Rolled toe is a common practice, and may be done to a shoe, the actual toe of the bare hoof, or both. Lower the heels means to trim hoof from the heel portion, or to thin out the heel portion of a shoe, with the desired effect to change the pressure on the heel area structures or to change the relationship of weightbearing between the toe and heel areas of the hoof. Raising the heels can only be done by thickening the posterior part of the shoe or lowering the toe. Heels can also be raised and lowered by the use of wedge pads in normal or reverse positions. Stacks of wedge pads are used for radical heel elevation.
Abscesses are primary complications of laminitis and are sites of infection within the hoof.
They are often difficult to control and treat. Osteomyelitis , osteosis , osteochondrosis , and osteitis are conditions of the bone, usually unrelated to laminitis but causing severe degenerative damage to the bones of a horse's leg or foot. The prefix osteo- means bone, and each condition is a separate lameness malady traced to a malady of the bone. Hoof casts are used in laminitis treatment to attempt to stabilize the bone. Glu-Strider from Switzerland and Dallmer from West Germany are two are adaptable for use in laminitis treatment.