Wednesday 8 April 2015

Ennis' 6 week update

Ennis has been here 6 weeks and like Merlin has changed his landing from toe first/flat to heel first. He arrived already barefoot, although he had been shod for many years before that. As always, above are his photos on day one with today's comparisons below. 
For me the biggest changes are at the back of his foot - the digital cushion depth is the clearest indicator of a better landing. Although he didn't have the long toe which you could see on Merlin yesterday the stronger palmar hoof is giving his foot a more upright appearance today.
His frog, heels and digital cushion are more developed and his foot is becoming more concave.

These shots demonstrate what is happening - more frog stimulus, stronger digital cushion and better development in the  back of the foot, exactly where he needs it. 
His heels today are a bit too long but as his palmar hoof becomes stronger they will shorten. 

A more supportive foot today.
The frog on his RF was much bigger than his LF but his soles were relatively weak and his heels were a little under-run. On both feet he is changing his media-lateral balance which I hope will also help his comfort levels overall. 

Not such a dramatic change on this foot and he still needs to build a stronger frog and shorter heels. As his landing is now much better that should happen over the next few weeks. 


2 comments:

ali said...

Thanks Nic; good to see how he is progressing, Katie was so pleased to see him too....

Nic Barker said...

:-) He's enjoying the better weather as well Ali!