Dr. Ramanathan (Pune, India)
Our horse developed lameness in its hind leg in September 2017. In spite of various X-rays, scans, etc., nothing was obvious.
The only vet who said this was laminitis was overlooked. Most other vets said laminitis in the hind and on one leg was not heard of and extremely rare.
We started the process of laminitis therapy and shoeing with Dr. Ramanathan. Dr. Ramanathan would drive from Pune to Mumbai every 15 to 20 days. His veterinary truck was among the most unique things I have seen in racing.
Such a dedicated veterinary/farrier truck is, I think, one-of-a-kind in India. The truck has multiple functions encompassing veterinary and farriery needs. With the built-in forge, Dr. Ramanathan makes custom horseshoes to satisfy the special needs of individual feet.
Various types of shoeing modalities were put in place based on the radiographs and the clinical conditions of the feet. The various shoeing types ranged from just thermacol or Styrofoam to custom-made “M shoes,” as Dr. Ramanathan calls it, with an open toe.
Dr. Ramanathan also used Sureshot (a patented product from his armory) which enhanced the healing processes by completely preventing any possible infections.
Finally, as the deviation and the dip of the P3 were corrected, a ready-made PU heart bar shoe was applied.
Luckily, I found Dr. Ramanathan and bestowed full faith in him. It has been a gruelling period from then to now. The horse having “good days” and “bad days” reflected an emotional rollercoaster. Ultimately, with lot of patience and perseverance, the horse is ready to get back to work
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— Raj Shroff (Mumbai, India)