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Photos from a blown Check Ligament injury and the treatment used to comfort the horse
The left front leg with the swelling and contraction. The Check ligament is under the uppermost area of swelling.
This is a Tennesse Walking horse that was taken off the riser platform used to give the breed its exaggerated knee action to quickly. The tension of the ligaments was to great and the Check ligament tore. Imagin if you lived your entire life in high heels and one day you woke up with flip flops. That should give you a good idea of the type of tightness the mare was experiencing. In the photo te swelling is obvious, and you should also note that she is standing with all her weight on the toe of the foot to relieve the tension and pain. The right foot was not as badly damaged but was temporarily placed in a 8 degree wedge pad/boot while we worked on the left foot.
The story behind the issues
Another view from the right side looking at the swelling of the left leg.
Kenny Mead constructed a Rail Shoe in order to support the tendon and relieve the force and pressure caused by the foots inability to completely reach the ground surface
This is the application of the rail shoe to the injured leg. While the initial angle is very severe small sections of the up-right portion of the rail shoe can be cut out and re-welded in increments that allow the horses foot to be returned to normal position, while the ligament has time to heal and re-stretch.
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- Left Front -
Low angle and a pretty beat up hoof
- Right front -
Seriously under-run heels and very low hoof angel
Medial / Lateral (side to side) balance isn't bad, but the hoof lengths, and Anterior / Posterior (front to back) Angels are significantly different.
- After the trim-
Significant Angle improvement. As well as a substantial improvement in the heel placement
Balanced with a Modified breakover
2 Degree "Frog Support" wedge pads help to increase the hoof angle as well as provide load relief of the heels by spreading the weight load over the entire hoof.