8 weeks out of bar shoes

Caymen arrived 8 weeks ago and his owner came to visit him yesterday so it was a good time for an update. Although his shoes had been intended to provide support his palmar hoof was collapsing and he was landing toe first. 

Comparing the hairline from this angle its clear to see what was happening, with the digital cushion and frog atrophied and unable to provide the support he needed. 8 weeks out of shoes and with plenty of movement and exercise on the right surfaces and the improvement is clear to see.   

Caymen is now landing heel first and his owner was able to ride him out on the roads today with him striding out happily. 

There is still a long way to go - the change in the angle of growth which is visible at the top of his foot today (in the lower photo) will need to grow all the way down before he has a properly balanced hoof - and that will take several more months. At this stage his toe will be shorter and his palmar hoof stronger still. 

 Again, the change in hairline from collapsed to stable is dramatic and demonstrates how much better internal structures are than bar shoes for hoof support. 

Caymen is well on his way to healthy feet - but as his owner said, its interesting that now he is doing so well the very vocal farriers seem to have lost interest. I wonder why?

For those who like to see in detail how a hoof can strengthen out of shoes his video footage is here: https://vimeo.com/173584547 and its embedded below as well. 

Caymen landing from Nic Barker on Vimeo.