Romanov
8 yr old
German Mecklenburger
Warmblood Gelding
05-09-08
Romanov is a beautiful, talented young dressage horse,
and a lovely horse to handle.
Romanov's front feet are very upright with some minor mediolateral
imbalance. Some heel
contraction, and central sulcus of frog narrow and closed; he will benefit
from routine White Lightening soaks during his barefoot transition.
Collateral groove height at the frog apex is very shallow, but heels are
long, especially on the right front. Heel height will be corrected
over the next several trims to keep him comfortable; bringing that right
front heel down quickly would make him quite sore.
05-17-08
Minor touch-up trim today to address some
chipping through the lateral quarter on his right front. I was able
to bring his heels down about a 16th of an inch. I also re-rolled
his front toes and smoothed some small chips on his hind feet.
06-10-08
Right front heel still much longer than I
would like. The RF is also showing some flaring medially, and much
more upright laterally. LF flaring slightly laterally, more upright
medially; much lower heel and wider hoof capsule on LF. Quite a bit
of chipping on all four in spite of almost weekly touch ups. If the
chipping persists, we should take a look at his supplements -- he gets a
generous portion of wheat bran daily, which could be introducing too much
phosphorous, inhibiting his calcium absorption, as well as too much
non-structural carbohydrate and nitrates. More soaking is indicated.
06-30-08
Looking good! Romanov's frogs are
looking better, and his hoof wall is not chipping as much as it was.
The hairline on his front feet is beginning to relax.
07-24-08
Romanov's right front had an interesting
chip/crack on his right front that wanted to follow a weak growth ring up
the wall. It is growing out nicely, but I wonder if it had something
to do with upright that foot had been. You can see how the hoof has
widened anterior/posterior in the lateral view. A big change there
in a very short time. Nice concavity now on all four feet.
Wall quality showing much improvement. His left front frog has
widened nicely; right front still has a ways to go.
10-13-08
Still some thrush; still some flaring and WLS.
I would love to see Romanov's wheat bran ration drastically reduced and
replaced with beet pulp and a mineral supplement. Frog health is
steadily improving!
    
    
    
    
    
    
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