Sisco's 4 week update

Sisco gets the last update, only fair as he arrived a few days after the other rehab horses so only got to 4 weeks on Tuesday! I like the fact that his hairline no longer collapses at the back but this foot still has a lot of work to do to rebuild. 

His toe is shortening though and he is, importantly, much sounder than he was even though his landing on a hard surface is still toe first. On conformable surfaces he is heel first so that's what he needs at the moment. 

Hard to see much change from this angle but in reality he is engaging his palmar hoof more readily.  

Although his toe is still long and his heel under-run at ground level notice what a change there is right at the top. As this grows down it should result in a stronger heel, frog and digital cushion. 

From the sole you can see that his toe is slowly shortening though this will take time. You could mechanically shorten his toe with a trim, which would improve appearances, but at the moment this would impair his soundness so we won't be doing that. 

Poppy's 4 week update

Moving onto Poppy for today's update, she was the soundest of the rehab horses when she arrived. She'd been out of shoes for several months and had a heel first landing which was a recent change for her from toe first.

She did have quite contracted frogs despite this and its good to see the back of her foot starting to become less pinched (the lower photo is the more recent. as usual).  

This foot is looking better balanced now and also has a stronger digital cushion though she still has a way to go - her frog is still relatively weak and I would expect her palmar hoof to develop a lot more over the next few weeks and months. 

No dramatic changes from this angle; her feet were already fairly neat when she arrived. 

 I like the fact that her frog is straighter and more central to her leg now but there is still an imbalance on this foot and its still weak as the ridge of sole demonstrates. 

Looking better from a palmar view but still stronger feet are required and will take time to grow. 

Humphrey's 4 week update

Continuing with the updates its time for Humphrey to feature on today's blog. 

Over the 4 weeks he has been here he has gone from landing toe first to a better, heel first landing (his footage is below) and although he still needs to build his palmar hoof up further you can see the changes in his photos as well. 

 Dry feet always photograph better than wet feet unfortunately but he has a broader frog today (below) and his toe is shorter as well. 

A clearly better digital cushion and this should improve again now he is consistently landing better. 

 He is also happier to load this foot now than he was on arrival and again a better landing has allowed the palmar hoof to build. 

 Again, a better frog and more balanced foot, both good signs. 

Humphrey's footage is here: https://vimeo.com/manage/327023706

Mac's 4 week update

Emma came down to visit Mac at the weekend so we seized the opportunity and took photos and video after we had all been out for a ramble up the road.

 Mac has been out of shoes for a good while but had struggled to develop a confident heel first landing; when he arrived he was ok on the RF but not on the LF and historically his issues have flipped from foot to foot. 

He also had a media-lateral imbalance on this foot which meant he was landing slightly to the outside. This has now improved and the photos also show a more balanced foot today (the lower photo in each case). 

He has only just started landing better and its not completely established yet so I would want to see further improvement in his palmar hoof over the next few weeks. 

Apologies, the angle doesn't make for a good comparison but this is the foot he was landing better on when he arrived. 

He also had better medio-lateral balance on this foot so not surprisingly there are fewer changes. 

Mac's updated footage is here: https://vimeo.com/327741570

Billy's 4 week update

The current rehab horses have been here 4 weeks this weekend so its time for a proper assessment of how they have got on so far and what progress they have made. I'm starting with Billy as he had the most problematic feet when he arrived.  

The other horses had all been out of shoes for weeks (or in some cases months) before they arrived but Billy came in bar shoes and pads. Initially therefore he had a bigger adjustment than the other horses as he had to go from a sole and frog which were completely covered by a thick pad to bare, and from taking all his weight on the periphery of his feet to loading more centrally.  

This meant that he took longer than the other horses to become comfortable on tough surfaces. As his palmar hoof was particularly weak he has also taken longer to go from landing toe first out of shoes. his landing is flatter now than it was initially but he is not yet heel first (he had an exaggerated heel first landing in his bar shoes).

However, he has made some good progress over 4 weeks and I am particularly pleased with how his comfort levels have improved over the last 10 days or so. He has grown out his nail holes and the new hoof growth is looking stronger and more supportive.  

He has also started to grow a more robust frog and his toe is beginning to shorten as well. His heels are still under-run but as he can now move more correctly on good surfaces his palmar hoof should strengthen fairly quickly.  

Billy's footage shows that he is getting close to a better landing - he has it on a good surface but is not quite there yet on a hard surface: https://vimeo.com/327427793