A Little Catching Up

#1
​In the fall of 2017, Speedy sliced open his coronary band and separated the hoof capsule from the coronary band in the process. The injury kept him on the disabled list for several months. This link will get you to my last update which has links to the original injury.

Is it a line, or is it a crack?

While he's been back to work without any effects from the wound, his hoof has never quite looked the same. My farrier hasn't expressed any concerns about it, but I've kept a close eye on it just the same. When Speedy was in to have his tooth pulled, I asked Dr. Tolley to have a look at the line that runs down the length of his hoof.

Dr. Tolley loves his Dremel Tool.

Dr. Tolley whipped out his Dremel and went to work on Speedy's hoof. He closely examined the "line" running down Speedy's hoof wall. My farrier calls it a line, but it has always looked like a crack to me. The vet confirmed my farrier's diagnosis; it's a just a line and isn't causing any structural damage. When Speedy injured his coronary band, it left scar tissue which is affecting how one small bit of hoof grows out, but it's only on the surface. The "crack" doesn't extend into the hoof wall.

Just a surface line.

Now that I know that it's just a scar and not a crack, I can quit worrying about it. I'll have to tell my farrier that he was right. The next time he calls it a "line," I won't insist on calling it a crack!

​#2
​In other news, after 4 years of ruining fly masks, Izzy has decided to wear one. He's kept this one on for about a week. After riding and cooling my horses off with a shower, they get to graze freely on the grass down by the paddocks and pastures. One at a time though, I learned my lesson. One horse won't go anywhere; two horses wreak havoc just because they can.

Wrong size, super old, but he's wearing it!

I decided to use the grazing time to see exactly how he was getting the fly mask off. I slipped it on under his halter, so that when I put him back, it was already on him. Instead of worrying about the thing, Izzy spent his whole time grazing. I think he forgot he was wearing the fly mask. When I came out the next day, it was still on him.

So that's been the routine: I hose him off, slip the fly mask under the halter, and let him graze for 30 - 40 minutes. When I put him away, I slide the halter off, and he doesn't notice a thing. 

I promised him a new one if he'd keep the old one on, but I am afraid to ruin what's working. For now, I am just going to continue with this ratty old thing until he's a confirmed fly mask wearer. After that, we'll see about a new one.