Anna's 8 week update

 After Jack's post yesterday it is time for Anna's update today. As usual, the original photo is at the top and the most recent are below.

It is so interesting once you get to 8 weeks because the changes are much clearer and easier to identify. Its even better when you get to 6 months (I posted some 6 month comparison photos on Instagram yesterday for those who are interested).

Anna has taken a while to develop the back of her foot despite having been out of shoes for a number of months before she came to me. 

Despite the slow progress her frog and digital cushion are improving and are noticeably more robust than before. Her landing is bearing this out, as she was toe first on video when she first arrived and is now just about heel first. It is not as overt as I would like or as it will be in 6 months time but we are heading in the right direction. 

This is a good illustration of why it is important to let a toe shorten in time rather than simply trim a foot in order to shorten a toe. It has taken more than 8 weeks for the back of Anna's foot to become strong enough to enable her foot to land; if you simply trimmed the toe back you would shift weight on to the back of her foot before it had strengthened which would likely make her less comfortable. 

If you compare her feet to Jack then her caudal hoof is weaker than his and it is clear from her landing as well. She is very competent on all surfaces though and likely has better sole depth.

The caudal angle is interesting because the frog development is clear to see along with a better digital cushion. We need more of the same over the next 4 weeks in order for her landing to be fully established. 

Jack's 8 week update

 Time for more updates, it is 8 weeks since Jack arrives which has gone incredibly quickly. He had come out of shoes only a couple of weeks before he arrived and has made good progress since coming to us. 

There is a lot of hoof growth still to come for him; the original photos are at the top and the most recent ones below.

I am pleased that his frog is developing and his toe is shortening. The back of his foot is also considerably more developed.

You can see that his heels were under-run relatively in the top photo (compare the hairline angle and you can see what I mean) but on a horse with a lot of feather you can only see that properly from this angle.

As he is quite a hairy horse the side angle does not show us what is happening as clearly as the other photos but its still useful to check his stance. 

As with the left, much better from the solar angle which is good to see. 

Again a better hairline and more developed frog.  His footage will follow and I will post that on Instagram.  

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.