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Friday, 28 January 2011

What happens when horses go back home, and some scary shoes...

Had an email from Lucie yesterday and thought you'd all want to know how Solomon was getting on :-)

"Hi Nic,

Just thought I'd let you know that I've just got back from a lovely hour's hack up to the woods :)
He was a very good boy and was walking so forward that I didnt manage to get my camera out to take a pic ;)
He walked out on the roads fine and hardly tried to go on the verge at all :D"

That's what I like to hear!

I also went to see a very lucky ex-racehorse today.  He is only a 10 year old but of course his racing career is over and as with many ex-racehorses, his future was uncertain.  He has fallen on his feet and no mistake (!) in a fantastic new home with an owner who has worked wonders with broken TBs in the past
:-)
What did shock me was the state of his shoes - I guessed that they had been on at least 10 weeks but apparently he was shod 4 weeks ago...     :-0
Underneath all that, there is lots to like about his hooves and both his owner and I will be fascinated to see how his feet change over the next few months...


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6 comments:

  1. clairesgarden28 January 2011 at 10:14

    there are half a dozen horses like that where I am, and they wonder why my pony is barefoot...
    love your blog and all your photos and video's. you have managaed to make me feel 'not alone' anymore!!

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  2. Funder28 January 2011 at 15:45

    I'm always trying to learn more - why not take a little more off the toe? When will you trim him again?

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  3. Cristina28 January 2011 at 22:19

    Can't beat a nice TB ;-)

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  4. Nic Barker2 February 2011 at 20:09

    Funder, sorry, your comment went astray when my email went down(!) I wasn't ignoring it...

    I haven't taken the toe further back because this horse has thin hoof wall as well as thin soles and a weak caudal hoof.

    As I've already taken the toe back, the horse is engaging the caudal hoof more than he has done before. To take the toe back more would (a) weaken the hoof wall and (b) be too big a weight shift for that horse at that time, IMO.

    Although the hoof looks flared, its actually not, and the good new growth at the top won't be damaged by the old growth.

    Hope that helps!

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  5. Nic Barker2 February 2011 at 20:10

    Claire, glad you are enjoying :-) Sorry, I wasn't ignoring you either ;-)

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  6. Funder2 February 2011 at 20:19

    Interesting, thanks! Looking forward to his updates as he progresses :)

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