In The Groove

The collateral groove, that it is--Tiff finally has one! I know this might seem a bit prosaic, but on a horse recovering from a severe founder, it is big news! Since pictures speak 1,000 words, let's get right to it.

Left Front 12/10/11

Here, you can see how the giant flare that used to be on the medial wall was pulling the entire hoof off kilter--the tubules

are all growing towards the medial wall. This is such strong evidence for proper trimming!

Right Front 12/10/11

And post-trim video (please excuse my 4-year-old voice and temporary predilection for the word breakfast):

Left Front 12/15/11

Look at the angle of the new growth--it shows you how completely off-base her previous farrier was with her trimming. The old hoof angle is a totally man-made distortion. The new growth shows you the hoof angle that the horse wants to grow.

Tiff popped a small abscess during this trim--you can see the holes near the medial quarter.

Abscessing is just part of this process and certainly not a big cause for concern,
especially as Tiff gets White Lightning soaks every other day

Right Front 12/15/11

This hoof is looking SO much better--the area of separation has closed,

concavity is developing, and the bruising is resolving

I also finally found my light-box and was able to take pics of Tiffany's rads. These were taken 11/9/11, two days after her first trim with Candy. They're not exactly the best pics, but then again the X-rays aren't crystal clear either. However, they're good enough to give us a good idea of where the coffin bone is in relation to the hoof capsule.

Right Front

Left Front

Obviously, there is some rotation; but it actually is not that bad. In fact, we were all pleasantly surprised by how good her hooves look. You can see that there's a lot of extra material that needs to come off, which we have been doing gradually. You can also see (on the original rads, at least) that she has some arthritis between P2 & P3, which is to be expected considering she's 21 years old. All in all, these X-rays are fairly unremarkable. In a few months, we'll have a new set shot for comparison.

Meanwhile, the Foundered Mare Horsepital Wing of the barn has a pretty little chestnut for a new patient. :-) Stay tuned for an update on Sassy Foundered Mare II, Lucy!