I think it would be prudent to include a hoof diagram so we all know what the heck I'm talking about.
More than we should, I think we horsemen tend to imagine hooves as static, un-moldable pillars--I know I did. I am shocked (shocked!) to see what drastic progress has been made in the shape of her hooves, heels and frogs in just 14 short days.
When her frogs and heels hit a wall after the first week and looked like they were threatening to stay where they were (still very contracted), I began to suspect she might have some thrush way up in her frogs that was causing her some pain now that they were actually expanding and contracting. She was standing like her heels were sore, and while she'd still go onto the gravely areas, I decided it was worth treating as if she had thrush to see what would happen.
I can't say for sure if the thrush treatment did it, but wow--what a difference. I applied an easy topical to the hoofpick-deep crack in the back of her heels and all over the frog. It immediately began shedding layers, her heels dropped and spread and now her hooves look pretty fantastic. I'm still hitting her with the topical every other day or so.
She is also starting to land flat on her hooves instead of toe first, and even steps heel first occasionally (!!), which is SO exciting for her long-term soundness.
Looking at before pictures I never realized how toe-first her landings were in shoes. I thought she was just a short strided horse. But now I wonder if all the toe-first landings weren't spelling trouble for her navicular bone and a bunch of other structures. Hmmmm...
So, without further ado...the proof is in the pictures!
Front right, 5/8/12--2 days barefoot
Front left, 5/8/12
Left front 5/8/12--note the upward stress (curve) in the coronet band for comparison later!
Left front, 5/8/12--chunk of wall missing and deep cracks in the heel buttresses
At this point I really started to think about what the hooves were "telling" me. I looked at the stress marks, cracks, chips and missing wall. I realized the hoof was trying to mold into a different shape...and I realized I could help relieve some pressure with careful filing.
The heel buttresses had to come down...they were starting to crack which told me there was way too much stress on them. They were way too far forward and not supporting the heel at all. So I carefully brought them back and even with a file over several days:
Left front/right front, 5/12/12, after taking the heels down/back...this is about the time I start to suspect thrush! Those heels just look painful.
Right front/left front 5/15/12--treating for thrush x 3 days, what a difference! Look at how much more relaxed and spread her heels are. She's also shed a bunch of dead frog tissue. Whole hoof has expanded, toe growing like crazy. Day 9!
Left front/right front--Day 11! 5/17/12: Heels have dropped, they actually make contact with the ground for the first time in 3 years! Whole hoof is looking much more rounded and I am ecstatic with her progress.
5/17/12--profile of left front hoof as before. Coronet band has relaxed significantly from 5/8/12 but still has a ways to go.
Present day, 5/20/12...
Looky here! Same foot, same coronet band, 14 days post shoes. No arch at all!
Look how round! It's far from perfect, but look how much more healthy! False sole that was so embedded I couldn't even tell it was there has almost all shed off...
Front right with beautiful concavity!
Her front right, the "better" foot, is almost ROUND! I cannot believe it! Go back and look at those first set of photos.
Front right from the side to show how her frogs actually TOUCH THE GROUND! Whoopee!
I am just amazed at her progress. I couldn't be happier with how she's adapting to the barefoot life. I might become one of those crazy barefoot people!
She freely chooses to go over gravel, walks out nicely and looks comfortable. I did notice some minor swelling here and there in her legs (especially during the first week) as she adjusted to the different angles, but that's pretty much all disappeared now and a couple trims down the road I think she will be looking awesome.
It's always good to go the conservative route rather than going for heroic big changes--she walked off sound from this first trim despite being in shoes for almost 4 years--we didn't take a ton off and I'm glad.
Now that her feet are getting proper circulation they are growing like CRAZY.
Using the nail holes as a guide, I'd say she's grown out almost 3/4" of hoof in two weeks.
As a comparison, the hoof is usually completely replaced every 9 months. For most horses, that means 1/4-2/5" of growth every four weeks. I'm thrilled! Her hooves are really responding to the increased circulation.
I wish I had taken some measurements in the beginning, because her entire hoof has completely changed shape. It went from an oval with a contracted heel, to a nice, round, functional heel-and-frog-touching-the-ground kind of foot. I think it's expanded at least 3/4" as well. It is truly amazing. The hoof isn't a static body part at all!
I attribute a lot of this to her environment, and I don't think going barefoot was an option before when she was in a small, soggy pen. She has four dry acres to roam on, with sand, grass, dirt, rocks, gravel--all the right things for conditioning the newly-barefoot hoof.
Would you like to see how the rest of the horse is doing?
The coveted dinnertime grain ration
And this is the other place she spends a lot of her time (the hay feeder):
"Are you quite sure 4 flakes is enough?"
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