Has it really been 8 weeks

Looked at the calendar today, and realised that it is now about 8 weeks since Ru initially went barefoot at the back.  Of course we couldn't do the transition pain free we had to have complications such as standing on the clips on the one foot she removed the shoe from (sound on the one that I removed to balance her up) and then going hopping from the farrier 2 weeks later!
Of course it never occured to me that going barefoot would be frought with agro.... I thought it would be as simple as pull the shoes and off we go.  Um nope.

Ru's hinds were as flat as pancakes, with the heals showing signs of collapsing... this I knew about, but both the farrier and  I had never expected the horror of an apparently totally crippled horse and her extream reaction.  I was horror struck and set about some reasearch to try and convince myself that this lameness was only a temporary set back.

Lordie..... there is so much information out there..... shame that there is quite a lot contridictory, but one thing came through..... magnesium good, sugar is not good...... oops. ah... we needed to reassess the diet.

Well I had magnesium..... but it was in the wrong form.... oh well epsom salts had to do as a short term measure..Any port in a storm so to speak, but I ran out of that about a fortnight ago, so have ordered some magnesium oxide as a more permanent feature of her diet.

Well I was stunned.  once the bruising had subsided, and boy were her heals a beautiful purple, I started to see a change in the conformation of her feet. Initially I saw heel growth... I was overjoyed.  then came the curving of the sole..... WOW.... my flat footed TB was heading towards the text book feet that I had seen in my reasearch.

I wouldn't say we are anywhere near "rock crunching", but I am sure that we are heading the right way as I could hear her back hooves on the tarmac last night as we were hacking out and the wierd stumbling that she did with her backend has stopped since the shoes came off.  Both myself and the farrier are pleased with the changes we are seeing.