Blessed

Sometimes I wonder what I've done in either this life or a past life to be blessed with the horse I have. Coincidence? Providence? I don't know. She's taken care of me, taught me more than I can say, and been with me through the best and worst moments of my life.

Why? I don't know. I knew nothing when I bought her. Oh, I thought I knew everything, but like all 12 year olds, I was wrong. I knew fuck all and got lucky. Why was I lucky? Again, I don't know.

Every now and then it makes me think. Sometimes I wonder if there's some cosmic "neener neener, fooled you!!!!" lined up for me, or if I've been blessed with good fortune. Or, of course, neither of these things and events unfolded by pure chance.

Cherry is such an awesome horse. She's been with me for about 12 years now, and still as challenging and as fun as ever. Our challenges nowadays are more about hoof trimming and arthritis than riding issues, but that doesn't matter. I don't just coast through horse care, thinking that I know everything and there's nothing new to explore.

Maybe it's her personality, and trust me, she's got that in spades. Nothing boring about Cherry, no matter how broke she may be. My friends laugh at the expressions on her face, and even when she's carting around small children, she's anything from dead and boring.

I guess that's it. She's not boring. Never was and probably never will be. She'll be like one of those old ladies who whack young whippersnappers with their cane and yell at them to get off of the lawn. Not because she truly cares about the lawn, but just because she's old and she can. And she thinks it's hilarious.

I don't know, but something tells me there's a higher purpose for all of this. Lord knows what that purpose is, but I know it's there. I'll discover it eventually. Hopefully. Maybe I'm meant to deal with horses like Cherry, who just need training and a job, but their minds are intact. Maybe Cherry is really some Egyptian princess trapped in equine form (that would explain why she's so damn smart!) who is supposed to learn how to be subservient and "save someone's life" before she can enter heaven. Ha! I've been reading too many fairy tales and drinking too much.

Though it makes me wonder sometimes. Why? Is my awesome horse some kind of reward or some kind of training exercise? Or both? Have I done something to deserve such good fortune or am I supposed to do something with everything Cherry has taught me? Or is this simply confined to this life, and the fruits of all those years of lessons, blood, sweat and tears a well behaved, broke horse?

I forget sometimes, how far we've come. I used to stop Cherry by turning her into a wall and hoping she'd have the sense to stop before barreling into a solid obstacle (she did). Now, I sit back, close my thigh and little and say "whoa".

Maybe Cherry was sent to me (by who, I don't know) to do something for me. Who knows where I'd be without her. Probably much worse off, as there would have been nothing in my life more important than myself and my own good time. With Cherry, I had something to lose when I fucked up. My friends had cars, I could stand to lose my car, but losing my horse? There was no question of that. Of course not, keeping Cherry was more important than keeping myself alive.

I guess it doesn't matter why, how, or wherefore. I'm absolutely blessed to have such a wonderful creature in my life, and whether that is due to Fate, le bon Dieu, or pure chance, I am grateful. Eternally grateful. Cherry has a place in my life until the day she dies, and hopefully that is a loooong way off. I trust to my horsekeeping skills and her Arab pedigree to keep her going for many years to come.

Thanks, to whoever brought this horse to me. It doesn't matter if I never know. Thank you.

Hoof Trimming

Last weekend I did something I'd never done before; I trimmed Cherry's feet. And she's not lame. Truth.

Why did I do this, one might ask? Well, to begin with, I've been growing increasingly unhappy with the farrier situation around here. There are about 50 people calling themselves farriers, but only 2 who are any good. The owner of the barn I board at only allows one of these two farriers on the property. He's an excellent shoer, but not the best barefoot trimmer. "Passable" is the level of quality you get more often than not.

Passable is not good enough anymore. I'm tired of waiting 7 or more weeks for him to find a window in his schedule to squeeze my horse in. I'm also tired of waiting increasing amounts of time after the trim for my horse to be sound again. The last time it took her a week to recover. She was lame for a week. A freaking week! In what world is that okay?!

