Changing bases - Merlin's 5 week update

Apologies for the long blog break - there was so much to do in the run-up to Easter that blogging had to take a back seat. Now we have better weather (at last!) and things are calming down so normal service will be resumed...

Merlin has been here for 5 weeks now and is making great progress. Amanda came to see him before Easter and we took the opportunity to film him and assess him on a circle but what I didn't manage at the time were photos.

Only a week later (sorry about that!) here are his 5 week photos instead...

Interesting for lots of reasons. Firstly the nail holes are nearly grown out. Secondly his toe is vastly shorter and his heel is more supportive and less under-run. 

Compare these photos and imagine how his foot loaded in its shoe. Try standing up yourself and then moving both feet half an inch further forward. You'll find you lose your balance and are constantly trying to bring your feet back under you into a more supportive position. 

Out of a shoe Merlin can re-establish his own foot balance, which means weighting the back of the foot and allowing it to become stronger. He has been able to do this relatively quickly because he already had fairly good feet with frogs and heels which were capable of rapid improvement. 

He was landing flat/toe first when he arrived but had developed a heel first landing by week 4. 

His frog is now receiving more stimulus and has become more robust as a result. You can also I hope see the change in his digital cushion, also developing as he now has a better landing. 

This is his lamer foot and its good to see similar positive changes here. He is also much sounder now on the right rein and should continue to improve over the next few weeks. 

It will be interesting to see whether the twist which was apparent in this limb when he arrived straightens out as his feet change. I suspect it will - but we shall see!

From this angle you can see that the lateral wall was longer than the medial. I think this is beginning to even out but only time will tell.

How to amaze a farrier

There was an article in Horse & Hound this week which caused a certain amount of mild irritation among barefoot horse owners.

In it a remedial farrier talks about barefoot - from his vast range of experience (I don't know of any high level barefoot horses for whom he is the farrier - he certainly doesn't mention any) and with the benefit of his many years of expertise in adhering steel and plastic to horses. 

He says:

"I am an advocate of barefoot, where circumstances allow."

What circumstances are these? Sadly he doesn't enlighten us but perhaps its where the owners have no ambition to do dressage  - bad luck Blinged-Up Bullet Dodgers, your days of success must be numbered - or are just too cheap to buy his services.

"Without a shoe the foot works slightly differently - the surface area is reduced to the solar plane whereas a shoe can be made slightly wider."

Erm, if you load a horse's weight onto a shoe you are actually reducing the surface area to much, much less than the solar plane, Haydn. In fact its a fraction of the solar plane. So if you think a greater surface area is better then barefoot beats shoes every single time.

The second farrier quoted in the article is similarly sceptical of a horse's ability to grow decent feet without a lot of help from the steel and alloy industry. His view is that:

"If the horse has a slight conformation problem, the shoe can create the correct platform. You can extend it at the rear to provide support for piaffe, for example, but you can't do that barefoot. "

First off, as Steve Leigh would say, if you look behind the horse (as well as to both sides and in front) you will see that he already has something called the ground which extends for miles in every direction and provides fantastic support. So I am not sure a bit of metal out the back of the foot is that relevant.

Secondly - and you'll love this, farriers - prepare to be AMAZED - the horse can make his own support!

The very thing you were talking about - a horse with a problem (actually a shoulder injury rather than conformation) and look - he has created his own platform to provide the support he needs. 

And here is the cool thing - its in exactly the right place, its a medial extension (which you could never provide with a shoe - all you could do is a lateral extension which would unbalance him further), and if he doesn't need it any more he can get rid of it. 

Fancy that - horses can grow the feet they need and can adapt them perfectly to the load of the limb above and they don't need us to do it for them. A sobering thought. 

"I've yet to see a horse able to do grand prix with bare feet that can support fully loaded limbs."

Now that's just provocative, boys, as well as ill-informed. But just because its Friday, here's a bit of free CPD for you and your colleagues.

What's your expectation?

I had an interesting conversation with a journalist at the weekend. She is looking in depth at the way vets, farriers and of course owners look at their horses' feet and she has a keen interest in both biomechanics and barefoot horses. 

