Welcome to The Thoughtful Horseman, dedicated to Healthy Horsekeeping in San Diego, California

Nico is a spectacularly handsome boy...you should see this big horse move, and that was before he was barefoot! I can't wait to see him once he gets a feel for his new, iron free feet. Like his roommate, Romanov, Nico was wonderful with his feet (although he did mistake Kristi's arm for a carrot at one point...)

Nico's big, round feet shed plenty of sole once his shoes came off. He has adequate collateral groove depth at the apex of the frog, which means there is a good layer of sole between the ground and his coffin bone. However, his feet are a bit soft and fungus-y, and may take some time to callous and toughen. His heels are nice and wide, (gotta love these big, heavy horses that simply outweigh the worst effects of heel contraction!) and while his frogs are slightly thrushy, they are also broad and tough. His front feet have a little flaring, but are well balanced. His hind feet show very noticeable mediolateral imbalance, with the medial wall on both hinds much longer than the lateral. I will address that gradually over several trims.

I've done a few touch up trims so far, but today was an official re-trim. Nico has been a bit off on his right front; barely noticeable the first week, a little more pronounced the second week. Upon trimming some bar and exfoliating sole on the medial right front, I uncovered bruising that likely explains his tenderness. I took very little heel on his front feet, about an 1/8th of an inch off of his hind heels. He was walking and trotting comfortably in his pen at dinner time tonight.

Nico's feet are responding beautifully. His heels are standing up, heels and frogs have already widened, the wall separation is tight and healthy, flaring is growing out and new growth is tight and strong, and his wall quality quality has improved tremendously.