It's not always about the fronts and some heavy petting :-)

I get very fond of all the horses I do, but I have to be honest there are some that are a bit special.  This post features one of those.

I don't think I have ever deshod a horse that was in as much pain as this guy.  His face was literally wrung out with it.  We just got on with it, gave him a tiny bit of very gentle hand walking to help get his circulation back and then put him to bed.

The next time I did him was one of those moments I will remember for the rest of my life.  I can't say he was sound, that would be an over stretch, but he was so much more comfortable.  But the remarkable bit was his behaviour.  He was all over me like a rash.  The 'snog' had all the enthusiasm and intensity of a brand new puppy meeting friends.

During his trim, any time he could reach he spent with his lips in my hair wufferling and snuffling and generally making up. Talk about heart breaker! :-)

Then came the tougher times. A stitch was found in his shoulder and the vet upon removing it pronounced he would always be lame and that the owner would have to get him remedially shod and put him on daily bute.
Any time he backed up he had trouble with his hinds and he just couldn't 'come through'.

His owner - a genuine horse woman who always puts her horses interests first - decided that in the light of previous experience (she had had similar diagnoses on previous horses which came sound bare) and the fact that he had been so lame in his natural balance shoes that she would keep him bare and give him the time he needed.

Wind forward 9 months or so and he is sound in walk and trot on hard surfaces.  He's not been cantered on the road............  he can back up as well :-)

A lot of the time, the focus is on the front feet as these are often the bigger problem.  But for this guy, although his fronts weren't brilliant, his hinds have undergone the bigger change.



These feet may seem 'odd' when compared to the parameters that some schools of thought set.  But the final test is 'sound or lame'.  And he was very lame and now he is sound.  So I'm figuring this guy is happy with that.

And as always congrats and big hugs for the carer for putting the horse's welfare first.

Oh and can you see the changes?  Note that he was shod in NB shoes which were a little more than 1.5 inches apart at the heel.



LFS March

LFS June

LFS Aug

LFSR March

LFSR June

LFSR Aug

LHS March

LHS June

LHS Aug

LHSR March

LHSR June

LHSR Aug



Barefoot - its a whole horse thing

Regular followers will have seen some of these pictures before.

I want to show how if there are metabolic, physical or stress issues these have to be dealt with as part of the transition. When a horse is not 'whole horse' healthy, it is likely to show in the feet and even the best trim in the world can't fix a poor diet or a stressful environment.

Just deshod, flare and stress rings clearly evident

Today, the foot is in better shape, but the lower two thirds is full of stress rings. The last big ring about 1/3 the way down was from when she had an allergic reaction to a vaccination.

Just deshod, heel contraction clearly evident

Today, foot decontracted

At least two severe laminitic episodes are evident in the stress rings. It would appear there was some separation. (I used off fore for this shot because the picture was much clearer, but both fores are the same)

The separation has grown out and the foot is a much better shape, but there are still stress rings, albeit much fainter than before


Just deshod - this foot is a mess of shedding sole, lack of trimming and thrush, it is misleading as to the true picture of what is going on with the foot

A bit later, the sole has shed out (this was not trimmed), the overlaid bars were trimmed and the wall tidied up and rolled. This picture shows how 'sick' the wall is. Very thin with little water line - it disappears altogether in the back half of the foot. The sole is completely flat, with very little depth to the collateral groove. The shape is more indicative of a hind, but its actually the near fore.

Same foot now. The heels have broadened, the shape is rounder and although its hard to see in this photo there is more depth to the foot.


But holistically this is still a sick horse. If you looked at her in the 'traditional' way you might not think so - her coat is shiny, she eats well, her eyes are bright and full of interest.

But her feet still hurt sometimes. Especially when she has been turned out on grass, or has suffered some stress. True she can manage a lot more surfaces than she could and she is happy to work on a circle both ways. But her feet lack sufficient concavity, her walls are still a bit thin, she has stress rings and struggles on lumpy concrete.

Until these issues go away I will not consider my job done. And my work won't be completed with a trim; its about diet, building her confidence so that she gets less stressed, repairing her immune system and then giving her enough appropriate exercise.

It's really easy to lame a horse with a bad trim, but the best trim in the world won't fix a horse if the other aspects are not properly addressed.