Progress report (a catch all post about feet + weather)

Here's the thing... I think no matter what part of the country you live in right now, the weather has been complete and utter bullshit for everyone. Around me (Area II) events have been cancelled left and right due to rain and riders are having to tempt fate by riding in temps in the 100s just to get an event under their belt. We've gotten something like 300% more rain than we should have for this time of year and while it could be worse (rock hard ground), it makes getting any sort of riding momentum near impossible.

Because it's either raining for days or it's like this:

Just, NO.

I've been pushing through and riding him even on the hottest days, but all the rain has messed up his turnout schedule and as a result not only is his skin getting funky, but his legs have all been taking turns blowing up. This doesn't alarm me like it used to and I usually just follow the protocol of working him to reduce the puffiness and then throw standing wraps on if he's going to be in for prolonged periods of time. Scout is typically the kind of dude that no matter how much time he's had off or how little turnout he's been getting he's pretty much the same, chill horse. However, he surprised me a little this week after a few days of little to no turnout by being a bit of a twit on the ground so we had a little refresher session on appropriate behaviors.

I got in trubs.

You see, his legs were fat and I hadn't planned on riding that day so I took him to the indoor to hand walk (because you guessed it, it was pouring, again) -- his next door neighbor was in there too (she's an adorable grey pony who just went to the pony finals!) so we did out best to stay out of their way by walking and trotting over poles together. When she left, Scout lost his ever loving mind and tried to bolt back to the barn after her and I was like HELL NO. So I grabbed a lunge line and the whip -- to which he took GREAT offense, as though he's beaten every day by one. Which led to ground work 101 for Scout. And you better believe he changed his tune (ahem, pic above). In the end, I wound up getting some very nice work out of him, even if I was ill-prepared and honestly, I think he needed to blow off a little energy anyway so we'll call it a win.

Even with big fat legs he can move

I am the wildest stallion:)

Anyway, all of this behavior at least let me see how he was moving and feeling after his first visit with the new farrier. He has been growing hoof at an alarming rate, and I was terrified he was going to lose a shoe before he could get seen and I was absolutely thrilled when the BO told me that the farrier said Scout has beautiful feet. I was like, "oh man, wait til I show you where we started."

I tend not to get on the bandwagon of "all OTTBs have bad feet" because that's simply not true, but what I can say with certainty is that any sort of major lifestyle change in a horse's career/life will impact their hoof quality dramatically. We didn't start with under run heels or excessively long toes, but we did start with scary looking event lines.

You can see that the new growth wants to come in at the proper angle but the rest of the hoof is just doing it's own thing, and looking quite scary. Watching these lines grow out was pretty horrifying, and I knew at some point we'd be nailing right into that crack and I thought for sure the rest of his hoof was just going to break off.

best farrier ever

That's some beautiful farrier work right there people. My previous farrier would painstakingly shape each shoe like this and while it was exhausting to hold horses for him, he knew how to create balance like no other. Also, just looking at the hoof on the left above makes me shudder. Remarkably his feet did not fall off -- because that's not how that works (hahahahaha). You can also appreciate a nice, strong hoof wall making it's way to replace the old, shelly remnants.

In between this farrier and my current situation, we've been at two barns, one with a highly regarded farrier and one with someone who was a bit greener. Sadly, Scout could not keep shoes on with the farrier with the big reputation -- he is a very nice guy, and quick at his work but he refused to hot fit or shape shoes and Scout lost several in the short stint that we were with him. The other farrier LOVED Scout and got his feet back into shape (thank god they grow fast), which leads us to present day.

post trim (and farrier's fix)

Those are some nice looking thoroughbred feet! Nice angles, beautiful walls, good breakover and heel balance! And as a result, I think he's moving the most confidently he has since I bought him. When you are giant and have spider legs having wonky feet makes you very clumsy! I'm also happy to report that he has not needed hinds since last fall either!

A good boy

Now if only I could get him to gain weight at the same rate he grows hoof!!!!

How are you guys handling the weather in your part of the country? Are you struggling with nonstop rain or oppressive heat and humidity? What do you guys do with your horses to stay sane when you can't ride?

Ice, Ice, Baby

Good answer, good answer!!!

Hooray, my horse got turned out and he's behaving himself. After helicopter parenting everyday for 15 straight days (twice a day) I decided to take a day off to give us both a break. He's not longer on meds or needing any hand-holding so he such be fine right? Word from the farm was that he behaved himself without my supervision and all is well. So imagine my surprise when I showed up Monday to access his soundness post illness and he came head-bobbing across his 12 acre field.

#FFS

I immediately assumed the leg was hot and swollen again, I mean it's not like mud helps with horses that are cellulitis prone right? But to my surprise (and secret delight), he was ONLY missing a front shoe. And because I'm turning into a total maniac, I was furious. I turned him out Saturday myself and now it's Monday afternoon and HOWLONGHASHEBEENWITHOUTASHOE. So he got to spend another day in detention while he waited for the farrier to come out. It was far to muddy and icy to even try to wrap up the foot. I couldn't be there to talk to my new farrier about Scout's feet but I did mention that he's never lost shoes before and my old farrier always hot fit him. New farrier did not hot fit him, so we'll see how long these stay on.

The next day I planned to let him trot around a little so I could finally see how he was moving since he got cast. We had gotten a few inches of snow and slightly warmer temps so the ground was at least a little cushioned, but unfortunately I had to test out his free movement in a ring where one 1/5th of it hasn't thawed since temps first dropped below freezing.

You're going to let him loose where?

