Pony woes

Been a bit of a financhlly tough Christmas this year, and unfortunately all sof and tonto got for presents was vet visits.

Tonto has not been well for a while. I haven't wanted to post about it because, well I guess writing it here makes the whole horrid situation more real. He hasn't held his weight, he has been choking on food, he has lost his confidence with other horses, he trips and falls too often for my liking and has been standing camped up behind. I think the aches and pains are getting too much for him. To try and help him I have put him on stable livery and upped his but.  He is getting rugs this year and extra fattening foods and going to try some injections for arthritis. 

Of course the boggy wet winter we are having this year is not helping. All the fields are waterlogged causing stress on his old joints. But if I just keep him in he will stiffen up. Can't win really. I am off to look at a yard in shame green for him on Saturday. 

Unfortunately I am having little more luck with sof.  The mud is causing her boots to fall off and she seems to be getting foot sore now her feet are soft. On top of this she still feels a bit uneven behind. I decided enough was enough and finally called the vet. She agreed low level lameness.  First port of call is shoes on all four. Tommy is out tomorrow to pop them on.

So here end's our barefoot trail for now at least. I am disappointed, because her feet look great and she is so much more comfortable on most surfaces now. The other part of me is relived. No more fretting about weather I am doing the right thing. Obsessing over her feet. Spending ludercrass amounts on boots that don't fit. Fighting off endless critics. Still I suspect she will shoe pull, so I am not selling the boots just yet. 

My theory for soft mystery lameness? Sods law dictates it will be hock arthritis.  I do hope I am wrong.

And as bad news comes in threes, Emma bought a new horse so we have lost our lovely sharer.

foot balance

Another barefoot post - apologies - I honestly do pay attention to the rest of Sofie as well. I just find the barefoot stuff interesting.

Sofie has been going without her back boots for 2 months now and I was hoping to try her without her front boots after Christmas once the grass is low in sugar. Unfortunately she seems to have gone backwards and become foot sore :(

A friend pointed out that her frogs are not central in her feet and she thought this was unusual. Sofie has always had wonky feet and walks with her left one noticeably turned in. My friend asked if it had got worse since going barefoot. At this point I realised that whilst I thought it had got better - I haven't really checked. I've trusted my trimmer (and still do) so I have not done my homework.

So I went through my old photos and stitched these images together to track her hoof balance. It would have been better if I was better at photo shop and could have got all the images at the same size and rotation. Afraid I have not been so diligent with her hind feet.

These photos are of her front left foot (the dark one) from Feb, May, July, Sep 2015. In Feb her white line was tight, but her wall thin and sole flat and her heals contracted. The lateral-medial balance is out with the toe being longer on inside. By May the white line is stretched and there is significant flaring on the outside wall. The lateral-medial balance is still out, but I think slightly better than before. Her heals have opened up nicely. By July we have a fairly healthy looking foot, the flare is still there but more under control and the lateral-medial balance is better. In September we seem to have gone backwards a step with a bit of flare on the outside edge (probably due to the Autumn flush) the lateral-medial balance looks about the same.

These photos are of her front right foot (the stripey one) from Feb, May, July, Sep 2015. The Feb shot is much like the left foot, except her lateral-medial balance looks ok (hard to tell from the photo as I have chopped off a bit of her foot). May shot shows white line separation, and the balance going as her toe is slightly longer on the inside. July, looks fairly tidy but the balance is still a bit out with the flare on the outside wall and a slightly longer toe on the inside. September and the flare looks better but the balance looks worse. I can't tell if this is just my shot.

So I guess Sof's feet are a bit wonky. Now I need to go away and do some reading to know if this is bad or not.




UPDATE

Trimmer came today and we found the source of Sofies discomfort. A small amount of grit was in the old abscess whole in her back foot. This was probably the cause for her foot soreness. Trimmer also mentioned that hooves should be slightly wider on the outside edge then the inside edge, so Sofs wonky feet are perfectly normal. I shan't panic just yet - but still intend to read the books I have bought because I really ought to know these things.

