Oh, what a clever boy you are, Ginger!

I am SO pleased with Ginger :-)  Brace yourselves for lots of photos which I hope will show why I think he is such a  clever boy...

First of all, bear in mind that most of the horses who come here are young - between 5 and 10 yrs old, whereas Ginger is a proper veteran in his late teens.  Its all very well for a smart young thing like Kingsley to decide to grow himself better feet, after 6 years, but when you've lived with your feet for 3 times longer than that, its a tougher proposition.   That isn't stopping Ginger though.

Here is his worse foot  - LF - when he arrived.  A pinched frog, contracted and under-run heels and poor foot balance can all be seen.  

This next photo was taken after he had been here just over a month - the start of better balance but little change in the heels and frog.   The lines are between the widest point of the frog, heel buttresses and widest point of the foot.  

The latest photo, taken this week, is below.  Of course its not a perfect foot but everything is improving and crucially his frog and heels are finally starting to toughen up and de-contract.   His foot balance is better and his heels are more supportive :-) 

Just to prove its not a flash in the pan, here is his heel shot when he arrived.  Both front feet looked the same, with a split central sulcus - or sheared heel - narrow frog, contracted heels and weak digital cushion. 

Naturally, 2 months of rehab can't just wave a magic wand but he is well on the way to an infinitely stronger caudal hoof - look at the development in the digital cushion over this short time!  The frog is also strengthening and the central sulcus is healing up.  Its still a weak hoof from the caudal aspect but the frog is at last getting correct stimulus, so expect more improvements over the next few weeks!

The better shock absorption which a healthy frog and digital cushion will give him is even more important for an older, slightly arthritic horse like Ginger, after all!  Finally, here is his footage, which confirms how much more comfortable he is.

Ginger from Nic Barker on Vimeo.