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Mitchell is a 15 year old crossbred gelding. An orphan at 3 months old Mitchell came to me through the S.P.C.A. very malnourished and with obvious nutritional deficiencies.
From 8 years of age he began to show lameness problems that eventually lead to Ringbone.
Veterinary advice was very negative and there was no hope for a return to soundness through veterinary intervention.
Over the next few years he got to the point of showing pain and discomfort even when standing in the field.
The ossifications had become visible as two large lumps on the coronary band of each front hoof. These hardened areas were causing the hoof wall to grow down in a ridge making both hooves look like they had corners on them.
The hoof imbalance that had led to the Ringbone had also changed his way of going and he walked and trotted with heavy footfalls and a short choppy stride. He had also developed an extreme swayback.
3 weeks after his first Natural Hoof Trim the ossifications on both coronary bands had reduced by 80%. The ridge in the hoof wall had disappeared and both hooves were a round shape again with no corners.
Over a period of 2 months his swayback diminished and his movement began to improve.
During the winter of 2003 he changed from a toe first landing to heel first and began playing in the paddock again, galloping and jumping fences.
He has been ridden through his transition from un-healthy to healthy feet with the added protection of hoof boots to maximise his comfort.
Mitchell is now at the stage of being able to be ridden on roads without hoof boots and is back to teaching learner riders how much fun trotting, cantering and jumping can be.
He now has the cheeky attitude and athleticism that he showed as a 5 year old.
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