Preventative foot care is a concept wherein the hoof is monitored for subtle changes that deviate from the assigned norm over time and are amended where necessary. An important concept to grasp here is that a lot of these horses going through the PFCP are clinically sound and may not have one thing wrong. The idea is to practically space the evaluations out so that they are not a burden financially, but do them often enough to where things don’t get out of hand. Drastic changes are obviously more easily documented, since baseline comparisons highlight and accentuate recent changes or events. Several different parameters can optionally be measured and monitored, with number and frequency being dictated by individual case severity, doctor preference, and/or owner concern. Laminitic horses, for instance, might be checked on a much more frequent interval than the routine baseline evaluation, which might be annual or semi-annual, depending on the case. Evaluations can range from basic, which would at a minimum be lateral radiographs of the front feet, and optionally to include the rear. A more complete evaluation would include DP (front view) and lateral radiographs of all four feet plus digital photos and measurements of side, front, and solar views... all four feet again. In a world of subtleties, documentation is critical in nabbing drifts from what is desired and encouraging or directing therapy where improvement is the goal. Apart from the various measurements, etc., a thorough evaluation would also take into account body condition score (unnh... how fat is yo critter), metabolic concerns (i.e. insulin resistance, EMS or equine metabolic syndrome, cushing’s disease), nutrition, conformation, and hoof size/body weight ratio; research (Dr. Doolittle’s, I presume)has found that horses aren’t comfortable with their body weight exceeding 78 lbs./sq. inch of cross-sectional hoof area (...”does this saddle make me look fat?”).