The idea of doing my own trims had been festering in my brain for some time before the "thanks for making my horse lame, how much do I owe you?" incident. A friend of mine had been doing her horse's feet (unbeknownst to me) for quite some time, and turned a mutual friend on to the idea. This friend is also a fellow boarder, so I got to watch the whole, "I'm going to start trimming my own horse" process unfold. She trimmed, her horse remained sound, she trimmed again, her horse remained sound again. Hmmmm, maybe it isn't rocket science and I could do it too!

So I asked her about it. She recommended a book. I bought the book. I read the book. Everything in the book made complete and total sense. Not only did it make sense, it sounded doable and not like an intimidating task that I was in no way qualified to do. I went one step further and bought a DVD made by the mentor of the book's author. Watching this reassured me still further that yes, there is no reason why I can't trim my own damn horse if I'm careful and remember a few simple rules.

I bought my tools, a hoof knife, a rasp, a hoof stand (actually it's a truck jack), and borrowed a pair of nippers. All told, it took over 2.5 hours to trim all four feet. Yeah, I know. However, this included multiple breaks (pony has arthritis and I'm out of shape), one turn out in a grassy paddock between front and hind hooves, and countless minutes spent scrutinizing the hooves from all angles. Cherry was most patient during the whole production, though I'm sure she was wondering what was taking so damn long.


The basic rules I followed:

- When in doubt, leave the sole alone. The sole callous is of paramount importance to keeping the barefoot horse sound. Don't mess with it unless it wants to come out.

- Hoof wall grows back. Really, it does.

- Make the heels even.

- The sole-frog junction is the lowest point you can go before quicking the horse. Respect it.

- Trimming should NEVER sore the horse. If he's sore when you're done, you fucked up somewhere.

- If you don't get it perfect today, that's fine. The hooves will be waiting for you tomorrow.


The last point was made on the DVD, and I found it to be quite profound. Obviously you can't leave the hoof unbalanced and ragged, but if you don't get it 100% good today, go back and finish tomorrow.

I did end up going back two days later to even up the left front a bit. On trimming day, Cherry was done, I was done, but there were still some tweaks needed on that hoof. Whatever. I fixed everything up with no harm done.

Now on to the truly amazing thing. Cherry is SOUND. She's moving better than ever, and I'm not the only person who's noticed this. I was a bit worried the day after, actually, because Cherry was very stiff and not a happy camper. But I couldn't tell if it was "Ow, my feeties hurt" or "Ow, my old joints are stiff." Well, now that she's had a few days to recover, her feeties feel great and her old limbs have loosened up.

That would be my fault, though. As I get better at trimming, the time it takes will greatly decrease and hopefully she won't be stiff at all when I'm done. This has prompted me to consider a joint supplement, though. I think now would be a good time to start, while the arthritis is still mild and before winter hits.

I'm so excited about this new venture of mine. Hoof trimming is something I never thought I'd be able to do, just because I didn't know enough. Well, turns out all I lack is experience, which I intend to get with my horse. Besides, Cherry is the perfect horse to practice on. She's patient, good with her feet, she's old, and she's mine. I'd never try this on someone else's horse.

Another thing, I can't believe just how fucked up Cherry's feet are. They are flared, uneven, and rather flat. I went after the worst flares with the first trim, and I'll be going after them even more in trims to come. My goal is to eliminate them entirely. The white line on her front feet was so stretched that the hoof wall was starting to crack on the UNDERSIDE. We're going to fix that.

I can't wait to see how her feet develop now that her sole isn't getting hacked off and the flares are being aggressively targeted. She grows hoof wall like there's no tomorrow, so I think my main job will to keep that in check while slowly lowering her heels and watching for bits of dead sole that want to come out.

Wish us luck!

Stiff Pony

Cherry has arthritis. This is no secret and hardly surprising. She's 20 and has worked hard for her living. The last few years it's been quite mild and easily coped with by ensuring that Cherry lives outside and is warmed up for 20 minutes prior to work.

However, it seems that the number of "stiff days" has increased of late. Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems to take her longer to warm up, and she really doesn't want to walk out of the cross-ties after standing there for a 20 minute grooming and tack up. Once she's moving, she's fine, but those initial steps make her look about 110 years old.

