Gina
10 yo Anglo-Westphalian mare
03-17-08
Gina is a really lovely sweetheart! I have to give her the "most
well-behaved mare for hoof trimming" award for the month to date! She
arrived at Sun Coast over the weekend, ready to get her shoes pulled
and start living a more natural lifestyle. She will be rooming with
Gracie, and they will get lots and lots of steps moving each other
around their 50 X 80 pen.
Gina was 12 weeks out from her last shoeing, and so we had lots of
wall and spectacular sole depth to start with! Her frogs are bit
thrushy from being so recessed in her foot, but the central sulci are
open, so the infection is not chronic or deep. As always, I did a
conservative first trim, and will re-assess her in 3 or 4 days, once
her feet have had a chance to relax. I expect we will see big changes
quickly with Gina; I'll be able to optimize her trim and have her very
nicely balanced early on. She will likely transition very comfortably!
04-25-08
Gina has had a number of "touch up" trims since her shoes first came
off. Today her feet showed enough change to warrant a photo shoot.
Both of Gina's front feet showed some mediolateral imbalance from the
start, and I am gradually lowering the medial wall to balance her. She
finally shed out the last of the retained sole left from her last
shoeing, and already looks as if she will shed the next layer soon!
Her hairline on all four feet is beginning to relax and not look so
bunched up. Her frogs have improved with regular applications of
thrush paste, but still have a way to go before they are robust and
healthy. After today's trim, her frogs are finally making some ground
contact. Right front has improved dramatically balance-wise; left
front is still wider laterally with a very curved bar on the lateral
side and very straight medial bar. We will start treating the frogs a
little more aggressively with some 8 hour White Lightening Gel
treatments. 07-24-08 Finally managed to
get some new pictures of Gina's feet! Gina's mediolateral
balance continues to improve gradually. Both front feet were
stretching fairly dramatically on the lateral quarter, and that issue
has all but disappeared. The curved bar on the lateral left
front is now much straighter; the stretched quarter must have pulled
that bar with it, creating the curve. Gina has very healthy
white line connection, nice concavity, and tough, calloused sole! |
