Hello. I hope you all had a fabulous Valentine's Weekend. Eva came to stay with me on Friday night and we spent the evening determining exactly what it was that Eva was looking for in her next horse. We also wrote a list of questions to ask while trying out these horses. When it comes down to it, we both tend to forget the important stuff unless we have written it down. All the while we are preparing for our day of horse shopping, Mr. Weather is outside snowing... again. Come ON North Carolina! I am really considering finding my next dream job in California!
Oh, no the snow did not stop us. We were out the door by 8am on Saturday and headed to see horse #1. Horse #1 lives at the fancy Hunter Barn where I, at one point, planned to school horses. It didn't work out for me, just because of scheduling conflicts between myself and the owner. Her horse was super cute. We arrived early and caught the poor horse eating breakfast. Shortly thereafter we tacked him up and headed to the indoor (Man, I am so jealous of those with indoors, that made life so much easier). The owner doesn't really ride any more and I trust her, so I offered to warm up the horse so Eva could watch him move before she took him for a spin. It was obvious that he has been out of work, but he was really cooperative and eager to please. He had a huge trot and a very smooth canter. I liked his easy going personality as well. Eva hopped on at just the wrong time, because the snow began to melt and slide down the side of the green-house-like indoor. This spooked the poor guy and Eva didn't get too many times around the arena without him acting up. He wasn't bad at all, but understandably cautious about the snow sliding on the walls. Another rider at the farm schooled him over some jumps for us and while his form left a bit to be desired, he was willing and honest.
Seeing all we were going to see of horse #1, we headed off to the Boone Docks to take a look at Horse #2. The journey there involved not 1 or 2, but 3 failed attempts to find coffee at area "convenience stores". I grew up a country girl, but nearly 6 years in the city has led to me demanding for starbucks or a least a Panera Bread when I'm in search of caffination! Anyway, This horse isn't yet under saddle. So we saw him move around the pasture (although not much because it was so sloppy and muddy from the melting snow). Then his owner brought him in and let us examine him. He was very curious and much like any baby horse in that he was nibbling on things and a bit ADD. He was really pretty, but you can't tell much about potential in just meeting the little guy. There is certainly some research to be done. I'll let Eva tell you more about both horses and the choices she has over on her blog: High Tech Horse.
Valentines day was yesterday. I've never gotten particularly excited about the holiday even when I am seeing someone. Its normally more of a pain than anything. I'm not a big fan of holidays for which I must do a lot of preparation. Well, this year I didn't have to prepare, but there was nothing to get excited over anyway. I spent all day cleaning and catching up on laundry...BORING. Then I went to see my Valentine, Granite :) I saddled him up and worked him on the lunge in the big arena. He was relatively good. We worked with side reins for half of the time and he is doing well. I took my new iPod Nano out and tested its video capabilities. It was a success, so next time, I will try to get a good video of the big man posted up here for you. I am technologically challenged, so don't hold your breath, but I will do what I can.
Tonight is Horse Management Class #4: Hoof Care and Corrective Shoeing. I am excited about this one particularly because of Granite's "Special Fin" also known as his upright or "clubbed" hoof. I had my farrier look at a photo of his feet before I even bought him and my farrier promised that as long as we were cautious, the hoof shouldn't cause us problems or inhibit us from competing in the Hunters. When I moved to our current farm, I lost my farrier and I have been worried about Granite's feet ever since. I don't know enough about hoof care to know if the barn's farrier is doing his Special Fin justice. I may have told you that I have since convinced my trusted farrier to come out to my new farm to do ONE horse. He is scheduled for Thursday and I am pretty sure our trim will cost us a fortune. But, no hoof, no horse--so we will do what we must. Granite will get shoes with a wedge on his upright hoof in April before he starts work. Hopefully tonight will help me understand more about alignment and hoof angles in addition to healthy frogs etc... I will try to give you a full report tomorrow, if not a bit later in the week. Tomorrow IS Fat Tuesday, so I may just be out celebrating {like I have ever been to New Orleans} tomorrow night (hey, any excuse to celebrate: no one told me how boring life after college would be!!).
My old horse Mac had a club foot; and I wish I knew then what I know now, because I would have done some things differently.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, some club feet can be caused by a problem higher up, like in the shoulder. I know vet diagnostic stuff can be pricey, but you might want to look into it.
Also, just out of curiosity -- why put a wedge pad on an already upright hoof? (I've been spending a lot of time reading scientific papers about hooves; I'm certainly no expert, but I am learning a TON.) Anyways, you need to think about the angle of the coffin bone -- in a club foot, you would think that the excess heel would be causing the coffin bone to tilt slightly forward onto the tip, right? So, if you add a wedge, that's just adding even more to the excessive heel height. Does that make sense?
Just a little food for thought.
So glad you guys were able to go horse shopping! Isnt it so interesting to get out there and see what other people have for sale? As for the special fin, I think it certainly wouldnt hurt to get an xray of that hoof if you havent done that in the last year or so. It's relatively cheap (I just had one done for Puna at her last exam on her 'special fin') and gives you peace of mind (or a complete change in shoeing direction as was the case for us!). I'm sure you could ask whoever is teaching your class tonight about what they think too though, they're likely way more informed than moi!
ReplyDeleteLife after college is boring? But I get to see my pony so much more!!
ReplyDeleteOh... you're one of those people with a "social life"... right. ;-)