My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
It’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 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 MoreThere’s an old proverb about horse trading that goes: One white foot—buy him. Two white feet—try him. Three white feet—look well about him. Four white feet—go without him. For some, this saying reinforces the idea that horses with white (versus black) hooves are more prone to hoof troubles. White hooves are supposedly “softer” or more […]
Read MoreQuality Road, one of the favorites for the upcoming Kentucky Derby was withdrawn yesterday because of residual soreness from a quarter crack. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Whenever hoof issues become headline news I always turn to Fran Jurga’s Hoof Blog as she always has the inside story from the farriers treating the problem. Today is […]
Read MoreHoof picks are ubiquitous at a barn. Often costing less than 50 cents, they are not usually something that I’ve thought much about. I bought them in bulk and lost them almost as fast as I purchased them. By chance I came across a few that changed my mind. These are hoof picks that are […]
Read MoreFreedom, my TB, recently suffered from a bad abscess. A rock worked it’s way under his hoof pad and the abscess came out the heel bulb. It was swollen and painful. I can remember soaking a horse’s foot before Davis Soaking Boots were widely available. Often times the process was more painful than the injury, […]
Read MoreAt the end of June, my Trakehner, Kroni, lost both front shoes and quite a bit of hoof wall. It launched us on a hoof growing experiment and a prolonged stretch of having him barefoot. He lives out 24/7 and it really wasn’t feasible to try to put shoes on him if he was going […]
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 […]
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