In response to a request. How to judge solar depth? Without the training it can be hard to gauge sole depth and it is jolly difficult to do by photo. Trust me, there are some horse care professionals who can't do it even with hoof in hand.
And solar thickness in isolation is not 'the answer'. The hoof health has to be taken as a whole. That said a thin sole is problematic. Here are a few of the hooves I have worked on at various stages in their journey.
A random selection with a host of issues. I make no comment on white line stretch, bruising, abscesses etc.
Some of the hooves were declared 'genetically' flat/thin. You might be pleased to learn these got just as thick as the 'genetically' better ones, once the diet, exercise and so forth were improved.
Thought you might find the pictures interesting. All hooves featured have thickened up. Please note that hooves can go in the other direction just as fast. If you are not sure how to judge depth, get an AANHCP trimmer to help you.
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1 Decontracting, sole thickening |
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2 Oblique view of previous |
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3 Getting depth, lacks concavity |
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4 Recent deshod, flat, almost convex, quite thin, contracted |
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5 Thin, flexes under pressure |
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6 Thin, flexes under pressure, infected |
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7 Thick enough, getting concavity, decontracting |
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8 Very thin, very flexible, newly deshod |
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9 Very thin, very flexible, newly deshod |
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10 As previous |
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11 Thin, no concavity |
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12 Getting thicker, building concavity |
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13 Previous v.thin/flexy getting thicker & concavity, decontracting |
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14 As previous |
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15 As previous |
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16 Hind from earlier, thicker, some concavity, infection/splits gone |
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17 Previous, alternate view |
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18 Don't let overall shape mislead, thick enough |
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19 Thick enough, watch for false sole |
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20 Previous pancake flat getting thicker & developing concavity |
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21 As previous |
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22 Earlier hoof, thickening, more concave, no more flexing |
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23 Oblique view previous |
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24 Heel view previous |
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25 Thick enough, getting ready to exfoliate |
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26 Previous - layers of sole clearly visible |
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27 Previous - another view |
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28 Previous, stripes from boot, sole flaking naturally |
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29 Thick enough, flat, works mostly on road |
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30 Previously thin, getting thicker |
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31 Heel view previous |
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32 Gaining concavity, thickness, frog torn in accident, new frog underneath |
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33 Getting there, still contracted |
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34 Heel view previous |
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35 Very thin, very flexible, deshod day before |
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36 As previous |
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37 Progress of previous, a way to go yet |
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38 Getting there |
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39 Classic, traditional 'looks ok' but is actually quite thin |
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40 Classic, traditional 'looks ok' but is actually quite thin,
but thicker than it was |
3 comments:
u have an award on my blog, for you!
Regarding the pics..#8 picture counting from bottom up...how can I tell that heel is contracted? I have a hard time seeing that/those?
Also, is it better to let a sole that is calussed, come off on it's own slowly vs digging it out?
Wow is this close to my heart right now. My horse is fighting front feet that won't keep sole on. They are improving angle-wise, but just keep losing sole. In shoes right now, mostly to keep pads on. Horse is 100% crippled without the pads. Ugh!!
Could you do another post about the markers for measuring sole thickness? I'm still confused about that.
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