Long weekend in the saddle = sore bum

I know! Who woulda thunk?

Today was our club ride around the vineyard at work. Sorry, no photos as I forgot to take my camera. It wasn't a great day, and was in fact raining as we saddled up. But as there is so much on at this stage of the season, it was today, or not at all, so everyone got told to toughen up. By the time our last straggler arrived and we set off, the drizzle had stopped and it wasn't too bad at all. I had Possum in her bitless bridle and she was pretty well behaved apart from wanting to walk fast to get to the front. One of the others rode in a bareback pad as her saddle was being used by her daughter. Might have to try that myself next time!

We had a quiet walk around the vines, down to the river and then back for the special treat - a winery tour and tasting. This had been the main attraction for most of the members so it was great fun to show off our place and let them try some of this year's new wines. I take it so much for granted that it's always wonderful to see people's reaction to wine on a big scale.

Our horses had mostly stayed tied up, apart from one who got loose and wandered up on the lawn to check out the grazing. As everyone had been told to stay off the lawn, he was greeted by a chorus of "Not my horse!". The embarassed owner scuttled over to retrieve her boy and put him back. We had a nice, wine-filled lunch with lots of laughter and then made our way back into town.

I was reluctant to go home as I knew there was housework waiting for me. So I procrastinated, soaking P's feet, giving her a massage and then a hoof trim. It has been getting obvious even to me, how long her hind toes are getting. To make it a bit easier on myself, I drew a line across her hoof to try to get the angle right. Unfortunately, the only thing I could find to do this with was a pink whiteboard marker! It lasted through the soaking well enough to do the job, so I guess that is okay. I need to do more in little bits, more often to stay on top of things. Note to self!

Log- One hour trek at walk but with some hills! at Riverview. Massage (no stretches), hoof soak and trim. Also slightly hard to catch in the morning - trotted around for about 10 mins then gave up.

Barefoot trimming (part 1)

Nice feet, eh? Not actually Possum's as I am too embarrassed to post hers at the moment. A small case of long toes and high heels that I am well aware of. Now that it has stopped raining, I might get a chance to trim them.

Actually, now I have another look, they don't look so great. Is that a big hole at the toe? Don't remember seeing that at the time. And the heels look contracted and squished. Sigh...

But this is in introduction to talking about the trimming course. A, the instructor (for want of a better word), started with a brief talk on all the background things. This covered anatomy, physiology, physics, biomechanics, history and other big words. Luckily, there were lots of photos in the presentation - so it was all good! I'm not here to give a lecture on the pros and cons of barefoot trimming, so I'll leave you to your own research - let me know if you are interested and I can post some links.

Anyway, none of my horses that I have owned have had shoes. Not that there's been many of them when it comes down to it. Although I love the sound of shoes on the road, I am starting to think that horses are better off without them. At the level I am riding, there's no need for studs to give grip and we don't do huge miles on rough terrain, so my horses don't need them. All I have learned about the form and function of horses leads me to think they need their feet to be able to expand/contract, to provide shock absorption and feeling.In summary, the way they are designed is the best way for them to stay.

I started doing my own trimming about a year ago, after a not-so-great experience with my former farrier who failed to point out and treat some seedy toe. I knew he was doing just a paddock trim, but was too scared to go down any other road or have a go myself. But after that, I thought I probably couldn't do much worse. I couldn't find a local trimmer but lucked out and got some one-on-one instruction with a well qualified trimmer who was visiting. Most of it has been learning the hard way, and reading lots and meeting some great people on a forum who have helped.

The way A. trims is a bit different to the way I was taught. But as that method is pretty harsh, I am happy to go to a less invasive trim. It is all about balance, looking at the hoof and reassessing as necessary. All the schools agree about the importance of reducing heel height and toe length. When you first see barefoot hooves, they look horribly short, but now I am used to it, shod feet look horrendous!

I now want to get away from the computer, and get my trimming gear out. More to follow!

Trimming course

This Saturday I will be attending a course on barefoot trimming.

I have been trimming Possum for about a year, but still don't know much. I have had some training and have a great trimmer who I see occasionally. But most of it is up to me.

Interestingly, there is an interest growing here in barefoot. People have been asking me for help - Yikes! I would hate to put anyone wrong and don't think I could be much help as I am still very much a beginner.

But one of the locals has organised a course that will cover anatomy, practical aspects and all the rest. I am really looking forward to it, if only for the opportunity to meet some like-minded horse folk. Hopefully we will have some cadaver legs to trim and dissect. I know that is awful as that is someone's horse lying dead, but at least they did something for the benefit of other horses? I am very brave now, but the reality might be different. It has been a few years *cough*decades* since I did zoology and I might not feel the same now.

I might be able to post some gory photos of the dissection...
Watch this space!

Looking at her feet

I want to post some hoof photos, mostly to document where we are at the moment.
Although the shots I have are a couple of months old, so I will have to get some more this weekend.


Front feet in July 09



Near fore
Note the lower point at the toe where I have tried to get to the seedy toe there.



Off fore



Near hind



Off hind
Note the asymmetry of hoof and frog - I need to trim this more on the inside to balance her movement.