My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
It’s a rare day when my farrier tells me that Freedom’s feet look great. He has unfortunate Thoroughbred feet that grow slowly and are easily chipped. For the past few years, he’s thrived in glue-on Sigafoos, but, readers may remember that back in April, I decided to pull his shoes. Covid-19 concerns meant limited farrier […]
Read MoreWhen I was a kid it seemed like pulling horses’ shoes for the winter was pretty routine. Way back then winter was considered more of a rest period than it is today. Letting your horse spend some time barefoot (provided he can get through the transition period) usually improves overall health of the feet. It […]
Read MoreCable ties are one of my favorite things to use at the barn. They are right up there with duct tape and baling twine in their usefulness — need to tie up some electric fence? Fix a halter with a broken snap? Cable ties are perfect! But the absolute best use I’ve found for them […]
Read MoreHere’s an interesting article about an owner who went the barefoot route after her horse developed severe White Line disease. Competing on a barefoot horse is almost unheard of for a show hunter. However, given that they are almost always on groomed footing, I would think that more people might follow suit.
Read MoreFreedom has now been barefoot since October and his feet keep looking better and better. Here’s the progression. It’s funny. I never thought that Freedom would be able to go barefoot because I’ve had so much trouble with his feet. My farrier was the one who suggested that I pull his shoes and see what […]
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 […]
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