Toe first landing to heel first landing

These are stills taken from Rose's footage which is up here: https://vimeo.com/224921839. Like most horses when they arrive here for rehab, Rose was landing toe first and monitoring how feet are loading and landing is a critical part of rehabilitation. 

I would expect her landing to improve still further over the next few months but she has made really good progress. 

These stills are from Teddy's footage: https://vimeo.com/224923774. Like Rose he has been here over 12 weeks and there is a clear improvement in how he is landing.  

You can also see that the effect of a heel first landing is automatically to increase stride length. A toe first landing conversely will always mean a shortened stride.

How to stop feet collapsing - Rose's 12 week update

Its always interesting to look back at the initial photos when horses arrive and compare them with how their feet have changed in the 12 weeks of rehab with us. 

Rose's feet really were quite collapsed behind on day one. You can see the palmar hoof overhanging her heels and how her long toe was giving no support to the limb. Naturally she was landing toe first and she had been diagnosed with DDFT damage. She had previously had surgery to repair it but the tear had recurred which is not surprising given how she was landing. 

Twelve weeks later and we have a more respectable looking foot which is better able to support the limb and a stronger palmar hoof which is able to land heel first. This has taken the pressure of her DDFT and she is much sounder. 

Deterioration in the back of the foot is not something which happens overnight and consequently it also takes time to rebuild. It never ceases to amaze me how fundamentally horses' feet can change - either strengthening or weakening.  

This is a nice illustration of the fact that hooves do not like to load primarily on hoof wall. Rose has not been trimmed but as her palmar hoof has become stronger the frog, sole and digital cushion have developed and hoof wall has worn away to give her a more balanced and supportive foot. 

This foot was less extreme but still had similar issues to the right foot. 

This foot was far less under-run and she was able to start landing heel first on this foot sooner than on the right foot as a result. 

 Apologies for the funky camera angles - I think I was blinded by the sunlight this morning!

Teddy's 12 week update

Teddy has now been here just over 12 weeks so its time for his update. He arrived with his left foot much weaker than his right and he had been diagnosed on MRI with bilateral navicular bursitis and DDFT damage together with further collateral ligament damage to his left foot. 

When he arrived he was landing toe first and he also had a split in his central sulcus on this foot which was contributing to his poor landing. 

You can see that his new growth is just over halfway down his hoof capsule and that it is much stronger than the old growth; his weak hoof wall has also improved. 

The central sulcus split is still evident but it is no longer sore and he has been happy to land heel first for some time now. I use Veterinus derma-gel to treat these sorts of splits, something I discovered earlier this year, and it does a marvellous job. 

From this angle the depth of the split is clearer to see as it went right up into the hairline originally; it has now almost closed up. 

 This was his better foot to start with but it is now considerably less under-run and again the hoof wall is stronger and denser. 

The shorter toe and stronger palmar hoof can also be seen from this angle although the changes are not as dramatic as in his left foot. 

But from the caudal view the change in frog strength is quite clear and you can also see a huge difference in the digital cushion. Unfortunately I can't include video footage as I am short of pairs of hands to lead horses for me but I will add it as soon as I can. 

Dazzle's first 4 weeks

I took these photos yesterday but didn't have time to upload them. They are a nice illustration of how fast feet can change given the right circumstances. 

Dazzle's hooves weren't terrible by any means when he arrived but they are so much better now.  

He now has a really confident heel first landing which is enabling him to really work on strengthening the back of his hoof. 

His feet don't look all that different from the lateral view because they weren't particularly under-run when he arrived; this is why assessing at feet from several angles is crucial. 

Since his toe has not got shorter the difference in the proportions of his foot is purely due to the increase in his frog and digital cushion. 

Finally here is his footage: https://vimeo.com/223156679

Four week Dash

Dash arrived just over 4 weeks ago  - his photos really should have gone up on Monday but he had to wait till the new girls had had their day in the sun.

From this angle the new growth at the top of his hoof is already clear and you can see that his foot will be much more upright once it has fully grown in. 

He has gone from landing toe first to fractionally heel first which you can also see in the way his frog is developing. 

The whole back of his foot is broader now and his  foot will be much more supportive too with the widest point being further towards the back of the foot. 

Still a long way to go with a weak digital cushion but its early days and he is heading in the right direction. 

As with the right foot, this is more upright and already looking stronger. Once the whole hoof capsule has grown in his whole foot will be less under-run and have a shorter toe. 

It certainly looks as if Dash has ambitious plans to grow a really good foot!

Dash's footage is up here: https://vimeo.com/223156287