Gwen....just saying. Be mindful not all owners are honest with you or themselves... years ago a paint mare realy put me and the vet through the ringer...nothin was working the vet wanted a resection with heartbar and this was done in clinic.......mare was very sore it was a tough job because of desert hard feet and after finishing up I followed the vet into the office to discuss things.....upon returning to surgery bless her soul there is Ann and a bucket of oats feeding her mare. Like a heroin addict.
It all became clear to me why we were having no luck at getting this poor horse any relief.

Tia learned that from Gene O and I also learned it from him as well .....its real eye opener at clinics.

Jaye I would not have removed the edge of the hoofwall from weight bearing anywhere behind the pillars. Doing so subjects the solar margin of P3 tpo trauma. Other than rounding off the edge some to prevent chipping, I will leave at least 1/8" of wall extending beyond the sole in the toe pillar area.

It would look more like this if I had trimmed it:

Gwen for barefoot, I Really like the straight line you have created down the wall. I wouldn't worry about removing more wedge without shoes and frog support. You need to maintain a some hoof wall around the dorsal foot from the about halfway up ,to hold the capsule together.
Therefore I think you removed the right amount. Its enough to help the new growth come in straighter but still hold the foot together.

Thanks, Patty ... I, too, was worried about taking too much but the vet had said to take more. (I didn't, though.) ... and I'm pleased that the mare seemed so comfortable today after her trim.

Question for you ... on Jaye's photo, why would you not do the same to create that straight dorsal hoof wall?

Horshure wrote:Thanks, Horshure. I'm pretty confident that this gal is doing it all 'by the books' unless she's hiding grain in her house. We've gone through her grain bins, etc so she could show me what she was feeding. But I guess one never really knows for sure, right?

yes that too.... I didnt mark that up ....but my biggest concern on that one was was all that wall rolled totally away from the ground so far back around the foot.

Rightstep wrote:
Now that looks more like a trim.....don't see any dubbing there!

RiversideBoy wrote:No, but there's still toe flare that needs addressing.

Did anyone else notice this on this hoof -- in the first photo the rings are widening back at the heels; in the trim photo the rings are narrower at the heel than at the toe. I just saw another hoof this week that had the same ring pattern ... why is this?

It looks like the most visible upper two rings are more parallel , indicating more even hoof growth all around the foot than it was a few months prior. The lower (older) rings that were more diverged have been removed with the rasp.This is pretty typical ring pattern of a recovering foundered foot that is being trimmed and healing correctly.

Here is another trim sent to me for evaluation, your thoughts on this laminitic.......................

Cushings ... change her diet. Either that or she's a Baskir Curly!

caballus wrote:The trim Gwen?:confused:

I generally want to correct as much as possible the first time out so I don't correct too many truly laminitic horses with an initial barefoot attempt. The first horse I would shoe with a derotation trim and then add back the heel to keep the phalanges aligned and either rocker the shoe or make sure I have good breakover relief. I am assuming the radiograph posted goes with the first horse.

The second horse I would reserve judgement until I see radiographs, but I suspect a negative palmar angle from the slight bulge of the dorsal hoof wall. This would make therapy very different from a typical laminitic horse.

From the standpoint of fully treating any laminitic problem, all of the factors of blood chemistry, diet, exercise, body condition score, and a full physical exam need consideration.

M. W. Myers, D.V.M.

I totally agree with the negative palmar angle but would like to see xrays before suggesting any further trim. The hoof actually looks pretty good. I *might* suggest boots with wedge inserts until the heels are allowed to grow a little bit. I also agree with a full exam although I would probably suggest, at this point in time, a diet that is high in forage, 24/7 turn out on solid ground and walking on tarred, level road for a minimum of 10 mins. a day with or without boots to help encourage/stimulate new growth.

Do you have any solar shots? Its hard to tell just how long that toe is in the angles provided. The frontal shot looks long but the lateral looks to be pretty good. I see that the wall has been beveled a bit and I agree with that. It also looks like the qtrs. have been trimmed down to sole level but again, the angle is off (not a right angle to the lateral side of the hoof) and that skews the photo.