Author: Amanda

barefoot · farrier · shoes

Exciting news: Tristan is barefoot again!

Amanda7 Comments

I’ve been keeping a bit of a secret, horse blog world. Tristan’s odyssey with his feet is no secret, and for the past 2.75 years or so he has been wearing front shoes to help support that RF as it continues to try and grow normally.

Every few months, I’ve asked the farrier if he thought maybe, this time, Tris could go barefoot? The farrier is not a shoes-at-all-cost guy. He is an excellent farrier whom I have seen praised entirely independently on the COTH forums, and, you know, that NEVER happens.

The last time I asked was this past fall, and when we pulled his shoes as part of that vet visit, the toe still wasn’t right, which was discouraging. That was the same vet visit at which we pulled blood to test for Cushings, and that came back positive, and I started hoping that maybe the reason he (still!) wasn’t healing 100% was because of the Cushings. I figured I’d ask again in the spring.

Well, two weeks ago, I asked, expecting to get a sigh and a shrug again.

Instead: the farrier pulled off his shoes and was thrilled. My horse had foot again! Proper foot! There was no reason he couldn’t go barefoot. To say I was excited was the understatement of the century.

Behold: NAKED PONY FEET!

You can still see the abnormality at the toe, interfering with the white line, in the bottom of the foot, but it’s entirely possible that will never go away. 
Are they perfect? Gosh, no. We’ve got some work to do on shoring up the heel and rehabbing the sole. In particular, I’m pained by the white line – but I saw the same thing when we pulled his hind shoes, and I know how to fix it. We’ve already spent quality time with Durasole, and a nice long White Lightning soak is in our near future.
The best part? I gave him a few days off, with some handwalking and long grooming sessions, and he did not look even slightly hesitant when I walked him back and forth, even on the harder aisle. The barn staff confirmed that he wasn’t in the slightest bit tender on the pebbly, hard dirt road to get to turnout.
So four days later, I longed him, and he was raring to go, bucking and farting and giving big sweeping trot strides. I longed him again the next day, and when he still looked 100% sound, I got on him. And rode him. And I’ve been riding him consistently, at the walk and trot and a bit of canter, without a single problem. 
On Friday afternoon, I took him out on the dirt roads around the barn, which afforded a great test; they were waterlogged and soft, but not yet gravelly. Harder than the indoor footing for sure, but nowhere near the rock-hard summer roads. He was terrific, and even jigged around a bit.
HOORAY FOR GENETICS!
Seriously, how did he wear shoes for 2.75 years, sustain a major injury + surgery, and then come out of that so beautifully sound? I have to go find some wood to knock on.
And so, the saga of Tristan’s shoes ends: August 18, 2012 – March 25, 2015.

blog roundup

Weekly Blog Roundup

Amanda1 Comment

Here are some great posts from the horse blogging world this week.

Hardcovers from Streets of Salem
This is more of a history blog, but I loooooooved this post about old covers of Black Beauty. (Speaking as someone who owns four different copies; five if you count the ebook.)

Flying High with Artistic Flaire from Eventing Nation
Cute, talented Morgan! Enough said.

This is how trail riding should be done from Not So Speedy Dressage
My jaw was literally hanging open while reading this post. I want to go to there.

Behind the Scenes: Packing the Tack Trailer from Hand Gallop
I LOVE blogs because they show me super cool, interesting, behind the scenes stuff like this.

Reviews: The Battle of the Breastplates from The $900 Facebook Pony
I love breastplates for their functionality and how sharp they make an event horse look. This is a terrific overview and thoughtful dig into how they work and how they should work.

Product Review: Feed XL from The Legal Equestrian
I freaking love the idea behind this, but I’ve never been able to make myself cough up the money for it. What a cool product, though.

How do you learn? from Not So Speedy Dressage
Outstanding overview, lots to think about.

Rider Review: Smartpak Sunshield Shirts from Stories from the Saddle
I have coveted one of these shirts for a very, very long time. I’m really glad to see this review.

humor · stupid human tricks

#horsegirlproblems

Amanda5 Comments

Conversation last night between me and the barn manager while she was doing chores in the aisle and I was riding in the indoor.

Me: Ow! Hey, [BM], I just broke my nail on my saddle!
BM: Oh no! Wait, your fingernail or your saddle nail?
Me: My fingernail, it caught on the pommel while I was gathering rein.
BM: Oh, well then, get your damn hands out of your lap!

…she’s not wrong.

march madness 2015

YOUR WINNER: The Black Stallion

Amanda6 Comments

It was a nailbiting finish, but in the end, The Black Stallion finished as the ultimate Horse Movie March Madness champion.

Like many of you, I had no idea how strongly I felt about The Black Stallion until it was threatened. That’s not to say I wasn’t still rooting for the horse movie of my heart, Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, which is still the greatest horse movie of all time no matter what this poll says, but wow, did I want Black Stallion to crush all the other comers!
It’s not to terribly surprising, though, right? The book itself is nearing 75 years old, and the movie is nearing 40 years old. It speaks to a really deep, powerful horse myth: the magical horse who bonds with one boy, and they survive together. (We’ll pretend the alien shit in the later books didn’t happen, ok? Ok.)
In the end, aren’t we all pretending, at least a little bit, to be Alec and the Black on the beach when we gallop our own horses?
Thank you to everyone who voted, that was a lot of fun. 🙂
blog hop · chores

SFTS Blog Hop: Happy Place

Amanda3 Comments

What barn and/or horse chores put you in your happy place?

