Hoof Pictures and
Case Studies
ELLA - Morgan Mare
Ella is a middle aged morgan mare who I suspect to be insulin resistant. Over the last few trims, I noticed her feet were starting to lose concavity and she was starting to get sore after trims when that normally hadn't been an issue. Her owner got right on it and started separating her from her herd mates at night giving her only a slow feeding hay net to eat where before she had 24/7 access to a large grass pasture. She is also being ridden/worked more often and these beautiful feet are the result! It can sound daunting to tackle a metabolic issue but swift intervention can make for a quick turn around like this one. |
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THRUSH! - This should be treated as your top priority for your horse's care if you horse's feet look like this. Start treating topically AND re-evaluate your diet. Like many conditions, thrush feeds on SUGAR.
ADAM: Icelandic horse, high functioning hooves! (hover for captions) 2019 ongoing
SHADOW: quarter horse gelding at a rescue, a basic maintenance trim (2015)
A horse I work on for a local rescue
Left front before a trim
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Left Front after trim - I relieved the pressure on the toe to allow ease of break over and I always apply a "mustang roll" to the entire hoof wall if possible.
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Left front before trim - this shot allows you to see the nice concavity the horse has on his own. Unless retained sole is present, I tend to not trim the sole and allow the horse to keep the needed callus he forms on his own.
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Left front after trim - You can see how the bevel goes around the whole hoof wall. I tend to do as little frog trimming as possible to allow the callus the stay in tact.
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Left front before trim
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Left Front after trim
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EBBY - Draft cross mare, severe sub solar abscessing. First abscess occured in the spring of 2017. She was profoundly lame so I asked the owner for radiographs which showed some remodeling of the coffin bone. She was really solid until this fall and she re-abscessed almost as badly. She got over it quicker this time but was just as painful as the last time. I am working with a good vet on this case who has suggested follow up radiographs if it happens again, might be more going on that we couldn't see last time. (Hover for captions)
MOLLY - Draft cross mare, feet improved dramatically with a 4 week cycle + a change in diet (2014-15)
Draft cross before trim, September 2014
Same horse as above before second trim, October 2014. She had already put down more sole and her wall integrity had started to improve.
Same horse as the above 2 pictures before her third trim with me. Starting to widen in the heels, improved frog quality, sole thickening and she started to hold her shape of the rounded wall. November 2014
JOURNEY - Morgan cross gelding rescued from auction. (Ongoing, started in 2018)
First set of photos are from the first day I saw him at the rescue. He was constantly shifting his weight back and forth in obvious pain from THRUSH and potential other pathologies.
Second set of pictures is from his third trim and after a second round of glue on boots. Slowly working the heels back and toes down to keep him comfortable throughout this whole process. At this point, he is barefoot running around his pasture and his owners hope to start trail riding him this spring.
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PIPPI - A Morab mare - chronic laminitis caused by Insulin Resistance.
January - October 2013 
RF - January 2013: RF Before her first trim with me. Barely walking, in soft ride boots all around. Laying down more than standing.
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RF - April 2013: This owner was particularly diligent about following instructions and making the necessary changes to help her horse and it had great results.
We did switch from Soft Rides to Easycare RX boots for this case.
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RF - Januar 2013: before her first trim with me.
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RF - April 2013 after 4 months of a 2-3 weeks trimming schedule. Her heels had widened significantly and came down about halfway from where they were. Her movement had improved dramatically and was able to walk and trot with little trouble and will even canter on occasion in turn out.
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RF - October 2013. Her heels continued to widen and lower. At this point, she was barefoot for turnout and ridden lightly in Easycare Glove boots with pads.
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 RF - October 2013
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MICK JAGGER - Healthy, happy feet! (2013)
Mick Jagger has happy feet! His owner keeps up on the trimming herself and I just help her out with it from time to time. I LOVE helping my clients educate themselves on trimming so that they can either do some trimming themselves between my visits or just be aware of what is going on with their own horse's feet.
WILAKER - Trakener gelding, competitive dressage horse (2015) |
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Wilaker had some trouble with sensitivity on different surfaces. The blue part is Equipak CS which keeps fungus at bay, the gray cast is Equicast and the white rim is Superfast which is a heavy duty epoxy which helps the whole application be more sturdy.
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This is what the equicast application looks like from the outside. This a way to keep your barefoot horse comfortable on different surfaces while showing! It is semi-permanent with each application lasting from 2-4 weeks.
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TUCKER - Dutch Warmblood gelding, total hoof/body rehab 2012-2016. Tucker has been adopted by a wonderful young lady and lives happily doing just about anything she asks of him!
Tucker is the horse to the right and above. He is a rescued horse who after years of waiting for extended periods of time on cross ties, will happily "air tie" as long as you want him to!
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