6 months is that all?!

I started out telling myself I would give him 6 months and then re-evaluate. It really seems to me he's been here longer than half a year. Jester has enjoyed much daily attention, turnout, good food and supplements, and a variety of professional treatments. Most recently, his favorite bodyworker gave him laser and massage to his remaining tight spots. Right pectoral muscles, and psoas-iliacus muscle on the hind quarters. He has targeted magnet therapy for two weeks, in addition to with poultice on his chest and shoulder, and doing friction massage on scar tissue in the right hindquarter. We are anticipating a return to upright and free flowing movement in the hinds, and a return of his lovely lope. Giving it our best! And Jester really likes his massage. Re-evaluation? positive.Jester moves well on his feet- but he doesn't like it when there's a bulge of dirt and/or manure on the sole. He isn't getting worked now- just turnout 24x7, with company part of the time. He does wander the pasture more and more! Trim notes: every 2 wks, refresh fore breakover, lower medial heel on hinds, hind breakover refreshed. LF toe Sole abscess tissue nearly grown out- new sole completely covers area beneath it. Hoofs retain rippling from halfway point downward, but mushroom flares are nearly gone!! Another month max :) Looking forward to getting rid of that lamellar wedge and seeing the true hoof emerge. Diet: Just phased in Lakin Lite, (with much trepidation, since it contains molasses)... Added SmartFlex Senior (1x/day). Current bucket is 2 lb Integrity Lite, soaked, 2 lb presoaked Lakin Lite pellets, a handful of black oil sunflower seeds, CA Trace vites/minerals. He loves his twice a day bucket, and all day grass hay. Coat is shiny and soft! He has a little more energy since getting back to Lakin Lite (fortified alfalfa+bermuda pellets) With his favorite tree friend- it's hilarious how he likes its company. He'll stand by it when the mares are out with him. Security blanket tree? Today hooves today- hinds- note cracks in outer wall- still growing out old weak wall L fore with old abscess visible.

R fore better...

Looking better in the hairline and toe- took the breakover back a bit

Trim adjustment. time to call the bodyworker

Got working with the rasp on Sunday... backed up the right front toe, and took the heel down still more. Did some cosmetic cleanup on both fores... and backed the toes on the hinds. He was sore with the adjustment on the right fore, so I gave him more boot time for a few days, off and on. Lands flat on both fores now :) So now the focus is shifting to the lack of hindquarter coordination at the lope. Will get the bodyworker here soon.

The long awaited updated hoof portraits are here!

The following pics will show a typical high-low fore hoof asymmetry. The right heel is coming down slowly..... The heel shows the scar from the rub turned proud flesh which has healed. The forward flare is still present, and the angle change apparent when shoes were pulled (lower 1/3 of fores). Hinds have weak wall at ground level, probably extending as high as the rings on the outer wall... thus the chipping and exaggerated bevel. There is slight concavity at the tip of the frog, and frogs are beefier. Still a heel crack in the central sulcus- continuing NoThrush therapy. See if you can identify the laminitic rings which appear to be wider apart at the heel than the toe... Backing the toe to keep it out of active wear is normalizing this higher up. There are signs of sub-solar abscessing, and icky pockets of black goo behind the bars on one hind. Bars are beginning to stand up where they belong. Flares are mostly in the lower third of the hoof (which is what is left of the hoof he wore last August when he came to me. Collateral groove depth is good, sole is stable on hinds and only has a couple small spongy areas on the fores. I want to see the anterior/posterior balance improve... heels lower and toes higher... once he develops more concavity (movement, diet and trim!) I expect to see a more normal lateral hairline (aiming at 30 degrees for left fore, and right fore yet to be seen). The rear view of the fore hooves shows the heel rocker I keep on the right fore. On the hinds, I want to see the toes tighten up, with less forward flare (keeping toes backed up on hinds too). Left hind was negative palmar, so I have focused on exfoliating the sole around the frog ahead of the bars and keeping the toe out of weight bearing. Overall, lateral cartilages are relaxing, digital cushions are coming back, slowly, and he is comfortable and rideable. I never ride him faster than he moves at liberty. So when he galloped around the pasture, missing his buddy mares who had gone for a ride, I knew it was time to try loping him. Jester speaks... He teaches me to listen. And Jester, just being a horse... Yesterday I saw him roll on the right side, and get up and shake his whole body TWICE! He has only shaken his head and neck for so long... such a little thing but such a good sign!

More lope progress!

Friday between rain showers, Jester took me out for a work session. I wanted to see how well he could do in a training/conditioning ride. In a plowed field, albeit not plowed recently, we did walk, jog, trot and transitions, some pivots and sidepassing. When asked for a left lead lope, he tried the balky cranky act, but I didn't give in and away we went. He is so smooooooth... though I could feel a drifting to the left, with the left hind leg out of "true"... It doesn't track quite right, winging a bit on the forward motion. After a couple tries at left lead, I cued him for right. I was amazed! He picked it right up, and maintained it for about 6 strides. I could really feel the wacky movement this time. He does seem to move better the more I ride him, and I'm avoiding circles or sharp turns. No instant cures with a 15 year old... but we are seeing definite progress. Oh, did I mention I did not boot him for this ride? He worked just fine in the field and walking on bare asphalt. Walking on the dirt road a short distance was ok too as long as he didn't step on any large gravel- but even then he just flinched off it and went back to walking fine :) These past few days he has had more stall time than usual- He likes to get in out of the rain ;) I learned some more of his history today, he really is a special guy.

A happy face and a video

Longest ride yet! Better and better

About two and a half hours of meandering the local neighborhoods and canal trails were no problem for Jester today. He carried a dear friend who even got him cantering in the park :) He pulled his stubborn act on her, but she convinced him that he really did want to do what she asked (leave the other horses and lope). He also is gaining confidence crossing the metal grating bridges over the canal. He wore front boots. Drum roll..... loping!!! better quality video coming...