Miles summer 2013

This photo shows a chewed-up hoof…

A look back to about a month ago…farrier/trimmer wars…

I had hoped to be able to pull Miles’ shoes during the winter and give his feet a chance to breathe, but that didn’t happen.  In fact, this barefoot adventure might not have happened at all, were it not for his farrier (A) mention a “N” (as in ‘nail’) word in describing what would be needed with the upcoming wet weather.  I immediately had flashbacks to last year when, not only was Miles throwing shoes, but one day after the nails were tightened on a shoe one of those incredible storms came through and he tore off not only the shoe, but a good chunk of his hoof as well.  It took most of the summer for that to grow out.  I was not interested in going through that experience again.  So I probably over-reacted a bit.  I shot an email to farrier (A) and mentioned that I wanted to hold off on Miles’ regular shoeing date so that his hooves could be evaluated by a couple of barefoot farriers to see if he could transition to bare feet.  I had been hopelessly naive.  I had no understanding of the difference between a certified farrier and a barefoot trimmer.  I only knew I had learned from reading that the barefoot trimmers believed virtually every horse would be better off without shoes, whereas the farriers seemed to take the position that there were horses that always needed to be shoed.

I had heard of a wonderful barefoot trimmer (B) who lived in the area.  I was invited to watch them trim hooves, and was quite impressed.  I felt certain the process, which looked deceptively simple, was, in fact, quite complex.  Just the same, I was looking at nice horses with beautiful feet.  I was also aware of horses at our barn who had barefoot trimmers trim their feet, and had seen more beautiful feet — some even with the Jaime Jackson “mustang roll”, which, for those obsessed (out of innate interest or fate) with hooves, were the loveliest of all.  Why would I not want Miles to have a beautiful rolled edge on his front hooves?  It all seemed to make sense.

But then I received an email from his farrier (A) saying the barefoot trimmers had no real training and shouldn’t be allowed near Miles’ feet.  I did have some understanding of the depth of knowledge the farriers have from nearly taking a horse-owner’s farrier class at a school in the area. So, as I thought about it, this did ring true.  So there I was, in the middle of ‘farrier wars’. At that point, I just became confused.  I did not know what to do.

I spoke with other horse owners at the barn — they are incredibly valuable to someone as new at horse ownership as I am.  I spoke with some who used farriers, others who used trimmers.  I came to realize that I really needed to blitz.  So I spent the better part of a morning with a notebook, just jotting down all the thoughts I had had, and attempting to define the areas of confusion.  Slowly, the fog began to life, and I realized what I needed to know:  (1) which is the better background and training for Miles with his ‘tricky feet’?  and (2) what is the difference between a farrier ‘pasture trim’ and a barefoot trim?

So for anyone who happens to be in a fog about their horse’s hooves, I do suggest blitzing.  Just take a notebook, grab a mug of coffee and a few quiet minutes, and jot down anything that comes to your mind.  This strategy works really well for clarifying an issue like this.

Once I blitzed, I realized that I was not comfortable dealing with anyone but a certified farrier, at least for the present time.  I didn’t know enough or have enough experience to be able to evaluate a trimmer.  But then, I needed to find someone who believed that Miles could transition to barefoot.  It would help to have a vet who agreed with the possibility as well.  As it turned out, a barn buddy’s farrier was coming out to trim her horses hooves, and had helped transition one of them to barefoot.  They graciously encouraged me to ask him to take a look at Miles’ feet.  “No problem,” he said.  Then, it so happened that Miles’ vet from the old barn (who had done his pre-purchase and knew his feet) happened to be at our barn to float some teeth.  He spent a half hour with hoof calipers, ruler, lights, examining Miles’ hooves.  “You’ll never know if you don’t try,” he said, and gave us a cautious go-ahead.

The farrier/trimmer wars had ended in a victory for the barefoot adventure…

A sigh of relief…:-0

Week One…

I didn’t go to the barn today.  The weather was awful with lots of rain.  However, as I was finishing an errand during a break in the rain showers I found myself catching my breath — today I did not have to worry about Miles’ throwing a shoe…I am a little verchlempft…:-0

Our Barefoot Experience…segueing into phase one…glue-on shoe background…whew…

Since the disastrous spring of 2013 Miles has been given different styles of glue-on shoes.  These work remarkably well — or they don’t.  The critical issue seems to be getting him to stand still long enough for the acrylic that covers the top of the shoe to set.  If he moves at all, the farrier has to sometimes even start over.  

Miles does not like standing in the crossties for a farrier for glue-on shoes.  He had always been great with the regular shoes in that regard, but now he began moving front to back to try to throw the farrier off balance.  So we finally realized he needed to be sedated in order to stand still long enough for the adhesive to set.  (There have been two different types of adhesive used so far — one is tan and takes longer to set, the other is black and sets up relatively quickly (I will track down the names).  

If and when glue-on shoes set properly, they can work very well.  Miles is light on his feet with them, as though wearing ballet slippers.  They are comfortable.  He doesn’t need pads with then, so his soles are exposed, which is good for his feet.  They can stay on for quite a while — this last set (granted, we decided to let his hooves grow out a bit prior to the transition to barefoot so the span is longer than normal ) stayed put for 10 weeks.  Then, the right front shoe came off, leaving the acrylic (which kept his foot off the ground).  Two days later half of the acrylic (black this time) came off so he was semi-barefoot.  As it was rainy and the ground was soft, and there was still too much acrylic to put a Simple Boot (Cavallo) on, I have turned him out as-is.  And I called his current farrier (Farrier A).  Looks like it is time for our barefoot experience to begin….:-0

Why the blog ‘Hooves R Us’?

Well, let me see…perhaps because since April 2013 — thanks to the wild and rainy spring, plus a round-two storm in June)  I have had almost nothing else on my mind when it comes to my horse.

Let me start at the beginning.  I have wanted to own a horse all my life.  I begged  I whined.  I drew horses obsessively.  My mother, in utter frustration, tossed me a book called “Pamela and the Blue Mare,” thinking that would quench my interest.  I only whined more.

I grew up in a NYC “bedroom suburb” called Fairfield, CT.  My parents were South Dakota transplants — my father was a metallurgist, and was transferred to the East Coast by his Midwestern company.  In Fairfield there is an area called “the Hill”.  That is Greenfield Hill, where great estates with stables nestle in the gently rolling countryside.  The Hill is also replete with wonderful riding trails through the woods.  The Hill also borders the Merritt Turnpike, which happens to be, if I remember correctly, perhaps the first superhyway built.  It was certainly the most beautiful, with thick grassy areas and trees framing it.  The Hill was zoned for horses.  But we lived, not at the top, but at the bottom of the Hill, in very ordinary houses in an unpretentious neighborhood.  So owning a horse and keeping it at home was not possible.

My Mother was terrified of horses.  She wanted me to have nothing to do with them.  My earliest memories, however, are of riding horseback behind my Father, who had been a cowboy, holding on for dear life as we took off at a gallop, stopped on a dime on the wonderful quarter horses we were able to ride when we visited South Dakota.

So now I have owned Miles (some additional details in the “About” page) for three years.  Here we are from the neck up, so to speak…

S