Well, the last time I posted, Shorty had his shoes pulled. I believe this has been a really good thing for him! It has not been without doubt and disappointment, but even with that I am happy to see him grow a much healthier and functional foot. These first photos are from the day and week the shoes were pulled. He had black in the whiteline, which from my understanding black usually means infection so that's why I did the clean trax soak. They looked horrible, weak, and broken! So here's the progress we've made so far:
Right after the shoes came off. Black in the whiteline.
Really broken up hoof wall, contracted foot
MAY
Working on building his feet back
This bruising ring goes ALL the way around the hoof wall on ALL FOUR hooves at the exact same distance down the hoof. I think it will be a very good thing once the bruising grows all the way out because there is no doubt a weakness there inside the hoof from his last episode of stress/inflammation to the laminae.
JUNE
Looking way better, heels becoming functional!
JULY
Here you can see the bruising that is still growing out
It is taking plenty of time, but even then I am still really impressed with the transformation so far. He was trimmed up at 3 weeks twice right after going barefoot, and now he will be maintained at the normal six weeks. I do think his feet looked even better than this as of today.
The doubt and disappointment came after the first six weeks; since the shoes came off he had been walking on concrete just fine! Then, after the second trim he went really obviously sore on concrete just like that! I do believe that is when his frogs finally began to make contact with the ground as opposed to walking on his walls. He lives on soft footing, so I have been diligent in walking him on concrete and small gravel 5-10 minutes every time I am with him to help his feet develop some grit, build digital cushion, and callouses.
Most exciting, here is video of him walking on concrete now with a heel first/flat landing!!!! This is a big deal! Our wonderful chiro/vet did detect some foot discomfort, but not the typical pattern of compensation for the chronic foot pain he has had, which means he is not stabbing toe first anymore. He has a weakness in his R stifle which we will build up with specific exercise and stretches. I also found his back muscles developing a spasm on the right side which released easily, but supports that increased tension has been on that right side. He was quite ulcery again about a month ago, so we put him on omeprezole for 21 days which helped him fill out a ton over his topline. He feels way better now and will be kept on U-guard to help keep him that way.
It's not perfect yet and if I ride him in boots without pads he can still get a bit footy after 15-20 minutes of work, but otherwise he is moving better and is very forward when riding! He feels good! Lately I have begun warming him up in his soft ride boots, then do some exercise barefoot in the soft arena footing for 10-15 mins, then cool him down with the soft ride boots. That has worked well! Those boots are amazingly supportive and even if he gets a bit ouchy, he will immediately walk just fine in those and help chill out any soreness.
I clean his feet weekly or biweekly with dish soap and water (scrub gunk out with hoof pick brush). I also use a mixture of iodine and listerine to squirt on his feet if it's been rainy and wet. I use Hoof Heal by Cut Heal a couple times a week, and I have been using Tomorrow Mastitis treatment for any suspected thrush.
