Last night was just a hack night, but he was on his best behavior as we did our sets and then meandered around the farm afterwards. It was quite pleasant actually. I am SO sad that is getting dark earlier though. I loathe summer, but do enjoy the late night light.
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| Wasn't even 8 PM :( |
Today, I have a super uninteresting and uninspiring collection of Bacardi feets over the last few months. I like to keep track of it though, since this is now a thing for us. Not much change from last month to this month, with the exception of feeling a bit more tough and not being as ouchy on the gravel driveway to the pastures. he got his bare feet trimmed for the first time a few weeks back and the farrier was pleased. He's due again in 2 weeks. I snapped the most recent pics at almost 8:30 last night right after we came in from the hack (thus the grass) so they're poorly lit, but I got em.
Comparison to last month....
Biggest thing I notice is how smooth his feet are getting. Edges rounding out, bottoms getting polished (despite the mud and grass, whoops) and his frogs getting plumper. Last month was super wet, but even so, I think they're spreading even just a little more. Also with his LF, his heels and hoof wall are still ever so slowly expanding out, yay cuppy wide TB feets!
Comparison to the first day of going fully nekked....
Oh man, his poor LF looks so much better. Even those heels and frog, just massive improvements. This was the foot that had so much foot ripped off there was nothing left to chip. He was super sore on it for a few weeks, but now it doesn't seem to bother him.
It took a solid month before he could trot out normally, but I kept pushing on, trying to work in the grass on "bad" days and slowly building time in the sandbox.
I am incredibly lucky that this worked, because I know its not possible for everyone. I can't help but feel relieved when I see friends snaps of missing shoes and time off....never again if I can help it! Yankee will never get to this point, but I love that B can go 8 weeks in-between trims instead of 6 between shoes, it costs less for me to maintain and he seems overall happier and freer now that his feet have adjusted to nakedness. Its wonderful!!
His feet look awesome!! Dino was barefoot when I got him, and unfortunately was crippled footsore on hard ground when everything froze in the winter, so he gets front shoes and I doubt I'll ever try him barefoot again. So happy that B is loving the barefoot life!
ReplyDeleteSo glad it's working out!
ReplyDeleteAwesome that it's working. I envied you, as I took China's shoe off with a chisel last week
ReplyDeleteMan barefooting is so much easier, plus if you do it yourself... zero farrier fees :D
ReplyDeleteNaked feet are the best!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see this, I wish C was the sort of horse who could go barefoot. dammit.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful feet!
ReplyDeleteBetter all the time! I'm so excited and happy for you that he is making the transition smoothly. It's the very best news. And yeah - sound barefoot horses are basically the greatest thing ever. It is so liberating never having to worry about a shoe coming off!
ReplyDeleteThey look awesome! I'm so happy he has made the transition successfully.
ReplyDeleteMine can go eight weeks in the winter, but in the summer their hooves grow faster so it's every six weeks, but trims are so much less expensive than shoes!