Thursday, August 18, 2016

Tootsies Update

My life has righted itself. I got back to the gym. I got back to riding. Life is making sense again despite the ever mounting bills, the impossible task of finding an apartment that allows dogs that isnt eleventy billion dollars a month, stress at work and constant grad school homework.



Despite all the stress in life, horses give me focus and B's improvement gives me life.

Super, incredibly boring to some, but I find this barefoot thing fascinating. It has been just under a month (shy by a few days) since I said fuck it to shoes and kept them off entirely. However, his feet have been mostly bare for the better part of several months considering keeping shoes on was impossible. 

Personally I am counting my lucky stars and knocking on all the wood because B has hardly taken a a lame step or bobble since I stopped putting nails in his feet, and as of right now, his feet are doing great.

In need of a touch-up rasp

Some days they look pretty jagged, (like above), and others they look super smooth. As the nail holes grow out, his feet are starting to look a bit rough, but only on the edges. Underneath, magic is happening.

Behold, the tootsies.

RF

LF
I am literally mesmerized by them for some awkward reason, and have taken to staring at them on my phone during the most random parts of my work day. 

Boss: *walks in* Hey have you gotten any progress with the McCaughlin accou- what are you doing?
Me: *wipes away single tear, and hides phone* Just staring at my horses' feet, sorry
Boss *Looks at me questioningly* *quickly leaves*

For real though, I always forgot that horse feets are ALIVE and semi-squishy and really fucking cool and shoes are the actual worst.

I wish I could pull Yankee's shoes *le sigh*

Lets take a gander at these feets and their pretty drastic, yet small changes.

Biggest thing I notice, with my uneducated eye, is the frog expansion and the obvious, edges less jagged. Also, the foot is expanding slightly out and it almost has a polished look to it since every inch of the foot touches the ground with every step now. SO pretty. SO fascinating. 



With his problem foot, I see a MASSIVE difference in that frog. I mean seriously, look at it. LOOK AT IT. Its huge now! Those heels! That width! SWOON!

Also, not 100% sure if the flare on the outside edge is a good or a bad thing, but the farrier is rechecking him tomorrow (its been about 9 days since he was out last) to see if he needs a trim finally.

Regarding his soundness, hes been almost foot perfect. The indoor still gives him the ouchies, but the indoor turned to shit as soon as it got humid and the equipment was moved to the New Farm. I haven;t ridden him in there (no one has), but we have to walk across it to get to the outdoor. The outdoor has been wonderful for us, super fluffy and soft.

Two days ago he was ever so slightly tender because of the rain, but yesterday he was fantastic. We just went for a hack/conditioning ride beacuse 1) no jumps 2) ring flooded 3) he was a giant mudball


Yankee modeling his new look

We did laps around the field, 6 each direction, 2 per gait. and he felt incredible. I am still 1000% out of shape, so today we might either skip, lunge or just hack again because tomorrow we are hauling to New Farm to jump!



1 more week and then we move permanently! Stalls are being re-done as we speak! GAH.



12 comments:

  1. Big, wonderful differences! He's got really great feet. Get some lateral shots with the foot on the ground sometime and some from in front and behind. It'll tell the bigger story of the hoof and how it relates to the leg and whole horse. That's what trimmers/farriers look at to figure out what flaring a horse may need to be sound and what can go. =) Love this update!!

    If those feet were on one of my guys I'd take the heels down a bit, touch up the bars, and clean up the edges, bringing the toe back just a titch in the process. Nothing huge at all, just a little bit in all those places and let him adjust. I'm doing much the same with Stan's feet right now. Took the toe back a TON because it was WAY long and I could get away with it, but waited to see how he'd do with that before beginning to lower heels, touch up bars, and bring the toe back a bit more. I should probably do a photo progression post.

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    1. All of this! I'm obsessed with looking at comparison pictures of my horse's feet too. I support that crazy to the fullest.

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    2. I am full blown crazy. Thanks for the support y'all

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  2. You are not alone. I find the whole transformation to barefoot fascinating. Especially when there is such vast improvement. Go (or should I say Grow) Bacardi!

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  3. Love being able to have barefoot horses! :) His feet are looking much improved!

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  4. Love the barefoot transition! His feet are looking great, I'm so glad it has been smooth sailing so far!

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  5. Be careful.... you are already on your way to becoming a full-blown hoof nerd :)

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  6. This is my every day joy except I get to do it with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of feet!

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  7. I'm so behind on blogs again. Trying to get caught up. His feet are looking great! The difference is just amazing. Isn't it incredible how fast their hooves change? Love those hugs frogs. :D

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