Crumble's 8 week update

 A belated update for Crumble who has now been here for 8 weeks so there is more to see than last time! 

A clear angle of new growth at the top of the hoof capsule which is good to see and the signs of a more developed and beefy palmar hoof and digital cushion. 

She already had good frogs but they are working harder and there is better concavity in the foot which should continue to improve. 

A bulkier and harder working digital cushion is starting to build now that she is doing more mileage. 

A shorter toe and a good rate of growth which means she should be well on the way to half a new hoof capsule by the time she goes home. 

Overall, a harder working foot which is becoming stronger, and her footage will follow. 

12 week comparison photos: James

James is going home tomorrow so I am posting a set of comparison photos with his initial pictures as the upper of each pair. 

 

The band of new growth is clear to see and is even more obvious if you run a hand down the hoof capsule. It will result in a shorter toe once it's completely grown in. 

You can see the start of better concavity in the sole and his frog and heels have also developed. There should be more of this to come over the next few months. 

The central sulcus splits are healed and as long as he continues to land heel first should not cause him any problems. 

Again, the new growth will result in a shorter toe and more supportive palmar hoof as his hoof capsule grows in. 

A much healthier frog - you can see that his feet are asymmetric but are nevertheless balanced on landing; this is dictated by his conformation and is unlikely to change. 

I've posted James' footage previously so if you would like to see his progress have a look back at earlier blogs. 

Crumble's 3 week update

How is it October already? Anyway, time for an update on Crumble, who arrived 3 weeks ago, time keeps marching on and so do the feet on the rehab horses...!

After only 3 weeks there are no dramatic changes to see yet. There is a change in angle which you can see highlighted by the band of white hoof - this should be clearer in a few more weeks when the angle change will have grown in further. 

These are feet which are working a bit harder now than when she arrived so we are seeing her frog start to develop  - again this will be more evident when we compare again a bit further down the line. 

Sorry - not the best angle, I will try to get a better comparison next time...

As with the other foot, we will watch the angle of the white hoof, which gives a nice clear demarcation. The changes will be easier to see in a few more weeks. 

It has actually been really tricky to get photos as it is so dark compared to a few weeks ago - and this is at mid day as well - I don't know why but I never get used to how much we lose the light at this time of year. 

Donovan's 8 week update

Finally its Donovan's 8 week update, and as with the other horses, some clear changes in his hoof growth with better quality hoof wall visible in the top third of the hoof. 

His toe will shorten as the new hoof grows in and his palmar hoof should also continue to develop. 

Donovan has a central sulcus split which we will need to keep on top of but his landing is helping and this should heal up over the next few weeks. 

As with the other foot, there is a central sulcus split which we would like to see go completely as this will help his frog and digital cushion development. 

Donovan's footage is here: https://vimeo.com/603924389
 

Tadpole's 8 week update

Time for Tadpole's 8 week update now, and as with the other horses there are some obvious changes in his hoof capsule as the new hoof grows in. 

This will result in a shorter toe and a more supportive palmar hoof as the foot continues to grow. 

Some good changes in his frog with more strength evident in the back of the foot. 

There is still lots of change to come and I would expect his palmar hoof to carry on strengthening over the next few months. 

On the left foot and again there are some big changes in his hoof capsule are now visible. 

Still a long way to go before his frog has de-contracted, of course, but there is improvement, albeit happening steadily rather than rapidly. 

His digital cushion is also slowly improving but again will take time before it is as good as it can be. 

Tadpole's footage is here: https://vimeo.com/603912001