My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy. Usually at this time of year my clients withdraw into a quiet hibernation and we start planning for the new year. This year, there’s been no stopping. I’m not complaining — work is a good thing! Especially as it coincided with some freezing weather that left […]
Read MoreI’ve always referred to the person who shod my horse as a “farrier” but over the years, I’ve seen several people write it as “ferrier.” At first, I thought it was an error. But, thinking like my grandfather (who had the largest dictionary I’ve ever seen in his office so you could check the etymology […]
Read MoreI know it’s only been raining since Tuesday but here in New England it felt like the Ark was going to appear soon to whisk us all away. It has been cold with heavy rain and blustery winds. Every time I was at the barn the horses were inside, looking out at the fetlock deep […]
Read MoreThere’s a really interesting article on Fran Jurga’s Hoofblog today about nerving. In the case she discusses, a British race trainer was suspended after racing a horse that he’d had nerved. Over the years I’ve heard stories of people buying horses that turned out to have been nerved. It’s very difficult to tell if a […]
Read MoreHere’s a nifty product that people seem to like a lot. It’s a useful way to soak feet and easy to store. It certainly beats trying to get your horse to stand in a bucket! Read the review on Tack Guru.
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In Dealing with Wet Hooves I mentioned that Freedom had a hoof abscess after a fast hunt on rough terrain, exacerbated by the wet conditions. Well, it turned out he really had two abscesses. Although the vet thought that his discomfort on the left hind was caused by putting more weight on it. Actually, it […]
Read MoreYesterday while I was cleaning up the paddock, I heard a click, click, click sound. It was the sound of the toe of the hind hoof hitting the bottom of a front hoof and it’s what is known as “forging.” Forging generally occurs when a horse has gone a bit too long between shoeing and […]
Read MoreIt was the wet weather that caused me to miss the last hunt, I’m sure. After a week or more of almost continuous rain, Freedom abscessed after a hunt. Even though he was wearing hoof boots I think that his hooves were so soft after standing in mud, that he bruised through the boots! Horses […]
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