Category: Farrier

Are You Kidding Me?

12/21/2018

I am a Pollyanna, glass half full, make lemonade, and see the silver lining kind of girl. Usually. Right now, Universe, I am OVER. IT.

When I went out to check on Speedy last night, hopeful that he was looking perky and ready to get back to work, I noticed that both front legs were filled and his stride was pretty wonky.

I need a reminder of better days.

He looked good on the foot that had just abscessed; it was the other one that he didn't want to bear weight on. Even so, I gave the first foot a thorough exam, poking and prodding as I watched for a pain reaction. Nothing. On the other hand, I got a solid Hey! That hurts!!! as I pressed deeply within the creases of the frog on the other hoof.

I packed his hoof with Numotizine as I rolled my eyes. Repeatedly. It is what it is, but really, Universe, I could use a break. What with three abscesses, two horses, and one sad girl, you'd think it was beginning to look a lot like the "Twelve Days of Christmas." I don't need four of anything unless I also get five glorious days (of weather combined with healthy horses).

Happy first day of Christmas vacation (starting at 1:00) to me!!!!!!!

3 Comments

Both of My "Cinderellas" Needed the Farrier

11/27/2018

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That's no joke. They have Cinderella feet for sure. Good thing I have a good farrier. Both of my boys stand very patiently for the farrier, so he just comes and does them whether anyone is around or not. As someone with a full time job, this makes my life so much easier.

Since I was on vacation last week, I was hoping to catch him in action so I could talk to him. I didn't have any major concerns, but there were a few things I wanted to ask him. He was pulling out as I pulled in, so we had a chat through our windows.

It looks worse than it is!

A year ago this past October, Speedy injured his coronary band sufficiently enough to put him out of business for several months. Ultimately, it has healed well except for one little thing. He's had a very narrow crack running from the ground up. That was the first thing about which I wanted to ask my farrier. When I mentioned it, he called it a line and said not to worry.

Bottom of the same hoof.

To address the line (it's a crack, am I right?), my farrier scooped out some of the hoof wall to keep it off the ground to prevent dirt from getting up inside. I am going to be honest here - while I recognize a decent shoe job and know when a foot looks horribly wrong, I leave the finer details to my farrier. That's what I pay him for. If he wants to call it a line instead of a crack and dig some hoof wall out to prevent dirt from getting in, go for it. If he says not to worry, I am worry free. So there was that.

The front right hoof.

When he finished with that clarification, he threw in a buuuuuttttt ... Well crap. I knew there had to be something. Right away he had noticed that Speedy's front feet had some unusual wear, especially THE RIGHT one. Oh, wait, you mean the one he had recently been lame on from WHIRLING AND PACING? That one? Yeah. Farrier noticed it and did some creative rasping to balance Speedy's hooves. My farrier was relieved to hear that there was an explanation for the wear because it wasn't normal for Speedy. I was just as relieved as he was.

Looking good!

Izzy, also known as Cinderella number two, got a good report for once. Instead of any problems, he got moved into a bigger shoe! This was great news since we put shoes on him this summer because he had worn his feet down to tiny little nubs and had gone lame because of it. Hearing that he had grown enough foot to be able to go to a correctly sized shoe for his body was great news.

Same good looking foot.

Both of my Cinderellas are now good to go for the next month or so. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Speedy settles into the winter routine with no more pacing. My toes are crossed in hopes that Izzy will keep these new, bigger shoes firmly on his feet.

Farriers are certainly worth their weight in gold, and mine is no exception, but I don't want to pay him in gold for repeated visits!

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More Balanced?

9/24/2018

2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I had to put shoes on Izzy when he finally came up sore footed. Over the summer he'd been wearing his feet off faster than they were growing. I was worried about the way they were looking, almost triangular shaped, but since my farrier didn't express any concern, I kept hoping they'd normalize as we headed into fall. They didn't.

Yes, the one on the right looks newer.

