**** Important News ****
For anyone interested in barefoot rehab for hoof problems in their horses including navicular syndrome, navicular disease, DDFT issues, collateral ligament damage please have a look at this generous initiative from Rockley Farm:
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I've worked Kingsley fairly hard today and he is coping well. He still dislikes walking on stones and uneven, hard surfaces. He is fabulous on all other surfaces around the farm as well as on tarmac.
I do have videos from his trot work but decided to post it once I have more footage over a couple of months so there is an interesting sequence to compare.
In many ways his movement is improving but as this happens I can see specific issue singling itself out and that's a weakness of his right hind leg. There has been a lot said by vets about his front feet lameness before but I really wonder how much of a secondary issue that had been.
He is very eager to work and I will continue to do what I'm doing to see if he gets stronger and better or weaker and worse (in which case I think we will have to put him through another veterinary assessment to ascertain what else can be done to help). Today, for the first time, I was able to stop him every step in shoulder in in-hand on the right rein (if you watched my in-hand videos you will know he would mow me over out of zero balance on the right rein for a long time). We did 20 steps in a step-stop-step-almost stop-step sequence. He was swishing his much tail less and there was no head throwing or much impatience shown either.
On the lunge in trot it looks to me as if he is reluctant to carry weight on the right hind leg for long enough to create sufficient suspension. As a result he lands quicker with the left hind and right front when his balance is poor. This is especially an issue for him when trotting down the descent (field has a slight gradient).
He also has very, very good moments when he looks after his balance well...
Still 1: This is how I would like him to trot for now - even stride, relaxed neck reaching forward, calm and listening to me. Ideally I would want him to trot with shorter steps because his tendency is to trot massive. But I would be happy if he did consistent 4 minutes of trot like above. As it is, he can only keep it for 10 or so steps at a time.
Still 2: Hollow, tense and bending outwards. Every 10-15 or so steps he will fit in 4-5 of steps like this, mostly as he approaches the downwards gradient of the field.
Still 3: Every now and then he will also attempt to to go deeper in his frame. When he steps under himself with inside hind leg at the same time the trot is reasonably well balanced. If he loses the coordination of the right hind leg and speeds up, then he ends up running himself onto his head. If he stays as above I let him stretch like this but if he starts running I bring him back to walk.
Still 4: Above frame shows uneven trot stride with left hind about to land too short and right front reaching forwards and taking bigger step as well as more weight onto the right shoulder. He is also bending the wrong way.
Still 5: This is how I am trying to keep him on the right rein. More even stride front and back, slower trot, neck out and forwards and reasonably straight through the shoulders. Hollow but in much better balance. This is an uphill gradient of the field.
Hooves now!
15th Feb 2012
Right Fore
Right Hind (it's washed which is why it appears lighter than others; was too mucky for photos to show anything hence the wash):
Left Fore
This is sole of his left front to show the effect of gradient like growth. His hoof has 3 distinct parts now. From coronet down about an inch is a really nice looking, ripple free horn. Then there is a ridge/bulge. Beneath that there is a more slanted part/old growth with some small ridges on it. Then yet below that there is a third change of angle (more slant) of the oldest growth. It looks like his new angle is much steeper and the toe wants to be shorter and back. I don't like the fact the little stones embed in his white line area :-/
Left Hind
The left hind has a frog that wants to shed a lot. Both hinds seem to have shallower lateral grooves than they were in December. The heels on the left hind look terribly uneven on the photo but I haven't trim his hair well and they are ruffled on one side so I will take another picture at some point to check whether they are in fact so uneven.
Feel free to share your views. He is worked 4-5 times a week.
