Stefanie's Hoof Clinic Nov 3rd, 2012

Data from the hoof clinic:

Notes:
Body Scoring:
Looks good weight
Proportional neck
good conformation, slightly over at knee and wobbling and shifting forward and back.
Left front seems more sensitive
He has a lower heel on the outside, wall has been trimmed level with sole.

 
 


X rays show thin soles, coffin bone not parallel to wall, bones not a "smooth flow" from leg to hoof. Possibly some bone thinning, strange point at tip of coffin.

Approach:

 1. Get him comfortable. This means heel first landing, accomplished by getting a collateral groove depth at the heels of 5/8-3/4". This is of paramount importance! He is tender all over the bottom of his feet, so nothing will improve if he has nowhere to stand, literally. Remembering the shaky knees and swaying.
   2. Leave him 1/8th " wall height. That means measuring from the sole. So consequently, the quarters will be lower, and deal with the flare. Flare only appears as the wall is being shoved out be to much weight, which is why we lower it....getting the visual?
   3. That BIG bevel all the way around his foot. More at the toe, tapering to the heels. Ultimately, we should have about 1/4 " width of that wall bevel pretty much all the way around. So this means....no over backing up the toe from the front. I have done this for years, and so has Alex I am betting, and well, Ace is not sound. So if something is not working, do something else. 
   4. As we are waiting for his foot to grow, I feel you can watch and keep measuring, but likely will only need to trim every 4 weeks. He simply HAS to have that bit of wall height and Bevel on his edges................
   5. Leave the frog ALONE. Except in the very central Sulcous, keep the tatty bits free. He needs to callous his frog as much as his sole plane.
All we can do is try this and build some sole under his boney column, both at the back 1/2 of his foot, under the collateral cartilages and digital cushion, and then working forward to the apex of the frog. It always goes heel to toe. Movement is huge, so we have to keep him moving and if he is uncomfortable, he won't. Shoeing at this point is only going to perpetuate the issue, and way make it worse as the internal structures then begin to pay the price even more.