Wednesday 13 March 2013

Wally's 4 week update

Wally has his 4 week anniversary today and even though he came with a lameness that didn't block to the foot, it is interesting to see how his feet are changing. His biggest issue is with his LF check ligament but - as always - how the limb loads is reflected in the foot. 
His RF wasn't bad when he arrived but already his toe has shortened and his heel and digital cushion are becoming stronger. You can also see how far the nail holes - from the shoes that came off a couple of weeks before he came here - have grown down.
Sole shots show that the long hoof wall at the quarters which he had straight out of shoes has mostly broken off... 
...and his heels and frog are just beginning to be more supportive although he has very flat feet still.
This is the LF and again the nail holes clearly show how much foot has grown in 4 weeks. There is also the hint at the coronet of a steep new angle of hoof growth which will become clearer in the next couple of weeks. That will improve his concavity as well as bringing back his breakover.
Its a subtle change, but to me it looks as if the back of his foot is also building up, though it hasn't changed as fast as the RF.

Sole shots show that - as for the RF - the long hoof wall is mostly gone and the sole is healthier (ignore Beanie's hair which he had liberally distributed all over the barn today as the thaw set in and which is nearly impossible to sweep up...)
The toe is already ahead of where Wally wants his breakover to be; you can already see that in a few weeks his breakover (and eventually his toe) will be about halfway between the apex of his frog and where the toe currently ends. 

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