I'd sent her the 2 pieces of HD hoof footage we took at the RRR (for those who are interested the original Barefoot in Slow Motion film has had nearly 32,000 plays and the Healthy Hooves film nearly 10,000 plays - not bad going, well done team!).

After reviewing both our film and footage of shod horses we got to discussing this fascinating comparison still. Above is a shod horse in trot - landing toe-first as it does in every frame of its video, including when its on hard ground.

Below is Buddy who - like every horse in our films - lands heel first in walk, trot and canter (he is also in trot in this frame). 

The shod horse looks elegant and its not lame in the footage but the way its moving is stressing soft tissue with every step and it appears unable to extend fully. To me, its movement is strikingly similar to the horses who come here for rehab - who invariably have DDFT, collateral ligament and other soft tissue damage.

I should make it clear that of course not all shod horses land this badly but it does highlight for me how many people don't recognise poor movement and poor hoof balance and the consequences this has for the horse's health.

It got me thinking about what our expectations are for our horses. 

I know that for all the owners of our ex-rehab horses, and for me, our goal is long term health and soundness - not just healthy hooves, although that's an essential first step, but correct movement which only makes the horse fitter, stronger and more balanced with time and work. 

One of the main reasons we have our horses barefoot is because of the health benefits not only to the hoof but to the whole horse. We find that horses stay sounder and have fewer injuries and are able to perform to a higher level than they were shod. It may take longer to get there but its a fantastic feeling when you do (look at yesterday's blog if you need proof!). 

As someone once said, with everything you do you are either building your horse up or breaking him down. Which are you doing? 

The weekends just get busier and busier

Now its officially Spring there just seems to be more and more going on. At Rockley I spent Saturday rolling the fields but other people had a more exciting time...

 Em and Indy went eventing - and yes, that is another rosette - they seem to make a habit of this :-)

Vic and Ruby went hunter trialling - the head-cam video is here and is great fun - I always had a feeling even when she was here that this is what Ruby was born to do and its nice to be proved right!

Claire and Holly were jumping too - these are the first jumping pics I've seen of them since the RRR and aren't they looking great?

Those ultra-consistent Blinged-Up Bullet Dodgers came 2nd in their Team Quest competition...

And at the opposite end of the country the Yorkshire bare footers were also flying the flag - another Team Quest entry and a win for Kate and Rolie's team - well done everyone!

Rockley after the eclipse

We had cloudless blue sky for the eclipse - a miracle in itself - but I failed to get any decent photos of it I'm afraid.

Instead I got these once it was over - a gorgeous, warm spring morning and - thank goodness - lovely enough for even the clipped horses to have their rugs off.

I think I'll call this one "three shades of grey"...

...aka Alfie, Merlin and Goofy...

...Ernie...

Felix says "play nicely"...

Goofy says "more sunshine please!"

A couple of happy updates...just to fit in with the spring sunshine!

The first is from Em and Indy - not content with being part of the force of nature that is the Blinged-up Bullet Dodgers they are back eventing as well...

"Indy and I completed our first One Day Event in 3.5 years today. We had a 30.5 dressage and double clear (inside the time XC for the first time ever). Came 7th which is our best ever. He felt amazing and is looking awesome."

And then, staying with the grey theme, an update on lovely Russell who went home last year:

"Just thought I would give you an update on Russell.

He did his first competition yesterday since coming back from you. He qualified for the National Pony Society dressage championships which are at Addington next month in both prelim & novice tests. Got 71%+ in prelim so delighted with him."

Many congratulations to Linda, Russell, Em and Indy - so pleased for you and what a fantastic reward for all your hard work!

Changing hooves - Alfie's update

Unfortunately I don't have brilliant comparison shots for Alfie but one of the weak aspects of his hooves when he arrived was that he had a very pinched hoof capsule at the quarters.

Its difficult to capture this in a photo - you really need a 3D model of the hoof - but you can see from this angle the difference between the old growth at the bottom and the new capsule in the top half. 

The sole comparisons also give an idea of how the hoof is broadening at the quarters and heel. Alfie still has a less then perfect frog but much better sole depth and a more balanced foot. 

As part of the strengthening of the back of his foot his heels have shortened. The top photo also shows how pinched his hoof capsule was - you can see its nipped in towards the hairline.