Even though he had been barefoot for nearly two years, my farrier and I decided to put shoes back on. Izzy was sound immediately. But of course, in true Izzy fashion, he pulled the left one a week later. It came off super clean with no damage to the hoof, but it took my farrier a couple of days to come back out and reset it. (What do you mean he can't be at my immediate beck and call?) I didn't want to risk chipping the hoof at all, so Izzy got a week off as we waited for the farrier.

Yah for new shoes!

The first couple of times that I rode him with the original new shoes, we had a come meet Jesus ride followed by a see how nice it is when you behave? ride. Then he pulled the shoe.

I am not a barefoot only! nor a shoe them all the time! proponent. I do what seems to work best for the horse. With that said, the next time I rode Izzy (with the reset shoe), he felt far more balanced and straighter than he maybe ever has. I could chalk that up to my brilliant riding, but I won't because I can't. More likely is that the new shoes have him more balanced than when he was barefoot with questionably shaped feet.

Hard to see in the shade, but his color! He gets the most lustrous shade of deep black/brown in the fall.

I am not sure that Izzy will keep the shoes on. Like I said, he's already pulled one, but I am going to keep my fingers crossed. I am going to leave this set of shoes on as long as possible so that he has a chance to grow out some hoof. It's an eye rolling situation; most riders want to keep their horses' toes shorter. I need Izzy's to grow out!

To help, he's still getting his Platinum Performance every day, but I've added in Platinum Hoof Support, the same thing I used for Speedy when he tried to slice off his hoof last October. I can't say that it helped - his hoof grew back just fine, but was it because of the supplement or just nature?

I don't like creating expensive poop, but I am willing to risk it if it does indeed stimulate hoof growth. Izzy needs all the help he can get.

2 Comments

When New Shoes are a Bummer

9/11/2018

4 Comments

Thanks a lot, California. Your super hot and dry conditions finally wore Izzy down. His feet that is. Two years ago this month, my farrier pulled the last shoe, and Izzy's been barefoot ever since. The hinds had been pulled the year before.

I am not anti-shoe at all, but Izzy just couldn't keep those front shoes on. He plays hard, and he loves to put his feet on, under, and around anything that will (might) bear his weight. All of that playfulness meant that his shoes were constantly getting ripped off. Eventually, he had hardly any foot left upon which to nail a shoe.

After some initial tenderness, Izzy's soles toughened right up, and he was sound as a dollar, until now. With conditions so dry here in the Golden State, Izzy has been chipping off his hoof wall faster than it can grow. Over the past six months, his feet have gotten so short that my farrier had nothing left to trim. Izzy finally came up sore footed.

Darn it.

After his most recent trim, if you can even call it that, Izzy looked like he had laminitis. He was so sore on his front feet that each step made me wince. I put in a call to my farrier and asked what we could do to get Izzy back in business. My farrier was actually surprised that it had taken Izzy this long to get tender. He'd been expecting a phone call long before this.

While I didn't want to do it, we agreed that Izzy needed front shoes again. My farrier came out late last week and popped on a new set of front shoes. Izzy was instantly sound. I also put him on Platinum Hoof Support, the supplement that I used for Speedy last year. It stimulates hoof growth and hardens the hoof, both are things Izzy needs right now.

Due to an unrelated hind end tweak combined with the sore front feet, Izzy hadn't been ridden in nearly three weeks. I finally got to ride him over the weekend, and while he was sound, he was also a complete jack ass.

Woohoo? Horses ...

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Coronary Band Injury: 3 Months Later

1/19/2018

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If you'll remember back to October, Speedy separated his hoof wall from the coronary band while doing who knows what. He was on vacation for nearly three months but has healed up quite satisfactorily. In fact, he's back to work, obviously, and just as sassy as ever.

Facebook reminded me the other day of this little gem of a post. Check it out real quick - I'll wait ... Did you notice anything? Yep. Speedy did nearly the same thing back in 2011, although not as severely.