He was super quiet and he generally stays away from that end of the ring anyway (it's where the puddle of doom is) so I figured he'd just trot around me and come back looking for cookies.

Wrong answer

This dumb dumb trotted off squealing, and trotted right over to the snow-covered ice rink. FUCK.

SASS for DAYS

See those arrows? ICE, ICE, BABY...

But, in the end he adjusted his footwork while cracking through the ice and stayed upright. Maybe he'll make a good fox hunter after all? And guys, outside of a few sketchy steps that I'll chalk up to the world's worst footing, he looked damn good.

Looking confident on that right hind

Don't mind me, I'll just be over here practicing my extended trot on ice:/

All four, off the floor!

Weeeeee!

Uphill much? Damn, son!

My favorite of all... "I did a good job Mommy?"

Watching the videos I can see a little residual stickiness in the hock, but it could just be a little leftover soreness or stiffness from being stall rested for 2 weeks, or from the footing or trotting around in his blanket. Hopefully the warmer temps this week will help get rid of the rest of the ice and snow and I can start him back under tack this week. Hopefully he can keep a lid on his enthusiasm:)

Behind the bucket

In the manner of full disclosure I'd like to share a little bit about Scout's feed and forage program. I was going to make this strictly a post about the progression of his feet (spoiler alert: they were a disaster) but I strongly feel like good nutrition, exercise, and supplements make a happy horse so here's a sneak peek behind Scout's feed tub.

What he eats (currently):

Nutrena 10:10 pelleted grain (3 qts -- 2x a day)

*He ate a quart of Pro-force fuel on top of this when I first bought him

We feed most of the OTTBs this pelleted grain and they all seem to adjust quite well to it and eat it with gusto. Now that Scout is in work and decent shape, he doesn't "need" the added Fuel, however it's nice to know I can top dress his feed without him getting wound up. He's still eating more hard grain than I would like, but our pasture grass is not enough to sustain his weight. 

Grass hay (locally grown and typically nice 2nd cutting) -- he gets his slow feeder hay bag stuffed so he has access to hay all day while he's in. He tends to swirl his hay into a mess in his stall and then look at it with a sad face, which is why it's in the hay bag now. Strangely, it took a little while for me to recognize that he wasn't really eating much hay in his stall before the bag and his weight blossomed after I installed it!

Pictured is the Gatsby Slow Feed Hay Bag. It's inexpensive and super easy to fill, it holds a ton of hay!

He's also on a Smartpak which includes Farrier's Formula Double Strength which I absolutely swear by (thank Riley for making me a believer) and Cocosoya SP for coat and weight gain.

Honestly our feeding program is fairly uncomplicated (in the winter we add beet pulp without molasses). I'm lucky to be in full control of what my horse eats and how he's fed, which I know is quite a luxury. 

The real proof is in the pudding though, yes? We're overdue for a new conformation photo (he's looking even better now that he's in more work) but this is a 6 week progression photo from the 3rd week in May to the 1st week in July:

But that tail tho?!

I also groom the crap out of him, which thankfully he LOVES and I even splurged a few months ago and bought him very fancy brushes from Teddy's Tack Trunk:) I'm super excited to see his his body will change with a proper topline and more muscling. 

I hate using thoroughbred stereotypes, but Scout came with "typical" Tb feet. Low heels, long toes, shelly hoof wall. What he did have going for him was a solid interior hoof wall, great concavity, a good frog and a solid sole. In the grand scheme of TB feet, we were still in decent shape. The heels and toe can all be fixed with time and a great farrier -- but having a patient owner is key.

Let's take a look of the progression over the last few trims:

Left column LF (May-August) Right Column RF (May-August)

What's frightening about the first photo is that scary event line that continued to become a fissure as it grew out. We knew we'd have to address is eventually, and in the second photo you can see that the farrier actually had to put the nail right in the crack (terrifying, and he pulled a shoe twice during this period, but because they were in the crack he didn't lose any hoof wall), but as you can see in the last photo, the rate of growth helped insure that by the next shoeing cycle, he'd be nailing above that crack, which should be nearly gone by the next trim. What I love looking at is how very different the quality of hoof is that's growing in and how drastically different the angle of the hoof is. I can feel a massive difference under saddle as the break over over is much better and he rarely trips anymore up front. You can imagine it was pretty tough to go around with those silly flippers and NOT trip! I'm really pleased with the heel that he's getting underneath his body and overall his hoof looks much more healthy. He does have two quite noticeably different shaped feet up front, but I think over time his RF heel will expand to match the LF a little more. He's currently growing hoof at an alarming rate and we're keeping him on a 4-5 weeks schedule to keep on top of that.

What's so tough about being patient about hoof growth is simply the waiting. My agenda can't ever come before my horse's and I'm willing to let that hoof get in really great shape before his workload gets super demanding. I'm certain that many other farriers may have addressed his issues a little more aggressively (as in, to make him more rideable in the short term) but I'm willing to wait as long as it takes to get his feet shipshape.

In addition to a good diet, excellent farrier care I also paint his feet with Farrier's Fix (it's amazing) and he lives, LIVES in bell boots! My farrier tends to shoe a bit wide as to allow the heel and hoof wall to expand, and my guy plays a lot, so it's bell boots or death! I really like pull ons, but he destroys them so I've had better luck with Davis bell boots for turnout.

What sort of feeding/shoeing habits do you employ? I'm so lucky to have an amazing farrier and I can only imagine how tough this would all be with a lackluster one. Do you spend time with your farrier? Any tricks of the trade you want to share?