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May 2006.
Patch's hoof before his first natural trim
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May 2006.
Notice the dark splotches on the sole of his
hoof
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Nov 2006.
Note improved hoof angle. (Measurements are
tracked with a permanent marker)
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Meet Patch
Rehabilitating horse's hooves is not always an overnight success.
Some horses' hooves can take time; Patch is one of those horses.
Patch is a healthy happy quarter horse,
bred for cutting and reining. I suspect his training was started
quite young, which is the normal practice for these horses.
This early training often causes these horses to be arthritic
and unsound at a very young age.
Patch was purchased by his owner in 2000
when he six years old. He was quite an athlete until May of
2005 when he came up lame two weeks after a new set of shoes.
The shoes were immediately removed and x-rays taken, but the
films were inconclusive. He has a bit of calcification at
P2, (small pastern bone) but probably not enough to cause
him to short-stride on his right leg as dramatically as he
does.
His owner kept him barefoot, to allow
him time to heal, but his condition didn't improve. His lameness
was, and still is, a mystery.
In May 2006 Patch's owner contacted me
for help. He lived quite a distance from me, but I can never
resist a challenge. I found Patch to be in excellent health
and hoof care overall was okay. He had a slight flaring issue
which can cause stretching of the white line, and his angles
didn't seem to be way off, but he was also not where he should
have been. These issues were noted, but typically don't cause
the kind of lameness Patch was experiencing.
After his first few natural trims, Patch
didn't seem to display any noticeable improvement to his gait.
He had good days, but mostly he was the same.
Patch is such a sweetheart and his case
is so interesting (and frustrating), that I adopted him and
brought him home. I wanted to see if frequent trims (every
2 - 4 weeks) might be the key to improving the angle of his
hooves and help him reach his goal of soundness. He and I
have since bonded.
In October 2006 Patch began showing improvement
off and on. At liberty, he chose to trot and run more frequently
than when I first brought him home, but the short-striding
was still noticeable most the time.
Hoof Trimming Plan
Patch will continue to get trims every 2 - 4 weeks to improve
his hoof angle and length, while growing out a complete new
hoof capsule.
November 2006: Patch's hoof angle is improving.
The angle is not nearly as flat and his heels are coming back
and up under him. This newly balanced hoof should gradually
cause him to be more comfortable.
Stay tuned for updates on Patch's progress.
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