To better compare photos, open a second window and fit it to the bottom half of the screen. Click any photo to enlarge.
Cooter died June 2009. Fortunately it was quick. One minute he was Mr. Sexy, and 3 minutes later, gone. The vet suspects an aneurysm.
Cooter's feet were far from perfect at the time of his death. However, I am proud to say, he was comfortable enough for 15 solid minutes of non-stop, mosh pit high acrobatics, after his first spring bath. I saw courbettes, caprioles, levades, rear-buck combos and a bunch of athletic stuff I don't have names for - stuff I'd never seen out of this horse before. He was always above average athletic, but this was a step above his shod, fit, self. It seems, at the time of his death, his feet were not only providing him with comfort, but also improved performance.
I also saw improved straightness. When comparing a 2002 video to a 2009 video, I saw medial hind discomfort in the 2002 video. Which means, he was showing medial hind discomfort, even when shod. His hocks would skew outward when loaded, kinematics, I now recognize, as a possible indicator of medial hoof discomfort. In 2009, once the medial hind hoof was more comfortable, the hinds loaded almost perfectly straight, no more skewing hocks.
I have posted Cooter's freeze dryed feet so we can all learn. All the feet are educational in an of themselves, but when all four feet are considered together, the realizations are stunning.
Cooter's transition started Nov 07, with minimal "top down" trimming only - managing only flare. There was some pain in the beginning for him, but all went unremarkably well through the first winter. However, in Apr 08, feeling like I wasn't "doing enough", I started trimming to Strasser methods. I now know, my success would have continued, and much pain would have been avoided, had I continued "top down" trimming. But that's not what happened.
Just a week after his first Strasser-type trimming, I came home to find the horse leaning against the wall to support himself, not wanting to weight his RH foot. I suspect he just stepped on something. But with not enough foot left after the "Strasser" trimming, he badly bruised his foot. This was the beginning of the struggle. Pictures start May 08.
After that, figuring out which experts to listen to took a while. Two stood out, Pete Ramey was one, Cooter was the other.
23 Jun 09:
In this photo the concavity of the foot is good, but we need more sole depth. We needed more time for that growth to occur.
I saw improvements with my trimming. I also saw some regressions. It wasn't until I used equi-casts on both back feet in Mar 09 - Apr 09, that I saw true progress. The change was a complete and sustained turn around to the pain and tail chasing we were doing. I'm sorry I didn't take pictures, but I was dealing with my own health issues at the time. I couldn't cast and take pictures - I had to choose.
Not easy to see, but there are still translucent flecks of fatty tissue in the digital cushion, indicating shoes inhibited development. Also note worthy: the hind digital cushions are smaller and less developed than the front feet. This, of course, should never be. Hind feet take and transmit loads many times the loads seen by the front feet. Rear digital cushions, should always be way more developed.
Arrows: Indicate normal blood supply of the foot, not a bone fracture.
In this photo the concavity of the foot is good, but we need more sole depth. We needed more time for that growth to occur.