My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Freedom got new glue on shoes today. He always yawns a lot when the farrier comes; I think the stretches feel good. Today, though, he needed a little help to get relaxed. In the process, he did a great rendition of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. Of course, he could have just been reacting to the […]
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I guess Freedom likes his glue on shoes. Today, after months of carefully growing out his badly chipped front feet, he was going to get regular shoes. It was a milestone and financially welcome. Yesterday, he managed to shed one of his expensive glue ons and totally destry the hoof wall. I found the shoe […]
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I’ve only seen a horse with laminitis once. We had a pony at the barn who looked uncomfortable. She kept shifting her weight. She had appeared slightly off. Her symptoms were suspicious, but when I suggested she could be foundering, her owners were reluctant to call the vet. By chance, we had a potential new […]
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Freedom’s got a lot of great qualities. But good feet are not among them. His hoof quality is not helped by too much rain, too much mud, too little rain, ground that’s too hard . . . you name it. Back in September of 2016 I first tried glue-on Sigafoos and I’m starting to lean […]
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I’ve always noticed that my horses show some good releases when they are being shod. They may not enjoy the shoeing, but they appreciate the stretches. But none of them have shown quite the reaction that Dandy did. My farrier and I had some good laughs over his faces. He gave some huge yawns and […]
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Winter started early this year. Normally our Thanksgiving Hunt is chilly but not snowy. This past week I already woke up to two mornings with temperatures barely into the teens. As a result, our Thanksgiving Hunt was cancelled. And we’ve had snow! Not a lot of snow, but enough so that poor Freedom, who won’t […]
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Wrapping a hoof to treat an abscess, protect a hoof after a shoe comes off can be a pain. Here are two videos that show how to keep that hoof protected. The first is quick and easy, the second a bit more robust.
Read MoreThis is a fascinating video that shows how the equine hoof performs under pressure. Hard to believe that the fragile internal structures of the hoof can work so well, especially when you think about the added stress of jumping or galloping.
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