February 2020 - Set up trim on right hind. It took about 6 visits to get her comfortable with a knife and nippers. This is a really rough trim. The rasp is her least favorite tool so I haven’t pushed my luck with that yet.
This mare had some deep seated trust issues. Stephanie helped her feel safe enough to trust me with her feet. Trust is better than sedation...and safer.
Second trim (2 week interval)
Left - pre trim 2/15/2020 | Middle - post trim 2/15/2020 | Right - post trim 2/29/2020. Still a rough trim. She’s still afraid of the rasp.
Top - pre trim 2/15/2020 | Middle - post trim 2/15/2020 | Bottom - post trim 2/29/2020
April 2020
August 2020
6 months progress. Trimming from the bottom. No top dressing.
September 2020 - At this recent trim on Epona’s right hind, her sole reveals a future correction in the peripheral edge of the medial toe. This should be ready to take back in another trim or two. Once this is established and maintained, it should reduce the forces causing the diagonal heel bulb to jut out. This is an important thing to take the time to assess. A premature correction could cause discomfort higher up the leg or in other areas of the body, causing lameness and possibly losing the opportunity for following correction. When the rest of the horse is ready for the correction the extra material at the toe pillar will be more ready to exfoliate and the correction will be sustainable.
7 months progress on Epona’s right hind
2 years progress. Corrective trimming from the bottom to regrow a new capsule evenly around the coffin bone, instead of rasping from the top, which only temporarily changes the coffin bone’s position to the ground.