Bad Hoof, Good Hoof...Side by Side Comparisons

I struggle daily with trying to explain to all of my clients the changes individual horses must undergo to have healthy, comfortable, balanced feet. For most people, who have yet to see a truly healthy equine foot in person, it is very difficult to grasp. Even if I pick up a very healthy foot and show them, and then walk over to their transitioning horse, it's tough to keep the differences in proportion, dimension and balance in your mind's eye. So I thought it would perhaps be helpful to do a little pictorial comparing some of my transitioning horses with a spectacularly healthy foot.

When you look at these images, bear in mind that every pathology we can see on the OUTSIDE of the hoof corresponds to a painful pathology INSIDE the hoof capsule. Underrun heels, long toe/low heel, radical heel contraction, sickly, atrophied frogs, and medial/lateral imbalances HURT. To help you visualize this, here is a beautiful photo of the sole/frog corium that lies just underneath the hoof capsule:



Also bear in mind that these things can, in the vast, vast majority of horses, be corrected. The hoof of the horse is nothing short of miraculously regenerative!!! I won't go into meticulous detail regarding HOW we effect the regeneration, except to say this much: bringing back the toe from the top, and eradicating frog infection by soaking with chlorine dioxide and applying Pete's Paste are key and critical. That said, here are four excellent comparisons of pathological to healthy. Click each image to view full size.