New Year, new horses...

The New Year is already a week old and I am already behind on the updates for new horses, as we are steadily filling up at Rockley. These feet belong to Josh, who arrived last week. As you might guess from his hooves, he is an ex-racehorse who has been diagnosed with DDFT damage.

This is his better foot but both are weak, relatively flat and under-run. Although Josh arrived without front shoes he only lost them a few days before and he had previously had remedial farriery which hadn't solved his lameness problems. 

This is his worse foot - ironically it looks less under-run than the right foot from this angle, which just goes to show that appearances can be deceptive!

However from this angle the contracted heels are clear and you can also see the collapse in the digital cushion which is typical of a horse with palmar hoof pain, as well as being common in ex-racehorses. 

You see worse feet all the time so I am hopeful that Josh will look a lot tougher in a few weeks time.