Snapple is a Miniature Horse, Class B.
(the taller classification). He is my daughter's first "pony", but is really more for my own fun. I am currently
training him to pull a small cart as my daughter will be too big to ever really ride him. When Snapple came to me, his feet
had been trimmed in a more traditional manner and he appeared to be up on stilts rather than the tiny hooves he should have
had. Within a few short months, his feet have become nearly perfect.
These first couple of pictures should
illustrate what I mean by "stilts". Note that the hairline was almost horizontal when view from the side. Not
only that, but there are laminitic rings (ripples) and some pink bruising visible in the wall indicating his diet wasn't quite
right for him. Look at how much extra hoof wall he had (to be fair, he was past due for his trim in the first set of
pictures). For horse with hooves that are only 2 inches wide, that's a lot of excess!
| FROG HAS NO GROUND CONTACT |
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| HORIZONTAL HAIRLINE |
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| LAMINITIC RINGS INDICATE DIETARY ISSUES |
The next set of pictures were taken 6
months after the first set. Seasons have changed, so pardon the fuzzy fetlocks! If you can see through all that hair, the
coronet is not longer horizontal, and his frog actually makes contact with the ground! (The frog actually was trimmed, this
picture of his sole was BEFORE his maitenance trim in January). His walls are beveled, and only stick up 1/16th of an inch
above the sole, which has exfoliated. Notice the concavity, wide frog and the overall nice round shape of his hoof. The length
of his foot in the first pictures was 3 1/2 inches from hairline to ground at the toe, now it's more like 2 1/2 inches.
He is very sound, has a beautiful heel first landing and his hooves are approaching perfection. You can still see old bruising
in the more recent picture, but that is past damage that is growing out. Also notice there aren't any more ripples for the
upper section of hoof. Laminitic rings don't just go away, they have to grow down and wear off or be trimmed off. In Snapple,
he's only half way there, but all the new growth is nice and tight. He only eats hay (prarie grass and a cup of alfalfa pellets)
with a vitamin supplement.
| BEFORE A 6 WEEK MAITENANCE TRIM |
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| NOTE MORE NATURAL HAIRLINE ANGLE |
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| AFTER MAITENENCE TRIM |