Here's what he did in July, 2011:

Ouch	6 months later

Here's what he did in October, 2017:

OUCH!

3 months later

I am not positive, but I think the first one was a front foot, the right, and the second one is a hind foot, also the right. It is growing out well with no issues. As the damaged portion of the hoof gets closer to the ground, we'll see if it remains sturdy enough to ride on. So far, it's been fine.

Quit doing that, Speedy G!

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Barefoot But Not Pregnant

10/7/2016

3 Comments

A week or two ago, Izzy pulled yet another shoe, so I decided to go barefoot all around. The hind feet have been shoeless for more than a year, but his front feet still needed shoes. When I first bought him, he came off a grass pasture so his his feet were pretty splayed out. The farrier has slowly roped in Izzy's pancake feet, and now they're nice and round.

When he pulled the right front for the second time in a week, I gave up. I rode him with one shoe until my farrier could come and pull the other front. He was never ouchy on either foot. I've ridden for more than a week on barefoot hooves, and he's been sound.

The farrier was out last night and cleaned up the previously shod hooves and then smoothed out his hinds. I was actually concerned about his back feet as they looked terrible. They were heavily chipped, but they look great today, so it must have been cosmetic chipping only.

Here's a quick look at Izzy trotting out on freshly trimmed feet. I am delighted that he's not at all tender footed. He's not exactly moving his best, but this was a cold trot out with no warm up.

Izzy was standing in uneven dirt when I took these photos, so the angles are all wonky. The right front still has nail holes because we had to reset that shoe so many times. I am delighted that he grew so much foot that there aren't still nail holes in the left front.

right front

left front

I wish I had thought to take photos of the hinds before the farrier trimmed them as they looked really bad. They had taken on a pointed shape, but that was only from above. From underneath they still looked round.

right rear

left rear

As long as he stays sound, I'm hoping to keep him barefoot. Speedy's been barefoot for more than a year. I hope it works for Izzy too. It's quicker for the farrier and a lot cheaper for me!

3 Comments

Bye Bye, Cinderella

9/28/2016

5 Comments

Izzy has lost one too many shoes. We are now going barefoot. I am not an extremist either way: I like the sturdiness of shoes, but the convenience of going barefoot is hard to beat. Izzy just can't/won't keep that right front shoe in place.

I kept Speedy shod all the way around for many years. For the last couple of years though, he kept coming up lame without any apparent reason. I took him to Alamo Pintado, a premier equestrian medical center on the Central Coast where he was diagnosed with a possible suspensory ligament issue in the hoof. He had months off, and came back sound. When repeated the lameness a year or so later, my vet felt that we needed to change his shoeing. When he came up lame again, my current farrier posited that he was simply whacking himself with his own feet. He suggested we go barefoot. Speedy's been sound ever since.

While Izzy is sound, he keeps yanking that front right shoe off. He's pulled it twice now in the past week. My farrier isn't complaining about it, but I am tired of replacing chewed-up bell boots that aren't working anyway.

It's not often the farrier comes to pull just one shoe.

When I saw the shoeless foot on Saturday morning, I said screw it and saddled him up anyway. Dude was sound as a dollar. I called my farrier and asked if we could just pull the shoes and try going barefoot. Farrier said that it's a cheap and easy thing to do and certainly worth trying.

Hinds were already barefoot.

If Izzy gets sore being barefoot, we'll just stick the shoes back on. Given how sound he's been for the past few rides, I am hopeful that we can go barefoot permanently. He's already shoeless in the back and has been for more than a year, so I think this might be the cheapest fix in history!

5 Comments

Oh, Cinderella ...

8/23/2016

8 Comments

An order from Riding Warehouse is coming my way ...

