1-7-2008

This is the first day home for Panda. I have seen belly kicking down low so I know for sure Panda is in foal. Panda's hooves are in desperate need of a trim. My husband says her feet look like "platypus feet". She's a nice mare and stays calm for the most part but I doubt she's really had anything done with her hooves in quite some time.

1-9-2008

Panda is 12 and has been a broodmare for the last seven years. Her feet are pancake shaped and very underrun. I'm not sure of when the last trim was but the mare acts like she's never had a nipper to her foot.

I did however get the dotco out with the 40-grit disk and got to work on her toes. I think in one trim I was able to back the toe and round the edges to where now when she walks she doesn't step on her own feet. She was walking much better today. The thing with her also is that she is 9-10 months pregnant and probably doesn't want to stand 3-legged to be trimmed right now. She's not real bad about giving me her hoof but takes it away pretty quickly. She was pretty tolerant of the sander so that is just how we're going to proceed for now. So this process of getting her feet back to normal might take a little longer than I anticipated.

5-6-2008

Panda foaled a healthy bay dun tobiano colt. We named him Bruiser. I have waited to do her feet since some time in the months after she came to our place, I tried to trim her and she ended up panicking and I just couldn’t risk her hurting herself when she was in foal.

9-2-2008

Scott and I have been able to trim Panda's feet now several times and I really am glad that she is finally showing improvement. She still has a ways to go before they are normal but they are so much better than when she came in January. I also think that her back muscles have suffered because of her feet and now that she can trot I am thinking that she will finally start feeling better and get back into shape. I have hope for her yet!  The right has a ways to go before I can bring the toe back anymore but it’s getting there. The left is finally letting the heel come in a little more upright instead of crushed like it was.

Sept 19, 2008

Just wanted to show Panda's progress. I have been working on her feet as you all know and today was the first time I've trimmed her myself without Scott's help. I tie the foot up that I'm trimming and she just accepts what I'm doing now. (I think she thinks that's just how it’s done) She doesn't fight it anymore. So now her feet are starting to look more normal. :) They aren't perfect by any means but they are getting there slowly but surely. The new growth coming in looks like a more natural angle for her pastern about an inch or so down from the coronet band.  

Also notice that I am unable to really give her toes a good mustang roll simply because I have to slide the rasp along the hoof while looking at the sole since her foot is tied up. Until I can get her to trust putting her hoof on the hoof stand and be able to push the rasp down the hoof wall will I be able to put a true mustang roll on her. Her feet are still flared but over time I aim to remedy this by continuing to roll that toe back. 

You can also see on the solar view that she has a lot of false sole that is not yet ready to let go. I will never par this out prematurely with a hoof knife and just let her foot do its own thing on its own schedule. The false sole is there to protect the new sole that is growing and it will come away when the foot is ready. 
 
Then today I saddled her up again and even put a bit in her mouth just to see if she'd ever done that before. She definitely has been started at some point in her life. She didn't flinch for any of it. I even put a foot up in the stirrup and she didn't budge. Her body and feet aren't quite ready to be ridden yet but I have hope that next spring we will be riding her. ;) 
 
Here's Scott holding her for me so I could get a picture of her all saddled up. She is starting to gain some weight and her coat is healthy...but I think her muscles were wasting since she just wanted to stand and not move when her feet were hurting. I think with some more time she'll be looking a lot more filled in along her topline and hips. She is a big bodied horse. Isn't she just pretty? 

Panda is a work in progress and I plan to put updates here on this page as I continue to trim her.

Oct 11 , 2008

Just had to have Scott take a picture of me while I had Panda down. She is not resisting me laying her down and I just have her front leg up with the Rarey strap. No other restraint is used on her. She lets me trim all four feet this way with no fuss.

Hopefully someday I will be able to trim her the normal way. I'm working on it slowly but I think she may have had some bad issues happen with her in the past that she just can't get over quickly. At least now I can pick out her feet at my leisure and she won't pull them away anymore. I try and get out there at least once a day to pick out her feet. She just has problems when I ask her to put her foot on the post in front of her. I think that may be a pain issue maybe in her shoulder or knees so I'm just going to keep trying but not really pressure her if its going to cause a big fight.

Anyway, you can see that her same foot I've been taking pictures is changing. (Sorry for the little bit of dirt on that foot...she put it down and I just needed to snap the picture while she was being good.) The new sole is completely exposed now with no false sole left. Her foot finally let loose of that dead material on its own. I did not touch it at all. I have left her heels a little higher this trim since her heels are finally growing in more upright now instead of being underslung and then will start lowering them more probably with the next trims. I removed a lot more toe so this will allow her to use her heel more. It's raining today and tomorrow but I plan on soaking her hooves in the oxine to help her frogs become more healthy. Anything to help get those hooves better so I can ride her next spring. :)