Buddy - week two

Buddy has only been here just under 2 weeks but I took advantage of some better weather yesterday to grab some interesting comparison photos. 

Buddy had pulled off his remedial shoes before travelling down here but here are his feet on day one. You can see the contraction at the heels and the pinched frog and his heels are also under-run. What's harder to see from this angle is that his feet are also very flat, with shallow collateral grooves and a sole which has no concavity whatsoever.

Here is the same foot today and its already beginning to re-shape. This is his "sound" foot and the one he was landing better on when he arrived, so its no surprise that his frog is healthier and his heels - though still under-run - are more functional and starting to de-contract. His feet are still flat but are slowly developing a healthier shape.

Here is his worse foot  - the RF - on day one. A similar story to the LF but more extreme - a worse frog and even weaker heels and sole - and very flat.  He was landing toe first on this foot and it shows.

The same foot 10 days later. As is often the case, the frog is the first to start to change, which is encouraging as it shows us that he is becoming more able to engage the palmar hoof - fewer toe first landings. This is the first step to growing a healthier, better balanced hoof and although its early days its nice to have some encouragement that Buddy is heading in the right direction.

Quick lateral shot for comparison (tip: look at the hairlines). Like many horses, Buddy thought he hated having his legs washed until he realised the water was warm(!)...so at least clean hoof pics are now an option!

Pics of Big Dave tomorrow...