I was super happy when the trimmer didn't have to do much. I've been experimenting with the "mustang roll" (bevelling the edges of the walls) and I was happy that she never took her hoof trimmers out. She just tidied the frogs, and balanced each foot with a rasp. I've never had a farrier take so much time on each aspect of each foot. I am being honest when I say she spent 4 hours with me, teaching me, and trimming. I'm so glad she didn't ask for 4 times as much money as I only paid her for an hour's work!
She took professional photos of each hoof, all angles, and looking at those photos now, I feel like I've never really "seen" Baasha's feet before. Apparently looking down on a hoof is not enough, you have to get your perspective down at hoof level and take a look. A dangerous place to stick your head, but thankfully, the camera caught the truth for us. I can see every flare, every imbalance, clearly.
RF sole-view, 12 Sept. Black is not a good color in a frog. See how shrivelled and sad it looks?
RF sole-view 3 Oct.I wanted to post a before and after, and I am happy to say this photo was taken just before the professional trim yesterday. The improvement was due to the continuous turnout, the long slow trail riding that stimulated growth, and I hope, my own efforts at learning to hold a rasp.
LF, sole view, 3 Oct. Baasha has one very bad frog, a case of thrush probably from being confined in quarantine to a stall. I have taken on this poor frog as a project, to bring it back to the full, fat size like the other three, is my goal. Interestingly, this is the foot he favors, the foot with ringbone. If the horrid creatures eating away at his foot are causing the sensitivity, all the joint supplements in the world will not show any improvement in his gaits. This photo shows his "project frog" - my poor baby, I hope he pulls through! Amazingly, the last 20 years he often had frogs that looked like this, and I never really knew anything, I just used koppertox in wintertime. My opinion now is that koppertox is just a little too toxic to encourage healthy frog growth, and why the heck did I have to use it so regularly over the last 20 years? Perhaps cuz his frogs, being protected by shoes, never had contact with the ground, ever?
I just ordered a tube of the good stuff, this german whatchamacallit medicine. Updates will follow, of course. I've been photographing his feet since July, and I am excited about the documentary of changes that are happening.
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10 comments:
Hi Lytha! I recommend checking out Mrs Mom's blog Oh Horse Feather's. She's great with hooves and has been putting up some great posts on the topic. She also welcomes questions. She's been doing hoof rehab on Sonny and his feet are coming along much better now.
Here's her blog addy:
http://ohhorsefeathers.blogspot.com/
cdncowgirl,
Yup, I read her entries on Sonny's frog, cringed, and went, "oh no, that looks familiar..."
The best way to prevent that? Let your 24 hour turnout be in Arizona.
As soon as I have my own place, I'm layin down gravel! For now, I'll just go ride on it as often as possible. It's as wet as Seattle here, and I'm pullin out the big guns: ) We'll see what happens!
~lytha
Hey Lytha! I just found your blog and I love it!
Will you be writing more about the non-horsey aspects of moving half way across the world? It would be great to be able to look back on your writing years from now and see what you were thinking.
blog 451,
thanks for reading! actually, i keep a blog of my non-horsey life but it's only available to my friends and family.
i was talking about horses waaaay too much, so i had to make this blog.
~lytha
Lytha,
Thank you for commenting on my blog about barefoot trims. You are so correct in your feelings about barefoot hooves. The only way things will change for the good of the horse though, I think, is for the most old traditional farriers and vets do die off. They are so entrenched on their thinking. New horse owners are the ones who are open minded and open to learning what's healthiest for their horses.
Your horses hooves are looking great! Good job!
I love your blog! I was reading some older posts and you mentioned your horse dreaming of running because the legs were moving. I two have horse who does that and was so surprised to read about someone else's horse doing that. I've seen Cricket dreaming two times now. The first time, I was scared out of my mind. I was sure she was dying! Her eyes were open, her tongue was hanging out and lolling around on the ground as her legs were moving so hard it was raising her hips up and down off the ground. I thought I was witnessing her death! I screamed her name out and she woke up and got up and looked at me as if to say, what the heck did you have to scare me like that for? I was sleeping so good! The second time I saw it, I was almost as alarmed at what I was seeing, but remembered, that's just what she does. So weird. I think horses dream more than we are aware, we just don't get to see it very often. Funny.
Thanks again,
Pat
hoofreoovery.blogspot.com
pat,
cricket dreams of running too, cool: ) i thought mine was the only one! it's weird to experience something with horses that i've never seen in any of the literature.
when you come to germany to give a clinic, let me know: ) for now, i'm hooked up with ariane reaves, the lady who did the german translations of paige poss' and marjorie smith's websites. lucky me, she lives less than an hour from me.
~lytha
p.s. koppertox is not permitted in germany
Hey, I ran across you blog and thought I'd comment on the hoof photos since I'm a bare foot trimmer myself. His toes look looong, I'd defiantly take them back quite a bit. Do you have side photos to look at instead of just bottoms?
You really don't want the toe stretching out as it is now, it cases the forwards flare, and stretches the white line and separates the wall from the internal hoof.
What 'type' of trimming does your trimmer do?
Anyways! enough questions! your horse is lovely and I'm glad you have both settled well in Germany. Good luck to you!
Hey Lytha! Thanks again for emailing over that pic of your big grey pal, and telling me to stop in here. I am glad I made the time to do so! Baasha is a beauty, and his hooves are looking mighty fine. ;)
I'd love to know what the German wondergoop is too, and look forward to hearing how it works for you guys.
Look at allll that room to ride... and allll the HORSES. WOW. Too cool. Sounds like you and that handsome steed are in for some amazing adventures there on the other side of the pond!
Looking forward to chatting more with you!
Lytha-
So sorry that your new home is as wet as your old home...I bet Baasha was hoping for the desert...lol!!!
Good luck with your new barefoot hoof endeavor. Some people have really great success going barefoot, while others don't. We have two who can go without, or at least partially(hinds are bare), and one who must have pads...ick!!!
Nice to meet you! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures in Germany. My horse had a coffin bone fracture a year and a half ago, so she will always have to wear shoes on her front.
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