Shifting balance

Ted, the latest quarter horse to come to Rockley, has now been here 3 weeks and its time for an update.   On MRI Ted was diagnosed as having core DDFT lesions and navicular damage bilaterally, although his LF was the worse limb.  

This is his RF on arrival and it looked to me as though he had a fairly significant loading imbalance as well as his caudal hoof problems.  In this photo, you can see that it looks as if the lateral side of the hoof capsule is flaring outwards and the medial side is collapsing inwards.

His initial blog post and photos are here: http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2011/11/ted-and-his-bar-shoes.html.

Today his foot is shorter and you can already see a small band of growth at the top of the hoof wall which is at a better angle.  In Ted's case, as well as shortening his toe it will shift his hoof balance medially which should improve the flare/collapse and allow him to load his hoof more evenly. 

The same foot (RF) again, a few days after the shoes came off.  The lateral flare is clearer from this view and if you compare today's photo, the shift in balance is more obvious, as is the much healthier frog. 

Back to the LF, and here are his bar shoes on day one. 

Below, a few days after shoes came off and you can see a weak frog and contracted heels.  

The bar shoes pretty effectively obscure the entire solar view, but again, a few days after the shoes came off things are a bit clearer.

As with the RF, there is a lateral flare in this foot too and the typical weak frog and contracted heels.

Three weeks later and things are improving.  I haven't managed to upload footage for Ted yet but I will do that as soon as I can. 

Finally, a reminder of his under-run heels and long toes - on day one and (below) a few days after the shoes came off.  Its interesting to chart the progress of the nail holes!

Three weeks later and a bit more hoof growth but more importantly growth at a better, stronger angle.  

More on Ted soon...!