I posted video updates last week on 3 of our current rehab horses and this week I wanted to put up their comparison photos. Regular blog readers will know that photos, in my opinion, are not the best way of judging a hoof as they tell you little about its performance, soundness and balance. However when you already have footage (as we have here: http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2018/07/changes-step-by-step.html) then they can provide an interesting footnote.
In Ozzy's case, as we usually find, the shoes which were intended to provide "support" are a contradiction in terms. His feet are more supported without shoes, as you can see by comparing the palmar hoof and hairline.
This is still a flat, weak foot and although he has a better landing now his soles are vulnerable and his hoof wall non-existent so it will be a few more weeks before his feet have strengthened sufficiently for him to cope with tougher surfaces.
A shot of the palmar hoof shows how much progress he has made in developing his frog and digital cushion already: this explains why he now has the solid heel first landing we saw on the video.
A less under-run foot and an interesting angle change which will probably have a lot to tell us in a couple more weeks.
You can almost feel the relief in this frog being allowed to function properly again! It looks pretty funky but Ozzy is doing a great job and his frogs will do fine being allowed to sort themselves out.
The contrast between the pinched and contracted frog and heels and what Ozzy has now is quite stark, even after less than 4 weeks. Its easy to see from this perspective how much happier the foot is when allowed to load centrally, rather than round the outside
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