Meet Jake:
Jake is in need of a trim - it has only been 9 months since his last! Yes, this can happen to any animal; regular hoof care is a must.
This is the left hind hoof of Jake; you can only imagine the pain and discomfort that must come with this untrimmed hoof.
Only 30 minutes later, his left hind hoof after more than 5 inches of hoof was removed. Without causing any discomfort, Jake is now on the way to recovery. He is now on a new diet, new turn out schedule, and of course a new trimming cycle.
Meet Fred:
Believe it or not, this donkey was being trimmed by a farrier here in Clark County for the last six months. The owners were told that this was as good as he was going to get since "he's a donkey." As you will see, the statement made was incorrect.
As you can see, the proper bio-mechanics have been
restored to the left front hoof; all other hooves have not been trimmed yet.
This is the left hind foot before it was trimmed.
From this angle you can see how much hoof wall and frog needed to come off. The collateral groove depth is over three inches.
After removing over two inches of hoof wall and bringing the frog down with it, Fred is now ready to run with the horses. We need to address the weight issue as well; if not, the new hoof will not stand a fat chance growing out. Once again, no pain was caused with this trim. After I was finished, the owner had a hard time getting him to stop running, he was really feeling good!
Meet Wheezie:
Wheezie has been barefoot now for over 4 years! She never needs boots or any other hoof protection.
Wheezie's left front hoof before her trim. Very nice well connected hoof walls.
Wheezie helps maintain her own hooves. She just needs a trim every 6 weeks to help keep her walls under control.
Wheezie after her trim. She is ready for ANY ground that is put before her. This is one stone crushing hoof!