Tuesday, March 13, 2012

I trimmed Chrome's hooves!

Okay, so I finally got the guts to work on Chrome's hooves myself. :D I wanted to get his heels down so that his frogs would make contact with the ground, because if his frogs never touch the ground his hoof won't get stronger and his heels will stay contracted. And I'm happy to say I only made one or two mistakes (nothing super bad) and his frogs are on the ground! Oh and I only did his fronts because doing all four is too much for my back to handle. I'll do his rear hooves soon.

Right fore. As you can see the frog is on the ground. :D The dirty part above his hoof is just dried mud, not scabs or anything. I missed it when I was brushing off his legs.

Left fore. Frog on the ground!

Left fore. Got the heels and bars down. Need to back the toe more, but wasn't sure how so I had to do some research. I'll do that next time. Also going to try betadine on his frogs and heels to help with the icky stuff growing on them due to our nasty weather.

Closeup of left fore. I might have gone a little low on his heels, but the ground is soft so I think he will be okay. :)

Left fore. The camera was tilted so it looks like the right side is high . . . that would be the outside so it's possible. His frog doesn't look like it would make contact, but it does. I'll have to be careful to not let the heels get too long again.

Right fore. This is the one I made two mistakes on. You can see them in the next picture. Again I need to back the toe.

The circled spot is my first mistake. I angled the nippers too much and went too deep, but it shouldn't be a problem. The second was leaving the bar on that side too long on the end. I didn't get it the same length all the way down. I'll fix that soon. Again the ground is soft so my mistakes should be easily forgiven.

Right fore. The frog on this side is so getting ready to shed!!

Pastern angles look pretty good, huh?

Close up of left fore. This shows how elongated his hoof capsule is, if you look at the shadow the heel bulb is making. From what I've read keeping the toe backed will cause the hoof to eventually grow under his leg again instead of being pushed so far forward.

Right fore pastern angle.

Close up of right fore. You can see that little spot where I angled the nipper wrong. So ugly lol.

Left fore. I titled the camera bad! Sorry!

Right fore. I tilted the camera a little on this one too.

I also got a video showing that he lands toe first in the front and heel first/flat footed in the rear at the walk. At the trot he lands flat and at the canter he lands heel first. This is just for reference to see how his gaits change as his hooves change.



Sorry for all of the hoof related posts lately. I'm a little OCD lol. :) Let me know what you guys think!

4 comments:

  1. You could actually take his heels down further- so they are flush with the sole- and he would be fine.

    His hooves are telling you where you can back the toes up to- can you see it? Where the sole ends and then there's a dark, squiggly bit before you get to the wall? Back it up to the sole.

    When I trim my own horses I only do two hooves at a time. Easier on me and them :)

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  2. I don't know much about trimming. I just do emergency repairs. I admire people who can trim their own horses' hooves.

    Were you, by any chance, a straight A student in school? You seem to always be striving to learn, which is good, but don't be so hard on yourself.

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  3. smazourek, thanks for the tips!!

    NuzMuz, LOL! Not a straight A student, but I do like to learn (mostly about horses hehe). :) I'm not really being hard on myself, just being a perfectionist and doubting myself. I'll get more confident the more I work on his hooves. That's why I'm taking it so slowly so I don't do any damage. :D

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  4. Kudus to you! I would love to be able to trim my horses feet but they are too hard. I just don't have the strength. Also, I'd be so afraid that I'm doing it wrong. Which reminds me, my farrier retired with an injured back last month just before their appointment so now I REALLY need to get their feet done. Would you like to come out my way and do it for me...please?? ;)

    Really, it looks like you did an excellent job.

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