Since moving to the ranch less than a month ago, Izzy has pulled the same shoe twice. The first time, he pulled it cleanly off, and I was able to track it down easily. My farrier was in the area and was able to reset it that same day. This time, Izzy didn't pull the shoe off. Instead, he left half of it hanging on tightly.

As luck would have it, I discovered the wonky shoe while chatting with the ranch owner. As I gave it the stink eye and tapped it ineffectively with my hoof pick, she told me to hang on a second as she had a good pair of nippers that I could borrow.

Now I need to get some of these.

The farrier always makes it look so easy. It took me a minute or ten, but I was finally able to pry the shoe off without tearing up the hoof wall. I thanked the ranch owner for the loan. I would have been out there forever with my hammer and hoof pick trying to get that thing off. She showed me where she keeps her farrier tools so that the next time I have a loose shoe, I'll know where to look.

With all of Izzy's new space, he's able to do a lot more zooming around. I am also hosing him off more frequently which has softened up his feet. Woo-hooing with soft feet is a good way to irritate your farrier. Izzy was due for shoes this week anyway, so I guess the timing was good.

8 Comments

A Farrier Check-in

4/28/2016

16 Comments

When I first got Izzy, he had been living out in pasture for more than a year and a half. Actually, I think his owner might have had him on pasture for pretty much his first six years of life. While pasture is fantastic, especially for young horses like Izzy, it can be pretty tough on their feet.

Izzy had developed a crack up the front of his hoof, but I knew it would grow out with good farrier work. While Izzy was with the "leg wrecker" trainer (start here and scroll back to find the beginning), I had her farrier shoe him because he was starting to get footsore (he was barefoot). It was a fairly mediocre shoe job at best.

Mediocre shoe job in December 2014

Re-shod by my former farrier in February 2015

Within just two or three visits by the farrier, the crack disappeared, and the hoof started taking on a much more balanced shape. Farrier work is one thing I don't try to micromanage. I always have good farriers and trust them to do their work. I can recognize a really bad shoe job, and a nice shoe job will stand out just as easily. Outside of that, I leave the angles and length to them. So far, that has worked out okay.

My current farrier has been working with my horses for almost a year, and both of their hooves look really great. Speedy has been able to go barefoot, which I love (no more lost shoes), and Izzy only needs to be shod in front.

My farrier was out this week. I forgot to take pictures of Speedy's toes, but I did get some shots of Izzy's freshly shod feet. They have really changed shape over the past year and look like they are now an excellent weight bearing structure.

Right front (same one that was cracked)

Left hind

Right front

Left hind

I follow a six week shoeing cycle, how often do your horse's feet get done?

16 Comments

What Does the Other Guy Look Like?

12/11/2015

1 Comment

I work really hard to avoid afternoon appointments, but lately, they've been hunting me down. I rode Izzy on Monday afternoon, but then I've meetings on Tuesday and Thursday that kept me away. The farrier was out, so I was eager to get there on Wednesday to check out how Izzy and Speedy's feet looked.

I have to be the luckiest gray horse owner alive. Not only does my nearly white horse keep himself impeccably clean, but he has the hardiest white feet I have ever seen. I couldn't even tell that they'd been trimmed. Speedy rarely has chips or flares of any kind. For this go round, I think my farrier shortened and buffed them a bit to make them look pretty, but I bet he spent all of ten minutes and not a second more. There simply wasn't much to do.

Speedy's feet are so lovely that I didn't even hesitate to take him on a hack around the neighborhood on freshly trimmed feet. He is never sore after a trim and doesn't care whether we choose the dirt shoulder or just mosey right down the middle of the road.

As I was photographing his toes, I looked up at his left eye and was shocked to see that he had clearly gotten in a brawl with someone. I hope the other guy looked worse than he does!

Poor guy!

I usually notice stuff like this much more quickly, but when I haltered him, I was focused on his feet and didn't even look at his face. It's hard to tell in the photo, but it looks like he scraped his lower lid. It's all dried up, and it wasn't particularly sensitive to touch. It's just swollen and unsightly.