Bad hair day

Poor old Sof had me as a hair dresser this year. I only own a pair of liveryman harmony clippers, which are wonderfully quiet but unfortunately do not do a very good job of cutting hair. Minor oversight for clippers but there you go.

The net result was it took me 4 hours to Give Sofie this terrible hair cut. 

She was ever so good about it. I gave her lots of breaks so she didn't get too stressed out. She even let me use a hair dryer on her. Afterwards I let her in the school to run off the stress (as Emma was riding later). We had a really nice game of chase and a good stretch and cuddle. She really is a lovely girl.

Next time I'm borrowing some decent clippers, she deserves better!

all clean before clip

stretching our legs

Happy hippies

Just a quick update on the hackamore. After my usual false start of buying the wrong size off ebay, I finally got my hands on a hackamore that fits.

She seems pretty happy with it. Shows begrudging willingness to work in an outline in the school - which is the same resistance she has in a bit. On our first hack she was feeling rather lazy so I didn't really get to test it out on her. She pulled herself up when I sat back without need of the reigns. On the second hack we had a blast with Smee up the hill and she was a bit more fissy. Minimal pulling and she came back. hurray!

Finding that 'perfect' horse

Recently I have been trying to help a friend find her perfect horse. The whole process is terribly stressful, fraught with suspicion, doubt, frustration and disappointment. I used to lament that I have never had the opportunity to pick a horse, they seem to just find me, but now I am beginning to feel grateful.

Funny thing is it has got me thinking. How much is 'the perfect horse' due to the horse and how much is due to the riders attitude? My friend is of the opinion that there is such a thing as the 'right horse' and she will know as soon as she sits on it. I have never found this. My first pony Frodo used to scare me as a child and I inherited him when my sister moved onto a younger bigger horse, but soon he became my Mr right and I could not imagine a better pony. Tonto down right terrified me, I had a year campaign to try and sell the bugger but no one else was stupid enough to by him (we only bought him through pity). Tonto, admittedly via sweat blood and many many tears, became my perfect horse. I honestly wouldn't change a thing about him. And then I thought of Sofie. It took me a few months to warm to her, but now I think she is just what I want.

I don't always get what I want, I get what I need.

I would never have picked any of my horses from a viewing, but over time they have all turned out right. I am not a miracle worker, I don't think I entirely changed my horses. I guess I drew out of them the qualities I liked but I also think they changed me.

I don't have any riding ambition. None. I have no goals or ambitions when I take on a horse, baring enjoying its company. This lack of ambition probably helps me enjoy them for what they are.

Tonto the dressage cob, I love working out
how this cleaver chap ticks and he used
to enjoy flashing his feet in the ring and X-country
back in the day

Mini me on Frodo who was deaf, blind and arthritic but I loved looking after him

Sof and I out in the fields alone on a misty morning, I've been
getting into solo hacking as she seems to enjoy it

But before I commit to the answer that it is all in the riders attitude and nothing to do with the horse I should probably share this little advert that I wrote for the next horse back in January 2014.

I think I would like something 14-15 hands, straightforward, bold and forward going (strong would be OK). I’m not very comfortable with horses that buck. I’m looking for a pony which loves its work, and ideally loves to jump as I can’t enjoy a ride if the horse is not also having fun. I think I would most interested in native breeds, something hardy with a bit of bone and feather, something like a Welsh D would be nice. Afraid I will not take on a cob, though I love them, because of they are susceptible to ring bone and I don’t think I could go through that again. I would like something a little green, 3-7 ish so that we can learn together. However I would not rule out anything under 10. Ideally I would like a mare. I would like the pony to be able to live out happily 24/7 with company and would be interested in keeping the pony barefoot if it has good feet. This is not a purely financial decision, I think it is better for the horse to be allowed to move and barefoot is better for their circulation.

