Taffy takes on South Mountain---bootless

Together with Honey and 6 friends, Taffy negotiated the rocky trails of South Mountain for over three hours, with no bruising, just some slightly sore frogs owing to her having been on soft, damp footing at home for the previous week. Her buddy Honey also tackled the tough terrain with surefooted ease. Ok, a few bobbles when the rocks moved underfoot unexpectedly ;) Both sustained surface chipping on their hooves, self trimming style :) I was proud of them. Taffy is putting on some muscle too. This is a picture taken from Taffy's back. Honey is the red horse directly ahead.

Taffy and Honey have a new pasturemate- his story is here http://4morehappyhooves.blogspot.com/

Still lovin' life

By April 2012 Taffy had her old buddy back full time. Honey and Taffy moved to our new property and both enjoy 24x7 turnout on their own green half acre. Almost. We do have flood irrigation here so they are high and dry in shaded stalls while the home place becomes a lake. They return to freedom as soon as the ground firms up. Thirty-six hours is usually all it takes, and we go out for round pen romps to ease the stress of confinement.

She had a visit from the dentist this spring- and did NOT appreciate it until it was over. Can't say I blame her. She also had a reaction to dewormer paste- Equimax. I didn't get it back into her mouth well enough and it irritated her cheek to the point she could not chew. Now if Taffy isn't eating something is definitely wrong. One packet of dexamethasone helped enough so she was back to herself by the next morning. I suspect her teeth had irritated the inside of her cheeks, facilitating the dewormer's entry into her tissues. My horses keep teaching me things! Our riding has been on the canal trail and into South Mountain. Taffy and I are still working towards better communication, especially at the lope and with flying lead changes. Wow what a difference Bug Chek has made for her- I am not seeing much itching at all this summer. She is not scratching her front legs with furious abandon as she has done every summer she has been with me. Auto-ship from SmartPak ensures we are never without it. Balancing her fore hooves continues to take careful attention- I believe she has slightly sheared heels, which may well be a result of her narrow chested conformation. I continue to seek the answer, though I am able to use collateral groove depth to balance her heels. Two days after each trim I re-balance the heels. Trims every 4 weeks or less prevents flares or bar overgrowth. I feel the hooves for heat often since fertilizing the pasture and the temperature is over 100 every day. I also increased the salt in her feed. The only soreness she has had in a very long time is from thrush in the central sulcus of the frog. NoThrush powder has become my only non-soaking remedy. I'm interested in the other applications this formula's makers are advertising. Seems there's always just one more thing to learn about than hours in a day. Must be that insatiable curiosity God blessed me with.

Return to the Show Ring- 2012

Taffy and I took to the ring once more. Armed with new communication skills thanks to Tylene Houser, trainer, (one lesson)... and 3 days of brief but concentrated schooling with the show bit, off we went to the Scottsdale Saddle Club schooling level horse show. Taffy was excited to be there- trading lots of whinnies, and making friends with anyone who would give her any attention.

In our walk-trot under saddle classes I was more than pleased... I was tickled pink!Taffy earned a blue in Western Pleasure out of 6 horses. We were 2nd in Trail and horsemanship, 3rd in showmanship and 5th in Halter Mares. (no, she's not a halter horse, I just enter so I can get into the ring once to calm my nerves.)

For our efforts, we were awarded the Reserve Champion High Point Walk Trot for the day!! A beautiful rosette ribbon came with that honor. We do have some refining to do, but with such little practice I am thrilled with this result. Taffy is totally comfortable in her bare feet. I was however, saddened to see a beautiful mare in high heeled navicular egg bar shoes with wedge pads. She was obviously well bred and schooled, appeared to not be lame, yet stabbed her front toes on every stride. The dorsal wall of her hoof was vertical on landing in arena footing. Made me want to cry- knowing that her coffin bones were being forced tip first downward with each stride. How long before the horse is put down for sole penetration?! I imagine the horse had already been de-nerved, or was medicated, since she didn't limp. I am just grateful that Taffy will never need to suffer that way. If I didn't say something, no one would guess she had ever had Navicular pain!

New town new life

We moved to the Phoenix AZ area this past summer. Taffy has joined us and lives in an irrigated pasture with 5 other horses. Hoof changes were expected- yep- she grows more wall since the footing is minimally abrasive. The irrigation comes every 2 weeks and provides a period of moisturizing mud that she must cross in order to eat hay (still gets bermuda twice daily). Soles and bars are more pliable as she is not on a dry lot. I have to be more vigilant about thrush overgrowth.

Her asymmetry in the forehooves continued to puzzle me. Then a friend had an equine bodyworker visit for her horse a few weeks ago and she also looked a moment at Taffy. She pinpointed issues in the shoulders and ribs. Her right fore is already more symmetrical since getting a quick adjustment to the shoulder. The heels on that foot now look even when brought down to LSP. Another piece to the puzzle is falling into place. Is it the final one? I am eager to continue learning.

If I forgot to mention it, the 00 renegade boots I initially used for her fore hooves no longer fit. She has decontracted to 0. WOO HOO! She goes well on most surfaces- needs boots only for the rockiest areas. Not one lame step :)

I do have her 1 year anniversary hoof trim photos from May but haven't uploaded yet. Stay tuned.

100% New hoof- Vet impressed :)

Taffy has grown completely new hoof wall- in less than 1 year. I have to keep the bevel (mustang roll) refreshed every 3-4 weeks to avoid chipping and peeling. Slight tenderfooting over large gravel, frog sulci still deeper than I like after all the winter moisture.

Taffy got her spring vaccinations and check up recently- I shared with the vet that she had been treated for navicular pain in the past, and how I had transitioned her with boots, pads, movement, diet, and trim technique. His first impression was that she had little feet (genetic), but that her angles looked good and he said I was doing a good job.

Nice to have some professional encouragement !!!
[IMG]http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll191/onehorsekrazygal/Taffy%20the%20sweet%20mare/P4091006.jpg[/IMG]

Continued success

Not much time to ride, but anytime I saddle up Taffy is ready, no boots needed. I have started free jumping her- she has a great motor!

As for her hooves- routine maintenance is enough, with emphasis on lowering the lateral heel on the fores, as the collateral groove on that side remains deeper thanthe medial. Her coronet has widened, which I believe indicates a downward migration relative to P1 and P2. This is terrific- the bony column is raising up to its healthy level relative to the coronet. The hoof wall will appear shorter- more natural! There is only about half an inch of toe wall left from last May- almost a complete new hoof in less than a year woo hoo!

She does wear off the hind toes more than I like- I need to increase the breakover bevel.

Spring shedding in full swing... Barbecue grill cleaning blocks work great for shedding :)