As readers of my blog know, Freedom has been barefoot for the past two years. For hunting and riding on rocky trails, hoof boots have provided the necessary cushioning.
Last week, though, something went wrong. I had booted Freedom up for a trail ride and he came out feeling great. Unfortunately, it didn’t last. After about 15 minutes he felt slightly off. Rather than working out of it, it got worse as the ride went on.
Finally, I got off and walked him home. He was looking quite lame on his right front.
Finally, when we got back to the barn, I pulled off the boots to evaluate the hoof . . . and a pebble the size of a small boulder fell out. No wonder he felt so lame!
Unfortunately, removing the pebble hasn’t completely fixed the problem. I slapped on the Magic Cushion and gave him a few days off but the sole must really be bruised as he’s felt slightly off for the past week. Not really off, but not 100%.
I thought he might abscess but luckily the Magic Cushion seems to have drawn out a lot of the soreness. Now just need him to feel better enough to hunt.
I guess the only silver lining is that I’ve been too busy at work to ride much so it’s not like I’ve been able to ride much but still, it’s amazing how much damage a pebble can cause!
That’s a great post, LIz. I am sure you did clean the feet, but a lot of people don’t. I am amazed to watch trail riders slap on the hoof boots straight off the trailer, without cleaning out the hooves first. Anything that is hard-packed into the frog can come loose and bounce around inside the boot. It’s important to clean the boots, too. Hoof boots are low-maintenance but they are definitely not “no” maintenance. So glad that Magic Cushion did its thing!