Hooves and more

Seems with horses that there's always something to obsess over...

I've been looking at Dude and Bestie's hooves a lot in the last week or so. I mean, I look at them every day and pick them out, but especially in the last few days I've been looking at them and anxiously awaiting the farrier's visit. Dude's are a mess; there's no two ways about it. I think they got really messy during the stretch of about a week and a half that he was being hosed every day to bring down the swelling from the cellulitis, and standing in his stall, and when he did get to go out, going out into the wet mucky paddocks after all the rain we've had this summer. In the last couple of weeks we've been picking them out with more attention and also scrubbing the crevices every few days with a Betadine/water solution. His frogs are looking a bit better, but his hooves have gotten really long, and in the case of his back feet, a bit splayed out.

Bestie's hooves look better, but have gotten really jagged around the edges. I think that the weather may have soften them up, and perhaps they've gotten a little torn up and soft. Hers also look a bit splayed out. She doesn't wear shoes, and normally her feet stay in pretty good shape. But I think the weather this summer has been a little hard on them. It'll be interesting to ask Scott what he's seen with other horses this summer when he comes for their appointment this Friday. He's always got an interesting story. Or two, or three!

I've done really well riding Bestie over the last week, but this week hasn't been good. Katie took her car to go visit a friend out of state, so we've had to figure out accommodating my work schedule and Maddie's with only two cars. I've picked her up for two days, and then we've gone to the barn, but have arrived late after the horses have gotten their grain. And today was just plain hot. My heart was not in going for a ride.

Both days our drill was that Maddie would take a horse out to graze, and I would do that horse's stall. Today, the second day, Dude and Bestie clearly had the schedule down pat! As soon as we arrived Dude started looking expectant and pushing at his stall guard, and Bestie started pawing and whinnying with great intent at us. Usually when we get there after they eat, they're perfectly happy to poke at their hay while we clean the stalls. Clearly they like this new (but shortlived) routine of getting additional time on grass!