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"Trigger"
is a horse that does not get the foot care that is necessary. Foot care is
a very important part of horse management, for hoof care (from a qualified
individual should be accomplished each 6 to 8 weeks) is the basis of all of the
building blocks in horse ownership. Some people are not aware as to the
need for regular foot care and once that they are properly instructed change
their ways, while others only feel that it has to be accomplished only when
absolutely necessary.
This
is what Trigger's front feet looked like when he was first brought out of his
stall.
And
here is Trigger's back feet.
This
picture shows Trigger left front foot. If you look at the photo you can
see how the foot has overgrown the shoe at both heels. This can cause
improper heel operation, poor circulation and a breaking away of the hoof wall.
If left go much longer the foot will continue to overgrow the shoe and
completely overgrow the entire shoe. Thus, taking away from the protective
and supportive qualities that the show was designed to give.
This
picture shows much more clearly what happens when the foot starts to overgrow
the shoe. Notice that the outside heel (the one to the right hand side of
the photo) is higher than the other heel. The same heel is also flaring
out this is due to the fact that a foot grows to pressure points. What has
happened here is that more pressure is put to that side once that the foot
overgrew the shoe, more pressure -- more growth.
This
picture shows some of the problems that have been created from neglect.
Real quickly I see four problems that are there. Let's start with one of the
most obvious -- THRUSH. Thrush is created , in most cases, from lack of
the use of a hoof pick, as well as inadequate pressure to the frog. The frog of the foot is starting to rot away, in
most cases this can be a painful condition for the horse. The second point
to talk about is the flaring of the foot on the outside heel and quarter areas
of the foot. That is the area that has been dug out and removed as much of
the dirt and dead tissue as possible to start to repair the damage. The third
problem that I see is one of a sheared heel. The sheared heel is the heel
on the left hand side of the photo (the inside heel of that foot). It is
called a sheared heel since it does not follow the natural curve that a foot is
suppose to have -- when matched to the other side of the foot. It appears
to take a sudden turn inward and that will also create a heel strike problem
that will have to be corrected when we place a new shoe on the foot. The
fourth problem is the bruising of the bottom of the foot. That bruising is
evident through the appearance of the red areas on the sole of the foot.
This
picture shows Triggers same foot once it was trimmed correctly, cleaned out and
acrylic caulking was applied to the area of the dug out cavity (where the
flaring was). The caulking was added to keep out and new dirt from getting
into the cavity and making it worse and at the same time it will help to
strengthen the weakened area of the foot. The shearing problems becomes
much more evident in this photo. Notice how straight the inside of the
foot (the left hand side of the photo) is in comparison to the outer side of the
foot. Once that the acrylic is placed in the cavity, it cannot be placed
down, You need to place the shoe on right away and keep at kinds of other
materials out of the cavity area. It was dirt and debris that caused the
area in the past and we are trying to help the foot get better.
This
picture shows Trigger's same foot with the shoe on and the horse standing on it.
The reason for the shot at this angle is to show that there is some shoe out
past the foot on the inside of the foot. The area that is affected is
mainly the quarters area of the foot. This is done to help support the
foot correctly and start to correct the sheared heel problem by allowing the
foot to grow to new pressure points. If you look at the hair line of the
foot, you will notice that there is a smooth circular shape to both the inside
and outside of the foot. That is what the natural shape of that foot
should be, and it can be allowed to go back to that shape with proper foot care
through, balance, support and exercise. If you go back to the first photo
you will see a great improvement in that particular foot.
This
is what was seen when we picked up Trigger's rear foot.
This
shows how much foot we cut off of Trigger's left rear foot.
This
shows the difference in the rear feet once that we properly trimmed the rear
foot.
This
show both rear feet once that they were both properly balanced and correctly
shod.
Trigger
will take some time to become completely balanced, we did all we could for the
horse with the first shoeing. The horse will be sound to ride and should
be ridden. The best thing to aid us in our correction program (as in any
correction program) is exercise. It is exercise that will allow for the
greatest improvement between the regular shoeing program. The foot is
nourished through blood flow and blood flow only happens in the horse with
movement. So, if there is movement there is improvement.
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