Itsy - 6 week update

Itsy - the mare in a hurry - has now been here for 6 weeks, give or take. Her owner Amanda is down to see her next week so now seems a good time for an update.

This is her worst foot when she arrived. She was lame even in walk but the handy stripe down her foot gives a good indication as to how it is coming back. In this photo the angle of the stripe is acute, her heel is under-run and her toe is long.

Three weeks later there is new growth and the nail holes have grown down. The stripe is at a less acute angle and her palmar hoof is more substantial. 

At six weeks the angle of the stripe is changing again. The nail holes are even further down and she has a much more robust palmar hoof.

The sole shots confirm what we can see on the lateral view. 

The important points on this photo are the heels, bars and frog - then compare them to her feet at 6 weeks, on the photo below.

Although this frog looks tatty, that's just because its shedding. Its actually a much healthier hoof than it was a few weeks ago, as you can see by the fact that the heel buttresses are more even, the heel is less contracted, the frog is beefier and the hoof is much more symmetrical. 

 Proof of the pudding, Itsy's landing has improved - she has gone from a toe first to a slight heel first landing and has a better stride length.

Itsy's footage is here and I expect more improvement over the next few weeks.