Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 2:44 pm Post subject: January 2009
Happy New Year everyone, and lets hope for another year of cracking barefoot performance
Not much doing here, at the moment, I must admit, as we (like lots of you, I guess) are frozen solid - fields and arena are like glass, roads treacherous - of course no hunting, but on the plus side the horses are loving the dry weather, and revelling in cold, clear sunshine
Actually still quite rideable where we are, went out for a new year's day blast from my friend's yard and much to our surprise found lots of good going which we made the most of. Tess was in her Renegades which performed perfectly even behind and my friend's horse rock crunched
Rio's had her shoes off now and seems fine, did have an awful lot to trim off. Frogs have deteriorated a bit through getting too tall and her feet look long to me now but other than that nothing untoward, that won't come right over a couple of months.
Haven't touched Tess's feet for a while now and they're still pretty presentable, she's also looking comfortable over everything in hand and the concavity is getting more obvious. This time of year does have something to recommend it
Our school thawed so it was quite rideable this afternoon so did some jumping with Link, I'm a bit of a wuss with jumping having had way too many encounters with the ground over recent years, but it was fun.
Shoes off day for a friend's rather handsome cob last weekend. quite a bit of broken up wall below the nail holes and that will just have to grow out. The owner was sharing the school with me today and commented that he no longer seems to slide into the jumps as he is taking off - much more sure footed - and not knocking the jumps with his front toes. Seems to be taking off more cleanly and picking his front legs up more. I'm no jumping expert, but the cob did seem to look much more confident over the course.
I've been watching a small number of horses in the yard moving just not quite right over the last couple of days - slightly uneven in front, slightly questionable soundness but nothing so obvious - I just wonder if the deep frosty nights and bright sunny days is making the grass a bit suspect.
Have been using organic cider vinegar to spray Brambles feet with daily for the last week - he tends to get smelly, thrushy frogs. They do seem a lot fresher and cleaner. Thanks to whoever suggested it!
Well - it works. Smells quite nice too - cidery (as if that is a surprise). Frogs seem to be drier than they were. Can it be used long term?
My barefoot TBxID stomped out for a couple of hours this afternoon over frozen rutted ground without much difficulty. I was trying one of his last set of shoes against his front feet today - there's a full 3-4cm of widening of the heels now, and the cleft between his heel bulbs, that I used to have to clean out with a gauze strip soaked in povidone because it kept getting infected, is now almost as wide as my thumb!!!!
The recovering hoof is a fascinating thing to watch happening. Sad anorak that I have become!
Helen and I have been out and about over Xmas. Did a lovely road hack with Fox and Carly. About eight miles at a variety of paces including a good up hill canter for fitness. Must have been nearly a mile, Fox still finds it hard to believe that I want him to canter on roads.
I had hoped to hunt on New Years Day but the ground was like brick and in the morning the horses ears, whiskers, tails and manes had turned white with ice so no go for hunting that day.
The next day Fox went out with his mate Heather for a blast about on Heather's mountain with various stoney tracks which he stomped over in a very purposeful way.
Morris is about to get back into work again. He has had a few months off both to grow up a bit (hopefully a little less ditsey ) and because I have just not had the time. Last week he did ground work and getting in the trailer in preparation for a trip to the school and hacking out next weekend. Fingers crossed for a sensible brain when I get on.
Yesterday went to the beach again with Carly but this time I rode Fari who tinkled his way merrily down the beach wearing his Xmas present, from a client, of rhythm beads. Lots of fast work which puffed Fari out while Carly sailed along quite happily. Both horses had a paddle in the sea which makes you really giddy, the movement of the waves makes you feel most unstable.
And just so everyone knows Carly also went on an EGB funride on the Monday between Xmas and New Year. Hopefully Helen will post whether it was a 10 or twenty mile ride
Sarah do you mean you canter on roads with boots on or totally barefoot?
I understand the barefoot benefits on jarring and concussion etc but would still hesitate to trot or canter long distances on such an unforgiving surface.
I am interested in your thinking on this as we have some lovely quite roads which would make great canter tracks if I thought it would not do my girl any harm.
"......do you mean you canter on roads with boots on or totally barefoot?"
Totally barefoot
Frequently and sometimes when I haven't instructed the horse to do so That happens particularly on that new type of tarmac that shod horses can't stand up on, horses love it and just want to go faster on it.
There is a new patch not far from here and Helen said she hacked that way on purpose the other day just so she and Carly could have a good canter on it. I haven't tested it yet though.
One of the benefits of healthy hooves is that they enable one to take advantage of this countries rather vast network of previously unknown cantering tracks
Mostly when hunting, admittedly, but before Xmas I had a visiting vet and his wife up here who wanted to ride barefoot horses, so we took Jack, Hector and Felix out for a blast. I wanted to take them for a gallop up some nice stony tracks - as you do so we had to go a mile or so up a road to join 2 pieces of bridleway across the moor.
I get very bored on roads, and this was a fast twisty one, so not a road to hang about on - plus, I will admit it, I wanted to show off what the barefoot boys could do when let rip
So we belted up the first half mile or so in trot, but on the hairpin bends going up the hill we cantered - just to be on the safe side
We talked about concussion, and I must admit I wouldn't do miles and miles of trot or canter work on a daily basis even on a barefoot horse (I have a neighbour who has had to have hips and knees replaced at 65 after too much road running), but now and again is absolutely fine, and even safer if its up hill
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) and because I have just not had the time. Last week he did ground work and getting in the trailer in preparation for a trip to the school and hacking out next weekend. Fingers crossed for a sensible brain when I get on. 
