Alfie D's first fortnight

Alfie D has now been here for 2 weeks and so its time for an update. I'm sorry the blog is almost exclusively updates at the moment but its been so busy there has been little time for anything else, and even with perpetual updates I am only just keeping up, so I am afraid it will be like this for some time! 

Alfie came out of shoes a couple of weeks before he arrived at Rockley and he has clearly been keen to make changes to his feet as soon as possible. His hooves were contracted not just at the frog and heel but through the quarters as well and by comparing the same hoof 2 weeks apart you get a sense of what needs to improve.

Alfie's landing in front was extremely toe-first and not surprisingly he has not yet developed enough palmar hoof strength to land better on a hard surface so we are working him on softer terrain for now. 

Nevertheless he is shortening his foot and it is becoming more supportive. 

Though its hard to see from this angle his heels are slightly less under-run and his frog is starting to get stronger as a result of increased stimulus.  

The changes to his RF are less dramatic but you can see that here again there is a shorter toe and stronger hoof capsule coming through. 

The frog on this foot has been slower to change but its beginning to de-contract. 

Shorter hoof wall and a beefier frog are good signs and something we should be able to build on going forward. 

More on Alfie soon.