01/20/2023
For several years I’ve been noticing what can best be described as ‘artifacts’ on certain, but not all, hooves.
Quarter creases are one such artifact.
It was obvious something was going on in some feet, so I got to thinking. I had a feeling that those creases were where capsule was pinched as a result of the moving forward of the caudal end of the hoof.
When they’re present, they’re in very much the same spot on the hoof. These creases are in the same place quarter cracks happen.
This is Kidd’s near hind. I've been trimming him since spring of 2022.
May 18, 2022. This is just after the first time I trimmed him. The triangle taken out of the bottom of his capsule is from the farrier before. The crease/crack is evident all the way up to his hairline.
June 19, pre trim. It's clear that there's been movement in his capsule, even with the poor photo quality. The crack looks wider at the bottom, and not as bad at his coronet.
August
There's a zoom of the August shot, but it's out of order, here's what I see going on there...
The yellow line is the tubule at the crack.
The light mustard line is the tubule at the back of the crack, and is wider from the yellow tubule at the top than at the bottom.
The orange line is about parallel to the mustard. So same amount of growth coming down between the two.
The red line traces another tubule further back toward his heel. This line, like the mustard, is wider yet again from the yellow line at the top than it is at the bottom, showing more expansion in the new capsule growth coming in.
The lime line shows the distance between the yellow and red tubules maybe two months ago?
The green line is parallel to the lime and that space between the end of the green line and where it does not reach the red line shows just how much his capsule has enlarged over that time period. (!)
The wedge between the black and red line highlights the splitting force that is happening via a larger capsule growing down over a smaller capsule.
This splitting force is what causes cracks to widen before they abate.
The original crack he had was due to the fact that his capsule could contract no more while remaining coherent, so it started folding in on itself.
September
Crack is clearly wider at the bottom and tighter at the top. Indicating, in this scenario, that a larger foot is growing down on top of a smaller capsule. Or, a capsule no longer large enough to accommodate the larger hoof, so smaller capsule is widening at split.
October...
I've circled in green where there is clear indication of expansion under the periople. It's unfolding! And again, yellow line traced tubule in front of 'crack' compared to orange line tracing tubule behind the crack, help highlight how much expansion is happening in his hoof capsule at the coronet. Light blue and dark blue lines are the same length and parallel.
November
The 'unfolding' at the coronet has evened out and the crack itself is no longer up to his hairline, but stops at the bottom of the periople.
January 6, 2023
This one blew my mind.
While you can see where the crack was, which tubules it went along-ish, the crack itself is closed, melded together along the top 2/3-3/4 of his capsule.
It's only the bottom 1/3-1/4 that remains open!
And again, that opening at the bottom is to be expected due to the wedging force of a larger number of tubules growing down in the same space that a smaller number of tubules occupied before.
I mean, I knew it was going to happen, but man it's so cool to witness it when it does!!! And the thing is, this capsule isn't even done. It's still getting bigger. He's going to be so comfy when it's all done.
Better and better!
