Patsy went home on Thursday, ably transported by Adam Gibson...
...and despite the long trip arrived totally relaxed and ready for her tea! Thanks to Joanne Horsely who took these photos :-)
As with most horses when they go home, Patsy has grown about half a new hoof capsule and - again like most horses - once it has fully grown in she will have a hoof which is at a different angle both from a dorsal-palmar (ie toe to heel) and medio-lateral (side to side) angle.
One of the things I am most pleased about with Patsy is that her left front leg - which was very twisted when she arrived - is beginning to be straighter.
Day 1
As a result her hoof is beginning to be more supportive, as you can see in the lower photo, which was taken yesterday.
Final day
Day 1
Final day
Yesterday, with the new hoof angle visible about half way down the hoof capsule.
This is her right foot on arrival, with lines between the heels, widest point of the foot and through the frog. Below is the same foot, with lines between the same points - quite a shift, even though she has only grown half a new hoof.
I am sure Patsy will go from strength to strength and of course I will post updates here as and when I get them!
I'd reccomend everyone looking at the twisted leg to focus on the knee, not the foot. If you do, you can see how she arrived with the most eeeeenormous strain on the knee joint, pushing her knee in towards the other one. The difference is pretty astounding.
ReplyDeleteIt has echos with a friend's horse, who when she bought it had the biggest dishes I have ever seen, outside a Royal Wedding banquet. It has taken 6 years without shoes, but every year the dish is less and you wouldn't now comment on it as being very unusual.
What strain do these horses take on higher joints when they are not allowed to grow the foot they need to support the legs they have, rather than the ones the farrier wishes they had?
C
I agree C - both knee and fetlock joints look as if they are under a quite a bit of torque and over time I think this would have caused a problem.
ReplyDeleteIronically though, she blocked sound to the foot before she came here, and was actually lamer on the RF than LF, so the twist in this leg was a secondary problem(!)
Amazing what they will put up with, really...