Kody is overdue for a trim. Am I better taking something off now rather than waiting for the markups and him becoming more overdue? I have looked at the hoof trimming information but because of his penetration of the sole, I'm worried about taking too much off or not enough off in the right places. Because of the bulge in his sole he is basically on the "bulge" with little contact on the wall.
--
Debbie Rainbow
Western Australia
2021
https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Debbie%20and%20Kody
https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/album?id=259494
https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Debbie%20and%20Kody/Hay%20Analysis.docx

Hi Debbie,

I've added mark-ups to Kody's album:

https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/album?id=259494

It looks like your trimmer has done some beveling of the outer walls to remove some of the weight bearing on them and that the toes were brought back to some degree. Those were good starts but now need to concentrate on getting the toe length realigned with the new growth coming in from above so that you stop compressing the wall from the excess upward pressure. Because the walls are detached, they cannot be in ground contact at all - Kody needs to have all his weight carried on his sole/heels/bars and frogs right now. To protect the leading edge of the coffin bones from too much pressure, make half-moon-shaped cut-outs in his pads, ahead of the tip of the frog, that line up with where the sole is the thinnest. That way, he will be carrying his weight on all parts of the bottom of his foot, except directly under the leading edge of the coffin bone.

Here are some links to more in-depth info regarding the lamellar wedge and breakover placement:

https://www.hoofrehab.com/Breakover.html

https://www.hoofrehab.com/HeelHeight.html

https://www.hoofrehab.com/HorsesSole.html

LF dorsal: Green lines follow the angles of the new growth coming in under the coronary band down to the ground. All the flared wall in the lower 1/3 of the hoof capsule (blue areas) can be removed to get it into alignment with the healthier, better attached growth. Any flaring above that point can be left in place until it grows down further.

LF lateral: Not a true lateral shot, so it's a bit difficult to see the actual heel parameters. The green line again follows the angle of the new, healthier, better-attached growth to the ground. This line is only a visual guide, NOT a trim line. Blue area is the excess toe length that needs to be removed to relieve the upward pressure that is constricting the horn growth, and to relieve the tearing forces on the fragile, new laminar connections. In the heel, the blue area is vertical heel height that can likely be removed - IF there is enough height available to do so. Need to measure both collateral groove depths at their deepest point: ideally, they should be the same depth = medio-lateral balance. If they measure more than 1", you can lower them to 1" depth, but no lower.

LF sole: Blue solid line follows the edge of the sole. Everything outside this line should be completely out of ground contact, with the major flaring removed completely - blue hashed areas. The red half-moon shape is approximately the area that you want to relieve from ground/pad pressure, so cut out the area of the pad in the boot that corresponds to this. Leave the frogs alone, except for any ragged bits that may be detaching. Leave the bars to help support and stabilize the foot as many of the other structures are too compromised right now to do their part. The heels can be lowered if there is enough sole depth in the back of the foot to allow for that.

RF dorsal: Lateral wall has the most visible flaring (blue area) that should be removed.

RF lateral: Same general discussion as the LF.

RF sole: Use the same criteria as on the LF to determine whether the heels can come down/back more or not. The bars have really expanded, esp. the lateral one. If they are crumbling, those areas can be cleaned up somewhat along their leading edges, but be very conservative with what you do with them.

LH dorsal: Medial wall had some flaring that needs to be removed (blue area) and the lateral wall back toward the heel as well.

LH lateral: Green line is again only a visual marker. Toe back, lower heel (blue areas). Again, first measure collateral groove depths to determine if you have the necessary depth to lower the heels.

LH sole: Blue solid line will be the outer perimeter of the hoof - nothing outside of this should be in ground contact, so blue hashed areas are flaring that will be removed and/or heavily beveled out of ground contact. Red half-moon area is where you want to relieve pad pressure.

RH dorsal: Blue areas are the wall flaring that can be removed - lateral more than medial.

RH lateral: Same as LH.

RH sole: Similar discussion to the other 3. Yellow hashed areas follow the leading edges of the bars - it they are crumbling or detaching, they can be judiciously cleaned up but otherwise, leave them alone at this time.

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, Kody's walls need to be completely removed from any weight bearing as they are detached. Any weight on them only serves to prevent the new growth from being able to grow in more firmly attached. By shifting his eight bearing to the parts of his foot that are designed to carry it - frog, heels, bars, sole - he will heal faster and more solidly.

Once those flares and the excess toe length is removed, his boots will have a lot more room in them, so you can use more diapers, different pads as needed. At some point, it will become necessary to downsize the boots.

--
Lavinia, George Too, Calvin (PPID) and Dinky (PPID/IR)
Nappi, George and Dante Over the Bridge
Jan 05, RI
Moderator ECIR

Thank you so much Lavinia for your time. I really appreciate it. This will definitely give me more confidence moving forward. He is now on tested hay and I have the vet booked for next week for x rays and bloods. Thank you once again.
--
Debbie Rainbow
Western Australia
2021
https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Debbie%20and%20Kody
https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/album?id=259494
https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Debbie%20and%20Kody/Hay%20Analysis.docx