Flying Hearts Farm
Lessons, Training, Boarding, Sales and Hoof Rehabilitation
Case Studies
Lily
View Lily's Blog Here
Lily arrived August 29, 2009. She is 12 hands and is in her early 20's. Here she is upon arrival.
Here are her hooves after her first trim - both fronts are fully weighted in this photo.
More coming soon as we progress.
Chief
Chief was purchased for $1.00 in September, 2006. He was 12 at the time and was a former "A" Circuit Quarter Horse gelding. He was foundered and had 8 degrees of rotation. All types of therapeutic shoeing was tried on this horse to no avail. He came to me with plastic shoes with a high wedged heel that were held on with Vetrap. This is how he stood (and this was better than with the wedged shoes).
He was reluctant to walk, when you made him go this was the length of his stride.
Here is an X-Ray (both fores looked like this) and a few photos of his hooves before I did anything to them.
Chief's progress was painfully slow due to very heavy abscessing. Every time he would start to have a new, tight laminar connection he would abscess out his coronet band and the connection would be pulled apart again. Unfortunately most of my documentation on Chief was lost, but I do have the following photos. The hoof shots were taken not long after he arrived, and the shot showing his improved stance was taken around November, 2006 (about 2 months after his arrival).
I also have a cheesy video that a friend and I made for an EasyBoot contest that shows how much abscessing he really had.
Unfortunately Chief had to be euthanized for reasons unrelated to his hooves on December 31, 2007. Just two weeks earlier he was finally 90% sound, and was happily cantering around the field with his friends. He was one of the kindest horses I've ever had the opportunity to meet, and despite everything he went through he always had a pleasant attitude. This is Chief jumping, before he foundered, with his previous owner.
Roxie
Roxie was bought for one dollar on November 20, 2005. She was foundered and had 8 degrees of rotation in both front hooves. She is approx 12.1 hands and 10 years old.
This first set of photos were taken the day she arrived. Note the steep angles of her shoulder and pastern, her high heels and long flared toes, and also note how stiff and straight she is standing behind. She was quite lame when these photos were taken - she was very reluctant to walk anywhere and when she did it was at a snail's pace.
Left front solar view right after shoe removal on November 22
Left hind solar view
After just one trim and 2 days later (November 24), she is feeling immensely better and is trotting and cantering on the soft ground in the field! It can be amazing how much relief they get just from lowering the heels and removing the flaring.
She continues to improve - this shot shows the change in her stance by December 21, 2005.
By February 2006 she is developing concavity once again and has been 100% sound for a quite a while now, and she is a wild girl!
By May, 2006 Roxie has made a full recovery. These photos show the last traces of foundered, flared hoof at the very bottom, ready to be rasped off on the next trim.
Left front
Left hind
Having fun free jumping - June 2006
And finally, here is Roxie with her new owner Erin later in the summer of 2006, fully rehabbed and ready to continue with her riding career.
Lily
View Lily's Blog Here
Lily arrived August 29, 2009. She is 12 hands and is in her early 20's. Here she is upon arrival.
Here are her hooves after her first trim - both fronts are fully weighted in this photo.
More coming soon as we progress.
Chief
Chief was purchased for $1.00 in September, 2006. He was 12 at the time and was a former "A" Circuit Quarter Horse gelding. He was foundered and had 8 degrees of rotation. All types of therapeutic shoeing was tried on this horse to no avail. He came to me with plastic shoes with a high wedged heel that were held on with Vetrap. This is how he stood (and this was better than with the wedged shoes).
He was reluctant to walk, when you made him go this was the length of his stride.
Here is an X-Ray (both fores looked like this) and a few photos of his hooves before I did anything to them.
Chief's progress was painfully slow due to very heavy abscessing. Every time he would start to have a new, tight laminar connection he would abscess out his coronet band and the connection would be pulled apart again. Unfortunately most of my documentation on Chief was lost, but I do have the following photos. The hoof shots were taken not long after he arrived, and the shot showing his improved stance was taken around November, 2006 (about 2 months after his arrival).
I also have a cheesy video that a friend and I made for an EasyBoot contest that shows how much abscessing he really had.
Unfortunately Chief had to be euthanized for reasons unrelated to his hooves on December 31, 2007. Just two weeks earlier he was finally 90% sound, and was happily cantering around the field with his friends. He was one of the kindest horses I've ever had the opportunity to meet, and despite everything he went through he always had a pleasant attitude. This is Chief jumping, before he foundered, with his previous owner.
Roxie
Roxie was bought for one dollar on November 20, 2005. She was foundered and had 8 degrees of rotation in both front hooves. She is approx 12.1 hands and 10 years old.
This first set of photos were taken the day she arrived. Note the steep angles of her shoulder and pastern, her high heels and long flared toes, and also note how stiff and straight she is standing behind. She was quite lame when these photos were taken - she was very reluctant to walk anywhere and when she did it was at a snail's pace.
Left front solar view right after shoe removal on November 22
Left hind solar view
After just one trim and 2 days later (November 24), she is feeling immensely better and is trotting and cantering on the soft ground in the field! It can be amazing how much relief they get just from lowering the heels and removing the flaring.
She continues to improve - this shot shows the change in her stance by December 21, 2005.
By February 2006 she is developing concavity once again and has been 100% sound for a quite a while now, and she is a wild girl!
By May, 2006 Roxie has made a full recovery. These photos show the last traces of foundered, flared hoof at the very bottom, ready to be rasped off on the next trim.
Left hind
Having fun free jumping - June 2006
And finally, here is Roxie with her new owner Erin later in the summer of 2006, fully rehabbed and ready to continue with her riding career.