I am thrilled with the changes occuring now!

Today I trimmed Sonny's fronts & the positive changes are amazing!

 

Firstly was the sight of soil trapped in the sole this morning. For the average person looking under a hoof, that would be a normal sight. But for me & Sonny, it is the first time I have seen that for at least 2yrs. His feet have been so flat that not a grain of soil could be caught under his hoof.

 

 

I had to soak his feet in boots for about 4hrs before I did the trim . I put his boots on first thing this morning when they came up from grazing in the long grass which had a little moisture in it from overnight dew. It made today’s trim so much easier, particularly being able to remove all the flaking material off the sole. I took this shot during the trim to show how much is flaking off now.

The general quality of the walls is vastly improved. They no longer bend under his weight. Now there is enough wall height & strength to raise the sole off the ground allowing room for the frog to thicken up some.

 

 

 The sole of LF is receding which creates a wider rim of wall, evident in the photos of that hoof before I trimmed half of it off today. The LF is the white hoof & it has been bigger than the RF for some time. It's great to see it now coming back to the same size as the right. This shot was taken before I rasped the walls.

 The other thing I have been watching with great excitement is the bony column now rising up through the hoof capsule. It is evidenced by the lower pastern now not showing any signs of sidebone or ringbone that people said he had earlier last year. I always felt it was just the sole so thin it had let the bony column fall down somewhat. I'm really glad to see it reversing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I'm also realizing Sonny is much more comfortable if I leave some wall height after the trim so the frog doesn't get flattened so much & it keeps his soles off the ground so he can walk easier. He is even walking across my stony driveway with relative ease. I can't remember how long it is since he could do that.

 

Finally I think I have now found the bar roots although it's still a way to go before there will be bars. I cropped & enlarged this photo of what I think is the root of the RF bars.

 The periople of the LF is getting shorter & the hairline is getting closer to the ground even though I am leaving the heels a tad taller. I'm assuming that means the inner structures are beginning to regain correct alignment.

 One of THE most amazing things is that the RF sole actually now has room for the frog to have some thickness to it. That means the 'founder' is most likely gone/finished/abated. Use whatever word you please! It doesn't mean the hoof is out of danger as it is still quite sore inside. I guess the internal structures are yet to regrow properly.

 

 

There is now actual inner & outer wall to bevel. It's so much easier to trim when all the components of the hoof are in place! Although I did get carried away when doing the RF & took too much off as can be seen in the above photo. I was trying to hurry as the sun had caught up to where I had set up under a tree for the trim & I was getting hot. The day was already in the high 90's (35C) at 9am. The heat here is still quite oppressive with really low humidity.

 

Please compare this photo above with the one at the top of the far right column of this blog entitled 'Sonny's worst hoof'.

All in all I am really thrilled with the progress now evident in his feet.

Here is the link to the rest of today’s photos which are all dated 21-01-2013

http://photobucket.com/2013_January_Sonnys_Feet

 

I have found some really firm durable rubber matting which might make suitable pads for inside his Trail boots so we can start some riding again. Tomorrow's plan is if the day is cooler as predicted, I'll put his boots on him with the newly cut pads & see how his legs & feet feel after a couple hours of wear. The rubber is quite firm being bonded from 2 different layers yet there is a little bit of yield in the top brown layer. My main interest is to see whether the rubber holds it's shape or if it completely submits to the shape of his sole & then starts going flat. The bottom black courser layer is quitre strong & stiff. The matting is made from old vehicle tyres.