So I'm thinking about adding a daily joint supplement to Cherry's feed. She gets a complete vitamin/mineral supplement with her soaked hay pellets and handful of Equine Senior. She really doesn't need grain, so I give her the pellets with the ES to jazz it up a bit, and she thinks it's awesome. Works for me. It's also a perfect medium for her vitamins, occasional probiotic, and bit of salt to encourage the would-be Arab camel to drink.

Anywhoo, choosing a joint supplement is like choosing a hoof boot. There are way too many damn choices!!!! Seriously, there have to be over 500 different ones on the market. I'm fairly sure I want one with glucosamine sulfate (as opposed to HCl) and MSM, but after that I really don't know.

Well, I suppose I'll throw darts at the computer and whenever the screen breaks, I'll buy that one. Can't hurt, and if it doesn't work, I'll pick another.

Problems and Solutions

I've been having some issues lately, both with Cherry and myself. Cherry, of course, is usually a complete saint who hauls my ass around and puts up with my general lack of confidence of late. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I've just been downright nervous. I get so worked up about the "what ifs" that I can't enjoy the damn ride. However, she's also been acting like a bird-brained little twit lately, which has really been a blow to my confidence.

I'm afraid something will spook Cherry. I get tense when she gets "looky", which of course pretty much guarantees that she'll spook. Which freaks me out. Rinse, repeat.

Why it freaks me out I have no idea. It's been quite awhile since I fell off due to a spook, and that was an epic spook, let me tell you. She teleported right out from under me and somehow managed to end up halfway across the arena in the span of 2 nanoseconds. Thankfully she's a bit too old to teleport anymore. Even bareback I've managed to cling on and recover my balance fairly quickly when something goes awry. I know, I've seen me do it. So why am I so damn scared? The answer still eludes me.

However, I have found the answer to my fears of riding and the things that can go wrong when riding as well as Cherry's apparent lack of brain cells lately.

Ride more.

That's it. I have to ride more. Even if it terrifies me. Even if I have to force myself to put that saddle on Cherry's back. Even if the last thing I want to do is ride the horse I bought because she was a blast to ride.

The more I ride, the less scared I'll be. That's how it's always worked in the past. Getting back on Cherry after a lay-up was awful, even when I was a teenager. But once we were back to riding 5 days a week, things were fine again. So based on past experience, the more I ride the less it will freak me out.

The more I ride, the less of a twit Cherry will be. She's always gotten nutty when she doesn't get enough exercise. I don't know why I expected this to magically go away as she got older. It hasn't, and I really shouldn't be surprised.

I need to ride and Cherry needs to work.

Now that we have a set of hoof boots, there's no excuse not to ride anywhere I please. The fence of Cherry's paddock is literally 3 feet away from the neighboring farmer's wheat field. She's seen farm equipment up close and hasn't died yet. Cars have passed us at high speeds and she's handled it. No reason we can't ride down the gravel road anymore. And we need to.

I think I'll try a trick mentioned on FiSH to get us through the transition period. Cherry has always loved the sound of humans talking to each other, so I'm going to try talking to her when riding alone. It will help focus me as well as be soothing for her. I'm going to give it a whirl on the next road hack we go on.

So I'm decided. Ride more. At LEAST 3 days a week, though 5 days a week will be much better. Some weeks I leave for the weekend to work, so I can't ride those days. The weeks where I actually have a weekend will be 5 ride day weeks. My horse is sound, I am relatively sane, and we can do this.

Hoof Boot Pics!

Cherry and her Frankenfeet. The boots are so ugly! But that's okay. :)



















Closer picture of the boots.

Old Mac G2 Hoof Boots

We got our hoof boots today! And they fit!!!!!!! Praise be. Haven't had much luck with tack lately, so I was totally dreading trying the boots on Cherry. But surprise surprise, they seem to fit quite well.

