Barefoot Fred - loses his stilettos and turns back the clock

LH - left 14/10/10; right 01/12/10

This is Fred, first met in October.  He used to trip, a lot!.  The hoof care professional looking after him was unwilling to remove any hoof height 'couldn't be done'.

So to start with on 14/10/10 (left hand picture) we removed his shoes.  He stopped tripping after his first post deshoeing trim.  Since then he has been hacking mostly on the road, but also on some softer field and woodland surfaces. 

With two further trims and his own efforts you can see the foot is much shorter.

Buff/orange line - to help me line up coronary bands
Red lines (both the same length) - to check I've sized the pictures properly
Red circle - nail holes
Blue lines (both the same length) - shows the difference in toe length of hoof

His 'Mum' commented yesterday that he is in overall better health, seems younger, happier and more comfortable (to ride) and in himself.  And he is standing so much better too - and he is 'smiling' :-)

We still have to work on decontraction and somewhat dodgy frogs, but not bad for under 7 weeks :-)