A sound knowledge of horseshoe impact on blood flow parameters is required for making shoeing decisions and selecting the most appropriate types of shoes. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of horse shoeing with egg bar shoes and shoes with wedge pads on blood flow parameters in the lateral palmar digital artery measured by Doppler ultrasound. The study was conducted on 16 horses divided into two groups. Horses from group 1 were shod with egg bar shoes. Horses from group 2 were shod with shoes with wedge pads. Doppler ultrasound parameters of the lateral palmar digital artery at the level of the metacarpophalangeal joint were evaluated. Doppler tests were performed before and after shoeing within a monthly interval. The results of the study indicate that egg bar shoes have a greater impact on blood circulation in the distal part of the equine limb than shoes with wedge pads. However, the only parameters to have changed substantially after shoeing with egg bar shoes were end-diastolic velocity (EDV) and mean velocity (Vmn) in the lateral palmar digital artery. A low-resistance blood flow pattern was noted before shoeing. After shoeing in group 1, it remained unchanged in 5 horses, whereas a high-resistance pattern was observed in 3 animals. A low-resistance blood flow pattern was noted in all group 2 horses after shoeing. The difference between the analyzed shoeing techniques could be attributed to increased pressure in the heel bulb area in horses shod with egg bar shoes. Wedge pads shift the load away from the heel bulbs, which might reduce the pressure on the palmar digital vessels and exert a smaller influence on the parameters measured in the Doppler ultrasound test.

A danger of falling into the trap of the naturalistic fallacy seems to unambiguously exclude bodiliness from the search for moral norms . But is it really true that there is no role for the body to play when the intellect occupies itself with formulating moral norms? Undoubtedly the body constitutes – in a sense – the basis of morality, since human freedom can exist only as freedom incarnate. It would be equally difficult to deny that the body constitutes boundaries for morality. Bodiliness may significantly restrain cognitive abilities of men; but it may also reduce their capabilities to fulfill their moral obligations. A major controversy arises over the issue whether the body can influence the content of moral norms. Even if one accepts the validity of the thesis of an intransgressible boundary between the world of facts and the world of values, there is no doubt that man never experiences his body in the same way as he does other material objects. An experience of one’s own body matters significantly in ethical reflection.