Rapid Improvements Showing Now!

It's a year since the RF photo in the right hand column of his blog was taken. What great changes have taken place since then!

Wet Weather

It has been so wet for 2months continuously & this fact shows clearly in the soles of all my horses. Sonny has pits & erosions galore but I know from previous experience they will fill in once the ground dries up a bit. The frogs will fill out again too within days.

Weekly Trims are order of the day

I have been trimming at least weekly when weather permits but have not been uploading all photos. There are great improvements now. One week I will redo the toe bevel making it stronger, then the next week I will do the heels & redress the toe bevel a little (as I have done for these photos). I have found this method best to prevent soreness which can happen when having to take a strong bevel or toe rocker between the pillars to remove leverage off the toe wall as the new tighter angle grows down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heel height reducing

The periople & general heel bulb height is shrinking now that the heel tubules are standing straight up rather than laying down & running under & forward. That in itself is a major step forward. The hairline will soon be at the right angle again. Cleaning out all the ingrown bar material that was jamming up the back of P3 is what has enabled the back of the hoof to settle back into a normal shape again.

Plus a tighter new angle is growing down the toe which will soon need a lot more help to keep on track. It will need a much stronger rocker along with removing a fair bit of the toe wall at ground level. I have been at this point several times before & obviously not taken a strong enough action because I have lost the new tight angle every time. That has allowed the toe to run forward even more each time.

 

A Matched Pair

It is gratifying to see that both fronts now look like a matched pair again after 2 or so years.

 

 

Exercises!

Sonny is happy to fling himself around at speed in the very wet conditions. He digs his toes in & levers himself off them for full-on cavorting of twisting, bucking, rearing & cutting moves, although I haven’t seen him galloping recently. So his toes must not be sore anymore at least.

Here are is the link to the rest of todays photos in my Photobucket album here:-  http://s340.photobucket.com/user/claireT_2008/library/2013%20%20all%20photos/2013%20April%20Sonnys%20Feet