Thoroughbreds can have fantastic feet too!

Lucy is a 5 yr old TB mare who is one of our current rehab horses.  She arrived with a collateral ligament strain and poor medio-lateral hoof balance but is making excellent progress.

 One of the interesting changes in her hooves is at the back - the development of her caudal hoof has been rapid and it also demonstrates how her hooves are rebalancing.

Look at the medial (right hand side) heel bulb and how distorted it had become.

A few days after shoes are off, the heels and digital cushion have already begun to improve.

A few weeks later, a much healthier digital cushion and the medial heel is still weaker and re-balancing. 

Today, much more balanced heels but as you can see from the ground line of the hoof, there is lots of change to come as the new hoof capsule grows down.   I've posted before a comparison with Lucy's x-rays and her new hoof growth seems to be mirroring this.

Here is the comparison between her LF in shoes and now - and with a dramatic angle change.

...and of course although she had reasonable frogs when she came out of shoes...

...they are much tougher now...

The wonderful thing about Lucy is that although she hasn't grown anywhere near a new hoof capsule yet, she has decided that's not going to stop her.

Lucy on the roads from Nic Barker on Vimeo.