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Barefoot Case Examples-Sonny
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Barefoot Case Examples- Jerry
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Barefoot Case Examples-Tulsa
Barefoot Case Examples-Sonny
Barefoot Case Example-Mare
Pete Ramey Clinic

Sonny is a shetland pony, diagonosed with Cushings and previously foundered, I was told that  Sonny wasnt doing very good, not moving and was very sore.  Sonny was also under proffessional hoof care. Apparantly an appointment was missed. So when I saw his toes, they were very long, this is not a "good thing" on any horse, whether  it foundered  or not.  When you have damaged feet they grow incredibly fast within a very short period of time, and when I say short I mean within days, or a week or two. I must stress that  trimming must be kept  on a tight schedule. No hoof wall should be weight bearing.
 
In order to make sure Sonny was comfortable with his trim, I decided to use my power tool  with a special sanding disk. The rasp would have pulled to much on his sore feet as I don't use nippers..  all flakey sole was removed to see where his heels were and to see the lenght of wall.  His frogs were in very good shape, firm and  plump.  At this trim I did not come prepared with a camera to take pictures as Sonny was not on the  list to do.
 
One very good reason Sonny was sore was due to his pergoloide being old which at that time the owner was not aware of this.  Sonny was taken  in for X-rays, new readings  for Cushings and a new prescription.

10-21-06 before trim

Lots of flakey sole removed, long walls & toes & heels

Rear Left 10-21-06 Before trim

Lots of wall lenght, toe length and look at the heels!

Sonny was set up on a two week schedule, When I first saw Sonny his soles were lumpy/bumpy, at no time was any LIVE sole touched, only the flakey stuff was removed which at the time was a small amount.  Then on his  10-21-06 trim, his sole released huge amounts of dead flaky sole, His lumps and bumps have disappeared. More wall lenght and heel length was removed. Yes the horses  feet are a remarkable thing. Sonny has alot of toe, flaring and a little more heel to remove but in 8 or 9 months he will have new feet.. As long as he has no set backs from the Cushings. He was fitted with a grazing muzzle and owner was instructed to get him out and moving.
His rear right hoof has a broken forward angle due to the amount of heel and toe.
Now one thing is that Sonny has what is a called a Lamellar wedge on all 4 feet. My camera did not pick it up so trust me on that. I will try again at next trim to supply a picture.  All 4 toes were bright red. All feet were trimmed to a balanced state and givin a roll  to keep any force  off the ground to prevent any more tearing.

10-21-06 after trim
son102106lfftaftertrim.jpg

Doesnt look like the feet have been touched, but they were!  Sonny will be going through a transistion period and in about 8 months from now he will have perfect little hooves. What is so remarkable is the little man is heel walking.  That is a "very good thing"

10-21-06 after trim

This is what is called a broken forward foot. It was much worse a few weeks ago. On the 10-21-06 trim huge amounts of dead flaky sole was released so the heel was able to come back more.  Notice his hairline, after a few more trims this should straighten out. All feet have been trimmed with quarters removed per the sole reading. Bars trimmed if needed. Toes rolled to keep all forces from ground contact.
 
I have placed myself in all the horses that I do because of my broken ankle. I see and feel  all the imbalances, they have to be sore because I'm sore from being inbalanced. Every day,24 hours a day I am in pain due to a broken ankle that they set straight. I have since  changed the shoes I wear and added a arch support on my opposite foot. this helped in straightening out the good foot.

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