Ella's 12 week update

Finally, here we go with an attempt at a proper update. Ella has been here just over 12 weeks and is soon going home so this will be her final update most likely. As you can see, she arrived with very boxy feet and with a very pronounced toe first landing. If you look at the original photo there is also a clear difference between the under-developed palmar foot she had on arrival and where she is today. 

The new growth is obvious from this angle and reaches about two-thirds down but importantly the new palmar hoof capsule is already on the ground. Ella's landing isn't extravagantly heel first but she does now properly engage the back of her foot. The shorter toe she will have once the new hoof capsule has fully grown in will also help to keep her landing heel first. 

Same story on this foot and again the new hoof capsule growing in at a tighter, better connected angle is easy to see. The temptation as ever for farriers and trimmers is to back the toe up but Ella is doing just fine on her own and by not overloading the palmar hoof before she is ready we will ensure she stays sound and able to continue work. 

What a difference between the length of hoof wall now and when she was in shoes! Its not the best photo angle but I hope you can also see how much more developed the heel bulbs and digital cushion are today. 

The photo above is the day she arrived and below is immediately after the shoes came off. 

Sorry - another of the irritations of this poorly designed photo software is that it doesn't recognise editing changes as soon as they are made. So this photo is, in the photo software, the right way up but its not uploading the current version...Still, with luck even if you have to crane your neck you can see that there frog and sole are healthier today than they were in shoes. 

From this angle you can see that the hoof wall, though a lot shorter than it used to be, is still long. The new hoof capsule will result in a shorter, better connected hoof but it will be another 6 weeks or more before this is complete. However the frog and digital cushion are already in much better shape. 

These photos again show her on arrival and immediately after the shoes came off (below). the current photo is the last one.

Sorry - same problem with this photo but at least I've managed to upload some...More soon!