For some of us, it’s the feeling of methodically and meticulously cleaning tack. For others, it’s the repetition of braiding a mane. For others, it’s the quiet moments of filling the water buckets or sweeping the barn aisle after everyone has left for the night.
I love this particular topic, and actually I was thinking about posting about it this week anyway!

For me, it has to be sweeping the barn aisle. The first barn I ever worked at was ob.sess.ive. in its attention to detail in that way, and I would sweep 3-4 times while doing chores to make sure I cleaned as I went. I found a rhythm and a happiness in the way I worked. There was a particularly awesome Lab mix dog at that barn, too, who would chase the little bits of hay if I swept particularly vigorously. We made it our little game.

Even now, there is something absolutely hypnotic about a good broom and a long barn aisle. Getting the turn just right, getting the finish flick just right, overlapping your strokes in just the right way. I love it.

march madness 2015

Horse Movie March Madness Conclusion: National Velvet versus The Black Stallion

Amanda12 Comments

I put off this post for a little longer to wait for the tight race between Black Beauty and National Velvet to end precisely on time – and it was close right up to the wire.

This may be our most difficult matchup yet, between two movies that held off all the other competitors.

There can be only one. Which horse movie emerges from our endless rounds of voting as the 2015 champion?

Uncategorized

Early Spring Cushings Update

Amanda4 Comments
When last I updated on Tristan’s progress with Cushings, it was late November and we got the great news that his ACTH levels were back within normal limits.

Once we realized that he needed to be blanketed for cold this winter, because the disease was playing havoc with his temperature regulation, he went into his full blanket rotation. That worked really well. I checked on him constantly, and had lots of ongoing conversation with the barn manager about how he was coping. He trucked along beautifully in his assortment of blankets, and we figured out his parameters for each blanket, about which more later.

After his first full winter of being blanketed, he only developed the slightest hint of the beginning of a rub from once blanket, and we just swapped it out. Problem solved. He’s got a spot on his mane that is less than ideal, but it’s also very far from rubbed out – just a little thinner & shorter.

He gained both muscle tone and weight through the winter. Not enough of the former, a bit too much of the latter. The barn worked really hard in this unbelievably cold weather to get them as close to free choice hay as possible, and we even ended up cutting out the alfalfa pellets from Tristan’s diet and scaling back his ration of Carb Guard.

Right now, he’s actually borderline too heavy for my own preferences. I’ve always kept him on the lean side, because he’s such an easy keeper. He’s also waaaaaaaaay out of shape, even with the improved muscle tone, because of this #$@&#$ winter.

He is alert, happy, and shedding like crazy right in sync with his normal shedding time and amount.

He saw the vet late last week for a physical, teeth floating, and vaccinations, and here’s what she had to say in her report:

Haircoat appropriate length/thickness for season and there is no topline wasting or other subjective signs of Cushing’s disease. 

Body Condition Score = 5/9. Perfect!! Ribs can be felt easily but not seen unless in the right light. This is an ideal body weight for your animal. 

Excellent teeth with shiny pulp cavities and no evidence of diseased teeth or feed packing. Sharp points all arcades and M3’s have small ramps. Reduced all sharp points and ramps.

Atta boy! He turns 20 in 2 more weeks, so I couldn’t be happier that the vet was thrilled. 🙂

We will keep him off grass until the spring growing has finished, and then transition him on to the least lush grass and keep an eagle eye. Hopefully he’ll get some time out on the grass when it’s least dangerous for him, and hopefully with careful monitoring we’ll be able to get a good sense for his tolerance. He still does not show any signs of more general metabolic disease, so there’s no clear reason to think he won’t do well on grass.

Now that it’s spring, we’ll get back in shape and here’s to a great summer. 🙂 I really think that so far we are in the best case scenario for a Cushings horse.

march madness 2015

FINAL FOUR: National Velvet versus Black Beauty

Amanda6 Comments

Here’s our second matchup of the Final Four, another really tough choice.

National Velvet handily beat out Hidalgo in its previous match.

Black Beauty just baaaarely edged by Seabiscuit.

Here’s a nice collection of clips from National Velvet – it hits all the highlights, including all those gorgeous shots of Elizabeth Taylor galloping the (chestnut) Pie.

Here’s the trailer for Black Beauty.
So…who advances?
march madness 2015

FINAL FOUR: The Black Stallion versus Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken

Amanda3 Comments

Here, I’ll set the mood.

Okay!
Here’s what our bracket looks like now.

We’re down to the Final Four. Every movie that made it to this round should hold its head high, because some really great movies went down in the previous rounds. That said, this can only get harder now, and this match in particular is a real heartbreaker.
The Black Stallion edged by The Man from Snowy River by one measly vote, proving that every single vote counts.
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken only cleared Secretariat by two votes. 
For this round, I’ll find some iconic scenes from the movies in question to get you inspired and make you think about your vote. So here, take a few minutes to watch these. I’ll wait.
Now make your tough decision.