Before I saw his eye, I had planned on doing a regular schooling ride, but after I saw it, I ditched that plan. I've had some eye issues myself over the past year and know how irritating it can be to try and focus (mentally) when you can't see well. Given our limited light anyway, I was happy to just swipe a brush over his back and throw on my riding halter.

I didn't even change out of my muck boots to ride. We were both bootless as a matter of fact. And I know I've shared this a million times already, but Speedy has the world's most awesome bareback space upon which to lounge. His back is so wide and flat that even a non-rider would have trouble falling off.

A bit of the Haner Family Farm

We did our regular neighborhood loop which included a stop at the apple tree for a few late fall apples. If there were apple trees in a dressage court, Speedy's leg yield would earn a 10 every time. It's amazing how well he moves sideways when it comes to sidling up next to a treat!

We also passed by the Haner's farm. The turkeys were gobbling and the goats were making all kinds of noises. Speedy gave them an interested glance, but he knows his job by now and didn't do much other than flag his tail in salute and blow a bit.

This is why endurance riders use rope halters and long reins - dinner on the trail!

We stopped for some obligatory grazing; Speedy expects it. He knows that trail rides are about relaxing and enjoying our time together. As we continued on past the corner of our property line, we spotted Izzy in Laurel's turn out. When I called to him, he trotted about three steps towards us, but then he froze. He's still too nervous to use the length of the turn out alone. We continued on while he whirled and galloped back toward the barn. Silly boy!

Yes, that's my big chicken of a horse - too nervous to come down to greet us.

When we finished up, I gave Speedy's eye another check. It looked the same. I am not worried about it as it was just a slight scrape. We're going to the cabin this weekend, so I won't be able to ride until Sunday at the earliest. I am sure it will be all healed up by then. I can't speak to the other guy's condition though. Hopefully Speedy gave as good as he got.

Have a great weekend, and I'll see you on Monday.

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About the
Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
Welcome to my dressage journey.

Photo by Lori Ovanessian

Email Karen

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. We're currently schooling Third Level in preparation for the 2019 show season. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

August 2018

About Izzy

Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.

Second Show - July 2016

Bakersfield Dressage approved!

National Awards

USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013

State Awards

CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
CDS Second Level Horse Performance Award - 2018

2019 Show Season

Show Rating
(***) CDS/USDF/USEF
(*) CDS
(s) Schooling
(c) Clinic
(t) Ride-a-Test Clinic
(Q) Must Qualify

2019 Pending …

4/12-14/19 - AA Clinic (c)
5/26/19 - TMC (*)
6/15-16/19 - El Sueno (***)
6/22-23/19 - SCEC (***)
6/23/19 - TMC (*)
7/13-14/19 - El Sueno (***)
7/28/19 - TMC (*)
8/10/19 - RAAC (Q) (***)
8/25/19 - TMC (*)
10/26-27/19 SCEC (***)

2019 Completed …

Qualifying Scores for 2019

Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Scores
Third Level Scores:
Score 1:
Score 2:
Score 3:

CDS Championship Third Level Scores:
Score 1:
Score 2:
Score 3:
Score 4:
Score 5:

Working Towards:

CDS Sapphire Rider Award
Third Level:
Third Level:
Fourth Level:
Fourth Level:

USDF Bronze Medal
First Level - 70.179%
First Level - 72.600%
Second Level - 62.879%
Second Level - 61.970%
Third Level -
Third Level -

Are You Kidding Me?

Both of My "Cinderellas" Needed the Farrier

More Balanced?

When New Shoes are a Bummer

Coronary Band Injury: 3 Months Later

Barefoot But Not Pregnant

Bye Bye, Cinderella

Oh, Cinderella ...

A Farrier Check-in

What Does the Other Guy Look Like?

About the
Writer & Rider

About Speedy G

About Izzy

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About the Writer & Rider

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