Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Not a bad step in months now. The thrush flares up when it's too wet. No Thrush is working great. Best product for thrush control I've ever used.
Got some nice lope work in last weekend-using the copper jointed mouth curb. It's a forgiving bit for us and she got nice and light by the end of the workout. Such fun!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

new trim 12/12/10

I had the grinder out for working on another horse, so I went ahead and did a balance on Taffy. She wasn't crazy about the wind it produces, but accepted it with encouragement. No drama.

remarks on this balance-
Hinds:
tapered hind bars, lateral bars laying over, quarter flares evident
refreshed mustang roll and quarter relief

Fores:
lowered heels to 1/8 inch above live sole, tapered bars (not much needed- I have kept after them with the knife. They are growing quite straight so I think they are equalized)
quarter relief, toe rocker- more on LF. mustang roll- she has been chipping the outer wall on the toes.
Medial heel seems to want to be much shorter than lateral. this appears to produce fetlock varus- turning out from fetlock down. I rolled off lateral toe and quarter (tends to flare) more and more quarter relief on the medial side. the LF continues to grow very vertical medially and flare laterally. I am going to look up higher for the answer... the opposite hind leg seems ok.

Best news- immediately after balance Taffy offered to trot off on the lunge. She has been increasingly energetic since the trim. No soreness, no limping, no imbalanced stances, no hesitation or compensation on pivots--- except for "little feet" compared to her bulkiness, she seems normal =) I want to get her a show halter for christmas... I'm sure she'll settle for a carrot (she adores food).

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Fat and sassy

Not getting out much lately- but I did some liberty work with the herd today... Taffy had plenty of impulsion haha. She had fun tearing around the corral and track. Even fluffed her tail up and pranced a bit! Then kicked up her heels. Fun to watch her enjoying pain-free cavorting :)

I worked on her LF a bit- it seems to flare mostly to the lateral side - the medial side remains vertical but rippled. She moved well after the rebalance. (lowered lateral heel and quarters all the way to lateral toe pillar)