I always swore I would never post hoof pictures online, but I'm already wishing I had point-of-reference snaps from when we first took Tuck's shoes, so here goes nothing. This is from tonight, not quite a full month sans sneakers.
Um. Please note that these were taken post-longing and our ring footing is a mix of white sand and fabric. (I forget the actual name.) I thought I had cleaned off his feet better than these pictures would suggest! Just know that most of the pale lines/patches are footing, not weird fungus or something!
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| Left front, sulcus crack starting to open up and fill in. |
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| Right front. This is the foot that lost its shoe in Vermont. (The tufty bit near the toe is footing.) |
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| Left hind. Not sure why I got this foot so much cleaner than the other three! |
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| Right hind. He seems to have squared this toe off some? | | |
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Crazy asymmetry on the hinds. Q has a similar thing though. Its interesting to note the connection between their way of going and the form of their hooves.
ReplyDeleteI think the shot of the left hind was taken at an angle rather than flat to the foot and that's part of it -- I will have to take a look on Friday and see if that's as bad as it looks vs being fore-shortened. Unless that's not what you meant?
DeleteI mean just the symmetry of the hoof if you drew a line through the center of the frog. More sole to one side than the other. For my horses, its due to some flaring due to their way of going (Q more than Griffin). Q's hinds flare medially. Its a direct result of her way of moving. I've slowly been modifying to try to get her to move a little straighter by altering the hoof over the past year. Its an interesting process. Since I can't see the whole hoof or video of Tuck walking on a level surface its hard to say why he has it. Reading Rockley though, its obvious that some horses feet are just like that. Its normal for them and they're still moving balanced and happy despite the asymmetry.
ReplyDeleteOh, that makes sense; thank you for the elaboration! I don't know much at all about feet, so the speak-slowly-and-use-small-words explanations are definitely helpful.
DeleteI figure I'll try to get more views/pictures as we go, but I have been reading COTH forums long enough to feel like posting any foot pictures online is equivalent to asking somebody to punch me in the mouth. So, baby steps. :-p
I don't read COTH so I'm curious why posting pictures of hooves is like asking someone to punch you in the mouth?? I'm just curious. :) I've posted Chrome's on his blog and on Facebook barefoot groups and everyone has been so helpful and kind. :) Maybe COTH is just different,
ReplyDeleteCOTH is often amusing and intermittently useful, but there are some hot button topics and (bare) feet are on that list. Any hoof picture is certain to be torn to shreds and any owner brave enough to post one is certain to be likewise. Just not my cuppa!
DeleteOh I see! I probably wouldn't post there either if they get all riled up over barefoot pictures. Thanks for the warning lol!
DeleteYay feet!! In regards to your comment above, I find that this blogging community is a lot friendlier (and supportive!!) about feet photos than anyone on COTH (which is why I'm very rarely on COTH). I noticed the same thing as Liz about his hinds. Maybe he toes in a bit in the back? It obviously does not affect his performance negatively. I always love seeing feet photos because it just shows that successful performance horses' hooves don't need to fit a standardized mold to function well.
ReplyDeleteI love looking at hoof pictures, so please post more if you get them:) It wasn't until I started taking pictures of my horse's feet that I realized they weren't nearly as great as I thought they were, so I think it's a wonderful thing to do over time to see if anything is changing or should be changed. Taking the pictures is a bit of a science and an art, though, and I'm still working on that.
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