But I Like my Horse Barefoot

What do you say when you want to keep your horse barefoot(unshod) and you are getting the, "I think he needs shoes up front" suggestion. My horse has been barefoot since I bought him last March. In the beginning my trimmer had work to do to correct the poor trimming my horse came with and get past some minor cracks and flares as they grew out.

At this time his hooves look the best yet. However, in the last 2 weeks, he has been showing an "ouchiness" when led from his stall or if he moves when he's been standing for awhile. There are no cracks. The walls look strong. The frogs have been shedding a lot and the crevices on each side of the frog are kind of deep but there seems to be no tenderness. No bad thrush, although the paddocks have been very wet from the weather we've been having.

I have watched Rugby as I do groundwork with him and once he's moving he seems to work out of it. Occasionally he seems more uncomfortable going over deep footing or uneven ground or he'll take a misstep if he steps on a rock or twig. The best I can do to trace it back is about 2 weeks ago I took him out to do lunging and groundwork in the polo arena and he was feeling very fresh and in his antics on the line I get the feeling he may have overexerted himself and strained something higher up in the limb. There's no heat or swelling anywhere below the knees. Maybe it's a stone bruise to the hoof?

It hasn't gotten worse than what it is. In fact, he gets a lot of time off during the week and it seems a little better. I figured if he strained something, rest is the best thing for it so I let him hang out. When I worked with him this weekend, I tried lunging/riding him in the blue stone ring behind the barn which has harder but more level footing than the polo arena and he seemed to be moving better on that ground than in the softer sand footing of the polo arena. Hmmm...

The barn manager asked me this weekend if I noticed his gimpiness. I told him yes and that it seems to be getting better. Then he told me the vet noticed it too when they were floating Rugby's teeth last week and he thought maybe I should put shoes on Rugby. That maybe his feet are tender from the wet ground and the shoes will give him support. I listened, said thanks and yes I will consider it. My hoof trimmer is scheduled to come work on Rugby's hooves this Sunday. I want to talk to him about it first and see if he notices anything unusual with the feet and if Rugby is better or worse after the trim.

I want to keep the big guy barefoot. Not just because it's less expensive but because he's got good hooves for it and because I'm not convinced that shoes are the "fix" for this. I was always a shoe advocate but I've had my eyes opened to the benefits of barefoot. If I felt that his hooves were not adapting well to being unshod, I would have him on shoes already. Winter is upon us and my training time is impacted by the weather and footing conditions. Rugby will be getting a lot of hanging out time. I'd like to let him stay barefoot, just leave it alone and see where it goes. The horse isn't being asked to compete or even do more than walk/trot when worked.

Has anyone else had a situation like this, where you are being told you should go back to shoes and you just don't feel that's the answer? I want to trust my 35+ years of horseman's intuition on this one but would like to hear from you if you have had a similar circumstance and what the outcome was for you.

Back in the Saddle

The focus of this blog was about Monty - "a good horse" and chronicled our recent adventures and the fun a good horse can give you. It was also a way, as his melanoma condition worsened, to keep the memories of our time together alive. I think, moving forward, it also applies to my search for another good horse.

So, starting this weekend, I'm going to be writing about the horses I try, and what it's like to ride many different horses again. I have ridden Monty exclusively for the last 7 years. Before him, I was a "catch rider". My old mare was retired with her lameness injury and I wanted so bad to keep riding and showing so I would ride whatever was offered to me. I was a wise rider, I wouldn't get up on just anything. I chose what was safe but never turned down a challenge. I rode greenies, showed sale horses, and competed with a lovely, highly trained mare for a lady who's kids no longer competed but she still liked to go to the shows and schmooze.

That was before Monty came along. Back then I was also much fitter, thinner, and didn't have a family to think about. I'll be honest, I am working to suppress some fears about getting on strange horses to try and find "the one". But I have to do this, and now. The longer I wait, I think the worse it will be for me.

I have never been in this situation before. Every horse that came after the one before overlapped it's time in my possession. My first horse was a QH/Morgan given to me by my parents (who had no idea what they were getting into) on my 10th birthday. Two years later my dad got a western broke TB/QH for himself to trail ride with me. He stopped riding when his business picked up and I then rode his horse and found out he was a really good hunter/jumper. Then my mare, Alta came along and I bought her by trading those two horses with the dealer who was handling her sale.

I owned her for over 20 years. Monty came along in the last 2 years of her life, when she was no longer rideable. As I said, I was riding other people's horses at that time, but at the end of the day, when I had to give them back, or had to do what their owners told me they wanted done with them, I always had MY horse to come to and groom and fuss with as I saw fit.

Monty was brought in as a sale horse for another customer at the barn where my mare was. I'll never forget the Master calling me at work and telling me to leave now and come ride this new horse. I wasn't even looking for another horse. I had a horse. He told me the horse was too green for the client but would be a perfect project for me.

So, being a sucker for a good ride, I went right after work and tried him. He was so calm, steady and willing. After my super hot TB it was a breath of fresh air. I didn't know how I was going to juggle 2 boards and pay for him but I did it. The Master and the barn owner were good enough to let me take up teaching the beginners to earn enough money to cover the second board. And sometimes, though I hate to admit, my animal loving parents helped me out.

Then, when I lost my mare to colic, it was just Monty and me. And my life changed. I met the man who became my husband, changed to a better job, got married and started a family. Horse shows became less important but the horse never lost his place in my life. Many times my husband talked me out of selling him when the rest of my life kept demanding the time I would have used to go to the barn.

