One step Forward, Two....

Been a while since I updated any of the feet posts.  Here is where Lakota was 6/7/13...

and where we were 10/27/13

The photo above is showing some really great progress.  The dramatically shorter toe, lower heel, tighter connection and straighter hair line are all great.  Unfortunately, about the time these were taken, Lakota managed to break through the fence separating him from a massive trove of windfall apples and he came up rather ouchy with warm feet and strong digital pulses.  All not-so-great things.

As a result, I think we lost a bit of ground, not a lot because we got on top of it very quickly, but the tiny sliver of concavity in his sole disappeared.  Here is where he was 12/21/13...

In spite of that, there is some positive news to share.  We have made some significant changes to all of the horse's diet in the form of a custom mixed mineral supplement that I have put together and we have seen dramatic improvements in just a few weeks.  I think you can see it in the top 3/4 of an inch.  There is some nice growth showing there that began almost to the day of the nutrition changes.

In my last update, I also mentioned using dental impression mold to stimulate frog growth and it sure does work.  If you look at the two photos below, you can see what I mean.  The photo on the left shows a very weak, thrushy, diseased frog that is painful to thumb pressure.  Amazingly, it is actually a significant improvement compared to what it was back in April.  These poor quality, painful frogs have been plaguing all of the horses and are at the heart of nearly all the hoof problems we are dealing with.  They are one of the main reasons I have been working on nutrition so obsessively.  The only way to have healthy frogs is to grow a healthy frog.  The only way to do that is through diet and proper stimulation.  Which is where the dental impression molding comes in.  I hope that you can see that the frog on the right is much improved.  It still has a looong way to go, but it is much stronger as is the entire back half of the foot.
 7/20/13                                                                               10/27/13

12/21/13  I think that if we can ever get that very deep crevice at the back of the foot to grow in, we will finally start seeing a much more functional foot.  Healthy movement is what grows a healthy foot.