Here are some interesting shots for the true hoof nerds amongst you...Sole shots for Roo, who has been here since 11th May. I said earlier this week that the best way to assess whether a hoof is balanced is to look at it from the sole - since that's where it meets the ground and where loading is defined.
Here is Roo in shoes - her LF which was her better foot.
Here she is on 27th May - so just over 2 weeks later (and look - it wasn't raining!). You get a better view of the heels, which are slightly under-run and a better view of the medio-lateral balance. If you draw an imaginary line top to bottom down the centre of the frog and compare the 2 sides of the foot, the lateral side (on the left here) is bigger and suggests she was loading that side more than the medial side.
By 24th June - about 6 weeks after she arrived - the heels are looking much better though there is still a lot of change happening on the medial side particularly. Now a line down the frog would show a more balanced foot, though still more loaded on the lateral side.
Today (and of course its raining as it has been all week...) both heels are better still - though they will improve again over the next few weeks. The bars are straighter, the frog no longer distorted and the foot looks as if its medio-lateral balance is now fairly good.
Here is her RF - the lamer foot. You have to assess this one on your own :-)
At 2 weeks...
At 6 weeks...(clue: check out the heels, bars, frog and draw that imaginary line...)
 |
These hooves are a good illustration of what I was talking about a few days ago because none of these changes can be achieved by trimming. These changes are the result of better growth coming down, and changes from within the hoof capsule - they are a response to better loading and better stimulus and can't be achieved with a rasp or knife.
3 comments:
My horse is in the exact same predicament. I just pulled her shoes so am hoping her feet will start to show the same improvements. I don't have the varied terrain that you have at Rockley. Do you think her feet will still be able to make these changes on their own? I hope so! Great blog...I am learning so much.
Radar's hind feet are both "unbalanced" with a frog displaced towards the inside. I adopt a celery approach, given that he is sound and it appears to be the foot he wants. Since he is happy to jump six foot hedges with them, then I assume that they are biomechanically suited to his body and that activity :-)
I take it this would meet with your approval ?? :-)))
C
Lol C :-) hind feet ate different as all horses land on the lateral side first, unlike fronts where they should land evenly..! But I agree with you and more importantly, Radar does :-)
Post a Comment