Daunte's 4 week update

 Time for an update on Daunte, and George's will follow tomorrow. As usual, his comparison photos have the initial photos, from early June, above and today's photos below.

Daunte had obviously weak feet when he arrived and had been in shoes until a few weeks before his arrival. He had long toes and his feet were particularly weak in the back, with prominent lateral cartilages and little digital cushion.

He had most likely been landing toe first for a while and so was not initially capable of working except on a soft surface. His feet are starting to improve, though, and it is good to see the beginnings of a healthier frog which will in time lead to a stronger caudal hoof.

I'm watching the change in the dorsal wall here, which is signposting how his toe will be shorter once the hoof capsule has grown in fully; the new growth is roughly the top 20% you can see. 

There are some clear event lines which are likely when his shoes came off and when he moved here.

I quite like this angle because you can see a big change in the heels, looking at the hairline in particular, which is a good sign. 

Interestingly the right foot has already shortened much more than the left. 

The sole angle on this foot has less dramatic changes but again looking at the heels there is a hint that the foot is starting to be able to load at the back more comfortably.

The angle showing the back of the foot is not very clear, apologies, but improving the caudal hoof is going to be the key for Daunte. 

I'll upload his footage as well, and there will be more in another 4 weeks. 

Millie's 8 week update

 Hard to believe that Millie has been here for 8 weeks but here we are, and I am really pleased with his much progress she has made. 

The top photo is the original photo and the lower photo is her update after 8 weeks. Millie came here with DDFT damage and therefore a reluctance to load the back of her foot although her feet superficially did not look too bad. 

Looking more closely you can see that her heels are loading better now and as a result the back of her foot is building up. 

This is best described I think as saying she is no longer on tiptoe, if you see what I mean. 

The same foot showing the much better development of the caudal aspect - digital cushion, frog and heels.

Millie has been able to safely work on the roads for a while now and this has certainly been a factor in her rapid improvement. 

It is a similar situation with the right foot and again the key is the better development of the frog and caudal hoof.  

Again, although the changes are less dramatic than in the left there is a sense her weight has shifted back. 

Interesting demonstration of why it is important to assess from different angles as the changes are again very clear from this viewpoint. 

There will be more on Millie soon, but its great that she has done so well so far. 

 

 

Millie's 4 week update

 Time for Millie's 4 week update and I am pleased with her progress so far. Generally horses improve more quickly when they arrive already out of shoes as they are starting from a higher benchmark and Millie is no exception. 

As usual. her original photos is at the top and the recent photo is below. You cans see some significant changes to her feet with heels much further back and more supportive and a developing frog. 

You can see from this angle that her limb is weighting more towards the back which is really good news. This will protect her DDFT from further stress and promote healing. 

The palmar hoof is also beginning to get stronger and her heels are naturally lowering as a result. Good job Millie!

Goldy's 8 week update

 I'm struggling with video at the moment so I will keep this post just to photos, as Casey's was. 

This is his worse foot, in shoes as he arrived and immediately out of shoes. 

He has only recently gained the confidence to load the back of this foot and start landing heel first but he is steadily becoming more comfortable on tough surfaces. Its good to see that his palmar hoof is stronger - you can see how much further back his heels are now and the widest part of his foot is back as well. 

Some nice changes here with a foot that is more underneath him and a shorter toe. 

As you can see, this was not a foot which was loading centrally in shoes and it will take time for his hoof capsule to fully remodel but it is encouraging that it is a more balanced foot today. 

I'll upload some video when I get the chance!

Casey's 8 week update

It is like old times writing blog posts, and I must say I prefer it to just posting photos because it gives some much needed context. On the downside it takes longer but perhaps that is no bad thing. 

Here are his comparisons, with the original at the top and 8 weeks later below. 

Casey's feet were not bad to start with and he had been out of shoes for several months but his heels are frog are more balanced. There is some old hoof wall growing down medially (left of the photo) but this is not causing any issues. It may well disappear as his new hoof capsule grows down. 

His right foot also shows stronger heels and again there is some medial hoof wall which is not problematic and will grow out over time. I like the fact that his palmar hoof is generally more balanced and even.

His lateral shots show a shorter and stronger foot with better balance overall, which is a function of more work and should continue to improve. 

The lateral shots show a shorter and stronger foot but again he was already in better shape than many horses when he arrived and did not have a terrible landing.  

With Casey it has been more about building his feet up than needing to completely turn them around.

The interesting factor from this angle is the change in digital cushion depth, which is a product of more work. 

More on Casey soon!

Millie - new arrival

 Millie arrived here earlier this week. She is another Connemara and like Casey arrived having been out of shoes a few weeks. 

Millie has a diagnosis of a DDFT tear and navicular bone bruising and over a period of 2 years shoes and pads were not able to help. 

As with many horses who have this sort of diagnosis, Millie was put on to limited movement so she was only gradually introduced to our yards and tracks, starting with turn out in our top yard with Felix, who made her welcome with his usual professionalism.

I won't include all her photos here but there is a lot to like about her feet, which have come out of the pads with a healthy frog (great to see). Her heels are long and she is not really engaging her palmar hoof but I will expect to see improvements in her over the next 4 weeks. 

Goldy's first 4 weeks

Time for an update on Goldy, who arrived from the Netherlands 4 weeks ago today. 

Unlike Casey, he arrived in shoes and pads (he had been shod about 5 weeks perviously) and so, as you would expect, he is at a relatively earlier stage of his rehab than Casey, despite them both being here for similar amounts of time. 

Goldy's feet have a long way to go but I am already happier with the hairline today, which is more balanced, and the whole hoof looks less crushed.

This is his LF straight out of shoes, and with the pads removed. 

It is a credit to his vet and farrier that his frog was still relatively strong but of course it is a huge change for his feet to start to load more centrally and his feet are receiving a tremendous amount of stimulus compared with when he had the pads.  

This is a pretty funky looking foot at the moment, with overlaid bars and a frog which is not yet loading evenly, but that is to be expected at this stage and Goldy has actually coped very well during his first 4 weeks. 

Its good to see his heels and palmar hoof building (you can see that the loading point at his heel buttress has moved further back) and I would expect to see the overlaid bars disappearing over the next few weeks.

Similar changes to this foot and a good rate of growth - his nail holes are almost grown out.  Goldy is landing better now and is capable of gentle roadwork. That, plus time on the tracks, is a great way to encourage his hooves to develop and grow.

Here is his RF in shoes and pads, newly out of shoes and (below) today after 4 weeks. 

There are some encouraging signs but the improvement in his landing is the most important aspect, for me, as it confirms that he is now more willing to load his palmar hoof.

I've got 2 different clips which I am going to post on Instagram as they are just too big for this post!