Whole Horse Hoof Care

First things first, I got to meet Jaynes beautiful big grey, Moomin and a chance to see the effect of correct trimming on wonky feet and to see up close how important it is to refer to the internal landmarks when trimming, rather than just aiming for a visual 'symmetry' for balance.

After some mince pies, tea and a discussion on the next horse, it was a short trip across the yard to assess and hopefully trim a handsome lad who had suffered an attack of laminitis a couple of days earlier. Whilst under the care of a vet, it is still vitally important that a laminitic receives correct hoof care - so long as they are weight bearing enough to enable one hoof to be lifted - and luckily, he was.
The main aim for him at this stage was to reduce the heel height, thereby reducing the weight tipping over the toe.
He was a very good and kind patient and offered a couple of steps within his stable which will hopefully continue to improve and fingers crossed he makes a good recovery.

The fab thing about today is the variety and from laminitis we moved on to see a big, young dressage horse who has never seen a set of shoes in his life and it shows - in how fabulous and strong his hooves are.
An assessment both in a straight line and on the lunge was performed for this lad as his gait pattern has been altering as he matures.
The changes were subtle and after a full discussion with the owner and referring back to earlier notes it was considered that either a knock or slip in the field, or potentially some scar tissue from a procedure a few months back could be the cause and to monitor over the next couple of weeks.

Before leaving Jaynes yard I also got to meet the cutest little pony who has stringhalt. He didnt need trimming today and as he's an older gentleman we didn't bring him out into the rain for me to see his action but hes too cute not to mention.

After more mince pies and coffee, it was on to see a shetland and dainty little old mare up on the side of a valley in the back of beyond.
The little old girl has arthritis but otherwise a nice set of hooves and the little shetland is another recovering laminitic. She is currently doing really well and it was interesting to be able to compare the recovering case to the earlier, current case.
The trim also had a focus on taking down the heel height but she is now also having the laminar wedge at the toes trimmed back with each visit.

We finished the day going over the cases seen and writing up the last set of notes before heading off home, very wet, very cold but 100% happy.

Thank you Jayne for a wonderful day.