The pony would go to a loving knowledgeable forever home. I have been riding all my life and am kind but firm with horses. I have never ridden competitively – just not something I’m into, and I would describe my riding as more effective than it is pretty. I love jumping, but have always had the benefit of a very honest horse so I don’t think I’m particularly good at it. I have experience with young horses I broke Tonto in and have spent the last few years bringing on just backed highland ponies. I am 5ft 6 and weight 60Kg and am 27 years old. I mainly hack in company, but enjoy the odd sponsored ride and local show. I would also like to try drag hunting and endurance. I plan on getting lessons with the new pony to help with schooling as I am a little rusty. I’ve included some pics and a video of me riding.

Before I had even met Sofie, I had described her. Perhaps I am just lucky that the right horse fell into my lap.

My miss perfect

Scoot boots fit trial

I hired some scoot boot fitting shells from the hoof boutique to see how the fit worked for sof.

Scoot boots are the latest thing to come out from Australia. They have been getting rave reviews on barefoot forums so I thought I would take a look. 

Plus points for these boots is that they are light weight, below the hairline, and entirely made of plastic with no Velcro fastenings so easy to clean. They also come in large, Sofie sized sizes.

However I was not that impressed with the fitting shells. The bit at the back of the boot is very firm, and seemed to be pushing into sof's heals. She was sort of between sizes, size 6 was very snug, size 7 seemed too roomy. In the end I decided not to buy. I plan on waiting until next summer and possibly buying a second hand pair if I need them. You never know, I might not need boots by then (unlikely, Sofie is still a bit footy on stones).




size 6

size 6 bit tight on the bulbs

size 6 bit tight at the front

size 7, bit roomy at the back

Edit: when I am wrong I say I am wrong. I have since bought some Scoots - size 7 is too big but 6 fits. We have gone for a ride, no rubs and good grip in the mud. I am a convert!

Autumn update

Just a little update as I realise I haven't posted for a while.

Autumn colours

Sof is still doing well. In keeping with the seasons, Sof has changed her coat to a rich Autumnal gold. It is very fetching, however it is also very fluffy and she has been getting rather sweaty on her rides - particularly when she has to keep up with Lucky the X-racer.

I am now in a dilema over whether to clip or not, and what clip to get. Emma, her second mum, is clean to clip and rug as she is worried about sof getting a chill. Part of me wants to leave her fluffy and unrugged so I know she can control her temperature in the field, she was very happy last year naked. But now she is in full work I do not think we will get away with this. So what clip to get? Really I should get a trace and pop her in a medium weight with no neck. But this is going to be a bugger when it rains as I will not be able to get her dry enough to turn out when I ride in the mornings. Selfishly I want to go the full Monty and do a hunter (this also a much easier clip to do). I also have more heavy weight rugs suitable for hunter clips as this was the clip I always gave Mr T. She will also not get to grow back her mane (she managed to rub it out within two days of getting her fly rug off). People keep telling me she will get cold. I think this is nonsense. She is a hardy haflinger and I have lots of rugs to keep her warm. I am far more worried that she will be too hot. I hunter clip might make her uncontrollable to ride though.

Wet and muddy Sof making pre-work riding difficult

In other news she broke her old macs by over-reaching. I have taken them to a cobbler for repair. He was most bemused by the concept of horse trainers but seemed confident he could fix the buckle. I managed to sell the floating boots - for far less than I bought them for (grumble). I was so please that I had reduced my boot collection that I celebrated by buying some new ones! DOH! These are replacements for her worn out back renegades so a fair investment in my book. Now I just need to sell her vipers and her red clasics, but I am reluctant to sell as I am a sentimental fool.

'Sorry mum'

Just to confirm my reasoning (not that I need much convincing when it comes to boot buying) Sof got an abscess on her rear hoof the following week. I got a panicked call from Emma when she came in hopping lame on the rear foot. She was hot sore and squishy around the coronet band so I was fairly confident it was about to blow. We stabled her overnight and she came out angry but sound in the morning with puss out of her coronet. My trimmer has since looked at her foot and cannot find a puncture. Looks like a small bit of white line disease, stress from the shoot, and fresh grass culminated in the abscess. Poor old Sof. Still she is on the mend now.

We have had one short trial in the hackamore and she seemed happy enough with it in the school. I just now need to be brave and take her out in a hack in it.