Trim Time

Christina Cline was here this afternoon to trim Tonka and Raven. Given that she visits once per month (and that she's a trained professional) , her unique perspective on Tonka's progress is always appreciated. Today she said that the tightening of his white lines over the past four weeks rivals that of the previous eight weeks, and that she feels increasingly confident about his prognosis. At the same time she confirmed my suspicion that the rapid growth of his front right heel is probably linked to his soreness. This slightly "clubbed" foot could have preexisted the founder and caused greater rotation in the right coffin bone, or it may be the result of accommodating founder pain for years. Either way, the condition is mild and should not affect his soundness in the long term. Tonka has certainly been happier for the past few days, both physically and emotionally. Although I doubt we've seen the last of these healing pains, I'm glad to see him get a reprieve.

Christina also confirmed my observations about Raven's hind feet, which seem to have pancaked since her shoes were pulled. She assures me that this is normal for thin-walled hooves that have been shod for a long time. Miss Thing is oblivious to this development, but I did buy a pair of Cavallo Simple Boots to protect her hinds on rocky rides.