Feel-good Friday Flyer!

I had a lovely video clip sent to me yesterday, showing a smart grey TB doing a lovely clear round in her and her rider's first SJ together.  

I can't post the video at the moment but I've got these stills from it and you can see how much they are enjoying themselves.

This is particularly special for me to watch because the mare is Lucy, who arrived here as a rehab horse with a diagnosis of collateral ligament damage in March 2011.  She went home in June 2011 and has now moved to Yorkshire, where she has carried on going from strength to strength.

She has since gone back to her proper job, as an event horse, and I really hope to be able to post more updates on her over this season.  She is looking fantastic and every bit as good, if not better, than I remember her!

And while we are on the subject of showjumping, I wanted to post some comparison pics of current rehab Bryan, which show how fast his feet are changing.

You've seen this shot before, but its just comparing his LF at day one (above) and 6 weeks (below).

You can see how much growth has already occurred, by the position of the nail holes and mark on his hoof.  You can also (I hope!) see that the foot is stronger at the back and less under-run.

The caudal shot confirms what you can see laterally...

better development and a more robust hoof. 

Sole shots again, same story, different angle...

at 4 weeks (above) and 6 weeks (below) you can really see the hoof "unfolding"...

and finally an interesting one showing the balance shift in his LF over the same time-frame...

Can you see why his collateral ligaments were under strain?!

When Lucy was here she made extremely rapid changes, but she was only 5 years old.  Its all the more impressive that Bryan has made such good progress in his first 6 weeks when you consider that he is 15 and has been in shoes for many years.   Who knows what he might be doing this time next year?