After months of waffling and careful online research, I decided on the Old Mac G2 hoof boots. They seemed the best suited for Cherry's round feet, and from what I read, well made and durable. I figure if we go through a pair every couple years or so, I've saved more than enough money on metal horseshoes.

On the negative side, they don't fit around the pastern as well as I'd like. The actual hoof capsule part fits well with just enough room to spare for foot growth, but not enough room that they twist on her feet. However, the top part gaps more than I'd like. I think I'll have to use the stupid gaiter-sock thing or else wrap her pasterns in vet wrap so things don't get inside the boot.

Cherry took to the boots quite well. She walked and jogged up and down the barn aisle no problem. However, turning around in the cross ties was a bit of a procedure. She kept looking down at her feet like she didn't know where to put them. Change in terrain was also interesting. It was like there was a disconnect between where she thought her foot and boot were and where they actually were. I think she'll figure it out very quickly, though.

Another concern I have is interfering. She's always "winged in" with her front feet, hence all the popped splints and the broken splint bone many years ago. Now that her feet are substantially bigger, I think we might see a bit of foot hitting opposite leg issues. That's okay, I'll break out the trusty splint boots if that threat rears its ugly head.

Speaking of ugly, these boots are absolutely hideous. They make Cherry look like she's wearing Frankenstein's hand-me-downs. Fankenfeet is my favorite term, hee hee! That's okay. As long as they do their job, I really don't care what they look like.

So far so good. Tomorrow we'll take them out on a maiden voyage around the ranch. I just hand walked today, figuring if that she was going to fall on her face I didn't want to be involved.

Lame Pony and Hoof Boots

Cherry's lame. It doesn't happen often, so I should be thankful forthat, I guess. This time is different, though. In the past, she's been lame due to injury. Like, Boom! Accident! and she's lame. Once that heals, she's sound again.

I'm giving her the next few days off, then I'll re-evaluate. Right now, it's not an issue for the vet, but if there's no improvement and I can't pinpoint what's wrong, it will be.

This time, it's more like, "ouchie, my feet hurt." I guess I should be pissed at the farrier, this round of trimming has not been up to par. Though the only other alternative is to do it myself, and I don't know if I feel comfortable doing that. Seems like I'll have to if this keeps up. Grrr. There's a serious lack of good farriers in the area, so there isn't a whole lot of choice. I bet the wet-dry-wet-wet weather hasn't helped any.

Anyway, I'm in the market for hoof boots to help with the tender-footedness. Cherry's always a bit tender on gravel, and now she's really tender on gravel, so hoof boots it is. She's been barefoot for a long time, and I don't want to get back into shoes. Too expensive and I don't ride enough to justify spending $80 every 6 weeks on them.

Now, this isn't easy because there appear to be five thousand kinds of hoof boots, each of which has people who love them and people who hate them. This would be so much easier if there were only a few options.

Hoof shape was something I'd never considered before. Seems like Cherry's feet are round, with approximately the same length and width. Hum, for whatever reason I've always thought she had narrower feet. Dunno why, just one of my random notions.

Anyway, on to boot choices. They all cost about the same, so price isn't a deciding factor.

Easyboots. There's a ton of them. Eep! There's the ones with the turny screw thing, which look pretty good. The thing is, I've heard they're awesome, right up to the point where a bunch of gunk gets into the screw threads and it jams up. Not good.











The Gloves look like they'd be nice and easy, but the whole exact fit thing is a trifle intimidating. If they don't fit, they don't fit, and since you can't adjust them, you're fucked. There is a kit you can get to try out, so I guess that may be a rout to go. If I go with Easyboots, this seems the best option.











Cavallo makes a couple boots that really strike my fancy. The simple boots looks quite simple, a huge plus. They appear to be made for round feet, so another plus there. People have said though that the outside straps get annoying and they don't hold up to gravel as well as they might. Bummer, but still may be worth a shot.






The Sport boot looks awesome, though I don't think it will fit Cherry. It's made narrower than the Simple boot, but I like the outside closure a lot better.










Then there's Old Mac boots and Boas. I'm less familiar with them, but I've heard they're good, so I'm going to read up more on them.

Decisions, decisions.