Here's another Monday morning video clip for you - this time its the rehab horses coming in for breakfast.
Another Monday morning from Nic Barker on Vimeo.
As ever, you can click on the link below if the clip isn't displaying properly here :-)
https://vimeo.com/166683557
You know, I've watched the video you posted last week of the horses coming in and this one several times because I was so struck by how dry and hard your ground is in the middle of Spring.
ReplyDeleteMy 8 year old mare has never worn shoes, is a on a strict and balanced diet and lives on a track system and yet we are still plagued with hoof troubles. These videos really explain everything though. The ONLY time my fields are ever this dry is maybe a 4-6 week period in July and August. The rest of the time, they either squelch or are covered in deep snow. Despite the hard ground around and in the barn, I cannot win against the constant waterlogged state of the hooves. I've already spent over $5000 providing that bit or dry, hard ground and it shrinks father back into the mud every year. I looked into trying to build a hard track, just 8 feet wide around my land, the cost was nearly $50,000.
Watching those horses come tromping in off of dry pasture in the middle of May really brought home to me the impossibility of healthy bare feet on this property.
I really wouldn't worry too much DD - its very, very unusual for us to have ground like this - like you, we have it for a few weeks, usually in Spring, and then the rain starts!
ReplyDeleteIf you look at my vimeo channel you will see plenty of any day footage when the horses are squelching around, and of course our horses work hardest through the winter when our rain is heaviest. We average over 70 inches of rain a year so we really aren't a desert :-)
If you are on clay its tough, for sure, as providing drainage is expensive, but most owners take rehab horses home to normal livery yards with no special facilities and manage just fine. Concentrate on getting your nutrition and work levels right and everything else will fall into place.