And here I am, horseless for the first time in almost 35 years. My kind friends have already begun offering rides. This weekend, E.W. has asked me to help her with the new horse she is fostering with option to adopt from a local rescue and another of my friends has offered me the chance to ride her thoroughbred mare sale horse.

I have been living on the internet looking and looking at horses. I found one locally I'm going to see on Sunday. I need to start somewhere and NY local is as good as any with this nasty cold weather.

So, we shall see. Let the journey begin.

Your Horse Can Heat Your Home?

Now here's an interesting article. In my latest email from the Equine Compare Newsletter, there was an article about using horse manure to heat your home. I thought, hmm, interesting idea since many horse owners lament what to do with the poo. Seems it is not smelly upon burning, provides good compost from the ashes after it burns and is environmentally sound. I'm all for things to 'keep it green' so to speak and the only negative I could see was it does seem to be a time consuming process. Of course there IS that 'down and dirty' aspect of it where you have to mold the poo into bricks to be used for burning, but that's what shovels and gloves are for.

Here's a link to build your own poo mold with more information from someone who experimented with this fuel source.
And another link to buy a poo mold for the time constricted and those who couldn't build anything but character.

Anybody ever actually do this? I'd be willing to try it, how about you?

Changes in Horse Behavior in Colder Weather

As I read around the blogs and posts these days, it seems so many people seem to be lamenting that their usually calm and steady equine companion has been possessed by high spirits and nonsense. Welcome to late fall and winter.

The following are some thoughts and suggestions about working with horses in colder weather.

Change in the temperature, weather and season has a way of making old timers act like young fools and schoolmasters forget even the simplest of movements. There seems to be a heightened awareness and alertness to every sound, smell and sight and especially to what other horses are doing.

Some of this might be responses to instincts that are hard-wired into the essense of being a prey animal. In the wild, horses will migrate to warmer places and more plentiful food sources at this time of year. Wild horses would also seek out places where they are better protected from predators as prey animals have fewer available food sources when the weather turns colder, and they need to eat more to maintain body temp. So perhaps, there is a ancient survival mode that kicks in when the seasons change, increasing horses' sensitivity to sites and sounds as a means by which to protect themselves against predators. An increased flight drive so to speak. In addition is an urge to migrate, to move - a restlessness that we have rendered unnecessary by providing a stall and food but that still may exist and cause frustration for horse and handler.

Perhaps it's also the constant tingle of a chilly breeze riffling the longer fur. If the touch of a fly is an annoyance on the fur, imagine a cold breeze penetrating the coat to the skin. And a fully clipped horse will most certainly want to get moving to generate some heat to adapt to the disadvantage of being rendered naked! Unless a horse is working hard or showing during the colder weather, it's preferable to use one of the body clipping styles that allows maximum fur coverage with minimum cooling and drying efforts after working.

On a normally phlegmatic horse, a creative rider will use this newfound energy and alertness to find exercises to distract the horses' mind. A good example is to create a maze of poles on the ground and walk, then trot the horse through and over them. Patterns for such can be found in several training exercise books, such as Dr. Reiner Klimke's book, Cavaletti: The Schooling of Horse and Rider over Ground Poles". Many horses tend to have improved concentration when they have to focus about where they are putting their feet. This is good because a rider can move into the ground pole exercise at any time during their ride that they need to bring the horses' mind back from daydreaming.

Many people like to use lungeing before they ride to get the nonsense out and then mount up. This is useful but much has been made of the abuse of this practice by overdoing it in order to render a horse exhausted to compensate for the rider's shortcomings. Lungeing before riding is best done fully tacked, so the horse knows he will be asked to work. The person lungeing should ask for the horse to perform the basic gaits for perhaps 10-15 minutes as a warm-up. If the horse bucks and plays on the line, they should keep control but ignore it and ask calmly for the horse to settle down. The horse should never be forced into galloping and bucking around by excessive urging, thinking this will hurry getting the goofiness out of him. In fact, that may very well have the opposite effect. The horse might have been quite willing to lunge in a well behaved manner for a few minutes then proceed into under saddle work nicely warmed up but after being agitated by being chased around the line will be so rattled under tack that working productively will be difficult at best!

Sometimes , especially in an older horse, the colder weather can bring on increased stiffness and creakiness in the joints and body. That can be incentive enough to act up and hope you'll get off their aching back! There are now numerous supplements on the market to address joint issues. This might be a time to discuss dosage with a vet. A vet might tell you to change the dosage, sometimes what is the average dosage on the package is not enough for a particular horses' needs.

Some horses appreciate being rubbed in with a little liniment just before work, to bring the blood up to the surface and create a sensation of heat. The slight increase in blood flow to a commonly stiff exposed area, say the hocks, from a short massage and application of liniment can often improve their attitude and get them to work faster. This should never be done under boots, bandages or areas covered by tack, as the increased heat from working can produce irritation, blister the skin and create sores and other problems.

Another thought to consider is the increased sensitivity to the cold of the metal bit. Imagine putting a frigid bar of metal in your mouth, across your tongue and touching your teeth. No one would blame a horse for wanting to avoid that! If you can try a rubber or plastic (such as a Happy Mouth) covered version of your usual bit, it might make a difference since these bits are not such conductors of the cold. Otherwise, the simple act of warming the bit before bridling is a gesture of kindness sure to be appreciated. Even on the coldest of days, the bit will warm up reasonably quickly in your bare hands. It's far better to get your hands cold for a few minutes than to put a freezing cold bit in your horse's sensitive mouth. Your horse's well being is what's most important, don't you agree?