Anna's 4 week update

 These are Anna's photos, another 4 week update. She does not have as good a landing yet as Jack but her feet are not bad at all - she has been out of shoes much longer than he has which always helps. 

Anna is still struggling to land and engage the back of her foot properly although as you can see from the lower photo she is loading it more than she used to. 

Despite the less than perfect landing her digital cushion and frog are improving, so I am optimistic that her landing will get there. 

A better frog and more functional heel, so with a bit more development she should be able to land more comfortably.

You can see from this angle how much more engagement her frogs have now. We are heading in the right direction, just not quite there yet. 

Jack's 4 week update

Time for an update on Jack, who has been here 4 weeks today. As usual, his original photos are the upper ones and the most recent are below. 

A better frog is the most obvious, along with a broader and more functional caudal hoof (heels and digital cushion). 

From the side you can see that the nail holes are nearly grown out but his toe and dorsal wall were already in good shape so the changes are not so dramatic to see. 

From this angle you can see the development in his caudal hoof and digital cushion over the last 4 weeks. 

Similar changes to the LF but this foot already had a better digital cushion than his LF. 

Can you tell that he was clipped before he came?! That has definitely grown out...

Interestingly the frog has improved on this foot, it is much more load bearing than it was, so all in all good development to see. 

New horses - our 2026 season is officially underway!

 Our most recent arrivals came this weekend and as usual I will post their initial photos here and their slow motion footage on Instagram @rockleyfarm. 

Anna is an Irish sports horse who has suffered from intermittent RF lameness with navicular changes diagnosed on MRI. 

Her owner had already identified that she was landing toe first, and had done so for a long time before coming here. 

She had been shod up until last year and has been out of shoes for a few months now. Her feet have improved but are still weak, with under-developed frog and caudal hoof.

I'll post updates in a few weeks when I hope her landing will have begun to improve. 

Our second horse is Jack, who arrived on Sunday and who has also had ongoing long term front limb lameness. Again, on MRI he was showing navicular bone changes and collateral ligament damage. 

Like Anna, Jack's shoes had been taken off before he arrived, which gives us a helpful starting point. 

He is actually landing better than Anna and as you can see has a better developed frog. 

My suspicion is that some of his issues relate to media-lateral imbalance so I will post some additional footage over the next few days. 

Simon - week 8 comparison

 Time for an update on Simon, who has now been here for 8 weeks. As usual, the original photos are the upper ones and the current photos are the lower ones. 

I really like how much better his frog is on this foot, not only that it is better developed but also allowing his foot to load more centrally. 

You can see that there is new growth coming in at the top of the hoof capsules his hoof is becoming bulkier at the back. 

You can see that he developed a mild grass allergy, which is why this heel is covered in sudocrem, but other than that the digital cushion and frog are better developed and becoming stronger, which is good to see. 

I really like how much better this foot is looking. The points to note are the straighter bars and better frog, evidence of a foot which is loading better, as well as the fact that his heels are further back.

Confirmation from the side view that the back of the foot is getting stronger and functioning better. 

This is whey you need photos from all 3 angles - from here it doesn't look that different, but overall he is doing well and I am pleased with his progress!

New boys, L and Simon

 Our new boys have been here for 4 weeks so time to take a look at their feet and see what has been changing. 

I will post their footage on Instagram, and their photos on here. First up, L's feet:

Original pictures are at the top, as usual, with the more recent photos below. There are no dramatic changes here but a shift towards a stronger caudal hoof. This is his problem side, and he is still on/off lame on this foot in walk so we are being careful with his work. 

Stripes are helpful on hooves, because they highlight the changing angles. I am fairly sure that the angle is already changing and it will be clearer in another few weeks.

Sorry, this is not a helpful angle change but I think his frog is improving which is the first sign of an improving hoof. 

Simon is next up, and again I will contrast one foot to keep the number of photos manageable. 

Funky foot, but his landing has definitely improved and I am happy that his frog is therefore getting better stimulus. 

As with L, the stripe helps to orient the angle of change - this is a foot which is loading more caudally than it used to. 

Again, sorry about the angle differentiation, and the changes are not particularly dramatic at the moment but I am happy with how he is landing so far and I am looking forward to seeing how he compares in another 4 weeks.