FOUNDER- Watch the success of Brite as we take him from
founder to 100% solid hoof. Brite is a 1992 Thoroughbred
gelding. He came off the track in July of 1998. He was
misdiagnosed with a "sore" ankle, and it was later found that he
had foundered and has coffin bone rotation.
NAVICULAR- Maggie, is a beautiful brown and white Paint mare,
who is available for adoption at Bright Futures Farm. She was
diagnosed with Navicular and given up for adoption by her prior
owner. Prior to using the natural trim technique, she was taking
1-2 bute a day with isoxsuprine. She is no longer on meds, has no
trouble moving about the pasture, and will often gallop off with
the other horses with no indication that she has a problem.
THE DREADED THOROUGHBRED HOOF - My buddy, Gold
Deputy a/k/a Gambit, was the first horse to let me practice my
skills on his hoofs. Gambit, an ex-racehorse, is a 1994
Thoroughbred gelding that we adopted in 2001 from Bright
Futures Farm. He always wore shoes while racing, and after we
adopted him (and before we switched to natural trim), he always
wore front shoes. With the shoes, he was prone to cracked hoofs,
stone bruises and abscesses.
THE QUARTER HORSE HOOF - My other buddy (another
member of the X-Men), Logan, is my wife Christine's horse.
Logan is a 1997 Quarter Horse gelding. He has always been
barefoot, receiving a pasture trim from our farrier (not to be
confused with the natural trim!). With the pasture trim, he was
very "ouchy" over hard ground and especially on small rocks. He
tended to lean forward over his front feet, almost like a skier He
stumbled a lot over his front feet (due to long toes), had white
line separation, had contracted heels, and was constantly battling
thrush.
