My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
In many regards we’ve had a great summer. And I really shouldn’t complain when we’re enjoying sunny days, especially since the humidity has dropped. So, why am I doing the rain dance? Because the ground is hard as cement and Freedom’s legs just don’t need that kind of concussion. Last Friday we took a field […]
Read MoreIt’s been a month since I had Freedom’s shoes pulled (the great barefoot experience is underway). I had expected the worst: a horse that was too footsore to ride; the loss of an entire hunt season; hooves that chipped; and bruising or abscessing. When I had to take Kroni’s front shoes off he was miserable. […]
Read MoreWhile I’m not someone who stridently believes that shoes are evil, bits are torture and treed saddles will hurt your horse’s back, when I came back from a hack yesterday, I realized that Freedom certainly looked the part. He was wearing two Cavallo Simple boots, an LG bitless bridle and a Freeform Treeless saddle. How […]
Read MoreI had planned to pull Freedom’s shoes this winter and let the nail holes on his hoof grow out. In the spring we had a lot of mud and the wet/dry cycling did not help his TB feet. Although the new growth looks good, keeping shoes on him has been tricky and has required careful […]
Read MoreMany of have been there. We train our horses and work toward a goal only to be sidelined by an injury at the last minute. Months of work and anticipation can thwarted by a lost shoe, a tweaked tendon, an episode of colic, or a rider injury. All of that anticipation and we’re left cursing. […]
Read MoreJust this week I’ve been following a thread on COTH called Best practices: When your horse throws a shoe. In it, the poster asks how other riders deal with the naked foot until the farrier can come and tack the shoe back on. Much to my surprise, several people said they would pull the shoe […]
Read MoreOne of the reasons I bought Easyboot Bares is that they are assembled from discrete components that can be replaced by the user. Well, now I need to make good on that theory. Over the summer, when my Trakehner gelding was growing out his hooves, I used boots front and back to keep him comfortable […]
Read MoreFor the first two weeks that Kroni was barefoot, I was pretty optimistic. His front feet were holding up and while looked ouchy when walking over the gravel driveway, he seemed okay when on grass. I was treating his soles with Durasole and even took him for a hack while wearing hoof boots. Then he […]
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