I can't believe it either.
Now that we are past the initial shock, I'm going to go right into this trim's hoof pictures. Because we switched hoofcare professionals, I'm doing before and after shots. I'll do my best to explain things, as usual.
This before shot of Buttercup's front left show the flaring and resulting torque on her hoof wall. This was caused by the laminitic episode a few weeks back. Luckily, Bud's episodes seem fairly mild and only manifest themselves as flaring (and no dropping of the P3 or other horrible laminitic nightmares). Please note the amount of dead sole and over run bars in the above photo, also.
The new trimmer spent most of his time removing dead sole from Buttercup's hooves, and the result was somewhat surprising. Underneath all that dead sole was a toe callous and concavity! He also spent time removing her bars that aided in the flaring. The flaring also exerted pressure on the sole, creating a soft spot on the inside of this hoof.
Like my past farrier, the trimmer took any pressure on the hoof wall away so that Buttercup is just using her frog, heel and toe callous for ground contact. The reason this resulted in lameness in the past was because of the dead sole on the sole creating too much pressure everywhere else (or so it has been explained to me). The trimmer also did a neat trick of filing the hoof wall at a 45° angle so that any pressure exerted on it will cause it not to move away from the hoof, but be pushed into the hoof, maintaining a strong lamina.
Same on the front right:
Before lateral shots:
After lateral shots:
Not too much of a change here. The angles are about the same, just more of that toe taken off. The trimmer sure wasn't shy about using nippers!
Before front shots:
This trimmer used superglue in the crack instead of bondo. I like how he removed so much of the flaring on this shot.
Trimmer is Scott Spencer. www.spencerhorsemanship.com
I'm overall very pleased with the outcome, especially since he thinks one or two more trims should clear up most of Bud's balance and flare issues. He's also one of the professionals who pinpointed sugar as a cause of her neverending battle of the flares, so I like that he has a holistic approach to his clients.
That was my big surprise! But I do have another one!
On Aug. 1, Buttercup will go to a friend of mine for three to six months. I will still see her several times a month, but she is going to get some rest and relaxation. It is kind of against the trimmer's advice as he wants her back in work ASAP, but I feel like this is the best thing for her. Let her just sit in a pasture and grow a healthy hoof. And as my barn owner pointed out, this is the best thing for me, mentally.
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