My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
With essential businesses closing down and vets delaying non-essential services like vaccines, I’m feeling lucky that my farrier will still come to the barn. Her very reasonable request is that the horses be put on the cross ties and that she be alone with them. Zelda and Curly are easy. They are both barefoot and […]
Read MoreIf you have ever tried to wrestle a bent or twisted shoe off your horse, you will share my amazement at how easily they can come off when your horse over steps and catches a front shoe with a hind hoof. It’s nearly impossible to dislodge a shoe when you want to; when you don’t? […]
Read MoreAccording to a post on Fran Jurga’s Hoof Blog, the original Jack with his lantern was a blacksmith. There once was an Irish blacksmith named Jack. He was a miserable man, and he spent his nights in the pub trying to make everyone around him miserable, too. One night he made a deal for one […]
Read MoreIt’s been seven weeks since Zelda had her first trim (from dinner plates to desert plates). Today she was shod for the second time. I think her feet are looking a whole lot better. The flare is vastly improved and the areas that needed to be resected (to remove bacteria) have grown out considerably. Of […]
Read MoreWe’ve had hot, humid and often wet weather the past few weeks. This means that our horses are standing inside more often than not, that when they are outside they are standing in mud, and the bottom line is it hasn’t been good for their hooves. Even when you clean the stalls twice a day, […]
Read MoreWe have now enjoyed four weeks of continuous happy feet. No soreness and no abscesses! Freedom’s last abscess was November 2nd – a frankenabscess that made him look like he had a broken leg. For the second time it blew out the heel bulb of his right front hoof making it impossible for him to […]
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 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 […]
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