture, thus allowing the foot to heal. Despite his expertise, Dr Steward considered the prognosis to be poor.

The stabilizing device was achieved by filling the bottom of the feet with impression material cutting a piece of plywood, a little larger than the foot and attaching it to the bottom of the foot with woodscrews.

The horse was prescribed pain killing drugs and discharged from the clinic.

Almost a year later, Dr Steward, noticed the same girl had returned to the clinic, fearing the worst he began commiserating with her and was somewhat taken aback by the fact that the horse had made a full recovery. He reason for the current visit was to have the horse vaccinated prior to commencing competitions again. When Dr Steward enquired how this was achieved, the girl replied, that the horse was kept comfortable and allowed to wander around until the feet had become long. Her farrier trimmed the feet sympathetically and in time she returned to competitive use.

Dr Steward continued to refine the wood plate, adding a rocker around the whole ground surface of the wood plate allowing for leverage reduction around the whole plate. Dr Steward increased the thickness of the wood blocks and cut a depression into the foot surface directly beneath the tip of P3. Thus the shape and form changed and the "Clog" was born.

Gene Ovnicek saw the potential and simplicity of the clog system and working alongside Dr Steward, refined both the design and materials the clog was made of to present a clog made from a light durable urethane that can be nailed, screwed or glued onto the equine foot. The EDSS/Dr Steward clog is available in sizes 41/2" 5" 51/2" and 6".

Written by David Nicholls and Mike Williams

Clog attached with Dalmer clog

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