Shoes mask weaknesses, barefoot highlights strengths
There are corns and corns.
Grace had multiple corns, only found when she was deshod. But none of them were quite as deep as this one.
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| LF April 2010 |
If you compare the two photos below you can see how this foot has come along. Not only is the corn now just a memory, but the heel bulbs have bulked up nicely, the digital cushion has plumped up and the whole foot is more solid. Since the corn the horse has worked through the Endurance ranks and is now competing at Advanced level.
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| LF April 2010 |
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| LF Sept 2011 |
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7 comments:
I love these pics of the changes hooves go through. So interesting and enlightening.
Are corns only associated with shoes? I've no experience of them.
as an american i'm confused by endurance ranks in europe. can you explain this to me? in america if your horse is old enough, you can do any distance you like.
this means newbies and advanced riders compete against each other.
What exactly are "corns" ... remember reading something about "the seat of corn" .. is it an old term for something like Gravels is to Abscesses?
Hi Lytha - I used to do Endurance many moons ago - its changed since my day. But in the UK I believe you still have to complete and pass the vet at certain distances before you can progress. Advanced is - again my understanding - a longer distance competition - something like 50 miles and over in a day. No doubt any UK Endurance riders will put me right as needs.
Hi Neets Human and amandap. Corns are a basically a bruise in the seat of corn. Often found under shoes when they have been left on too long or the heel has been shod too short or tight. But you can get them in barefooters too - as this one was when the corn arose. If the bar overlays it can cause a pressure bruise - and seems particularly likely to do so if it has trapped dirt or a fungal infection beneath it. This one was extreme - the foot had got very tall and the corn was extensive. The whole heel was starting to detach. But once the initial cause was removed the horse recovered very well and now has a special 'exfoliation' routine which is enacted whenever necessary to prevent it happening again.
Thanks for that Lucy. Do they just resolve over time when the cause is removed ie. no specific treatment required?
Hi Amandap so far so good; all the corns I've come across have resolved themselves once the causal factor has been removed. I was concerned about the one pictured but it grew out nicely. Could have got infected because it had become so extensive, but the carer was on the ball.
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