Photo Gallery
Client before and after photos
Crushed Heels
Four months progress on this AQHA with crushed, flat heels. Notice the caudal development and trajectory of the horn tubules. This horse had been on a four week cycle and a balanced diet. Her trims involved shaping the heel area, allowing curvature in her quarters, and beveling the walls all the way around the foot. Her trims did not include shortening the height or length of her toes. The toes were shortened by the hoof naturally, as her caudal hoof was developed and her landing surface changed.
Pre Trim
A beautiful pre trim photo. This guy had been on my schedule for around five months at the time of this photo. This is the right hind plantar surface of a younger draft cross. His imbalance pattern had been medially high, and flared at his lateral heel and quarter. Feet like this tend to suggest tension patterns higher in the body. This horse was found to have significant tension patterns in his low back, hamstrings, and inner thighs, which correlates to what we can see in his feet. The back and hamstring tension will affect the range of motion in the hind limbs, running the heels and toes forward, and the inner thighs will pull the medial side of the limb to the midline creating an upright wall on the medial side, smearring the lateral side of the foot into a flare.
Barbed Wire Injury
Nearly five months progress on this unique case. The same draft cross in the "Pre Trim" photo above, caught in barbed wire as a two year old. This hang nail had never been trimmed down before, but it had been sealed heavily with acrylic glue which trapped fungus and bacteria, creating an unhealthy environment. Now, his quarter crack is growing out, his hang nail is at a low risk of snagging on anything, and the hoof is a much more appropriate shape to maintain cleanliness.
Underrun Heels - High Low Case
Ten months progress on a Thoroughbred Appaloosa cross, with high low syndrome. The foot below is his left front from the lateral view, this is the low foot so his right front is a low grade club. Before working on him, his heels were nearly a third of the way under his foot, creating that jamming at his hairline above his heel quarter, followed by the steep drop off of his hairline over his weak and underdeveloped digital cushion and collateral cartilages. The bull nosed appearance in the before (top) photo is the result of rasping the outer wall done by the previous HCP, I imagine in an attempt to manage the flaring and distortion. Now, his walls are the full thickness all the way to the bearing border, his hairlines are are more relaxed, his digital cushion is developing, and his quarters have developed a functional shape.
