FILLY

2011, Rethinking Hoof Care
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Chance is now 18 years old. I have had him since he was 5.  He is Arabian and Saddlebred. 16 h and about 1200 lb.  The conformation of his front from the knee down is not perfect. His hooves are somewat clubbed or club like if not actually clinicaly clubbed, and they grow crooked and unbalanced.

Heel Cracks Chance

For sometime I had been  growingly concerned about Chances feet.  A fresh shoeing would only last about 2  weeks before he would start tripping, knuckling over on the rear, short striding, worse on the left rear, from an old injury, and  hoof walls growing in all directions, with the coronets shoved into in interesting wave pattern.   He was always sore, all the way up, and his wonderful free easy big moving strides were getting worse and worse.  Chance   Is a bug horse, with  legs that go all the way up. He has , or had a 6-7mph big flat walk. He used to motivate down hills with a ground covering shuffle that a good trotter couldn’t keep up with.  But he  had degenerated to mincing and picking, and  just refusing to move out downhill.    I realized he was simply afraid to move out because when he did he would trip and knuckle over on the rear and it hurt him.

I know that old age and arthritis  and old injuries all play into how horses move in later years, so I had been giving him Pentason for a few months and that was helping  his comfort level, but still his major problem was his feet.  I could not have my wonderful farrier  and friend Tammy, comming out every 3-4 weeks for a reset.  I thought that if I could ride barefoot at home allot of the time, and if boots actually  wear real good,  that I could do better for Chance  and actually be able to afford it.

Chance was not getting a fair deal in all of this and I was just at wits end as to what to do.   I finally decided to try the barefoot and boot trail I never thought boots  was a great idea, and I felt that sooner or later all these boot fanatics would finally figure out that it just wont work.  But I  thought at least I can keep his feet in a heathier condition, and just see how it goes.    

     Some of my friends use Easy Boots and some use Renegades, I do occasionaly see a boot that I dont recognize, but these 2 seem to be the most common choice for endurance riders.   Frankly I had no idea as which ones to use,  so I based my decision purely on how many boots I have seen on the side of the trail in the last several years or E/rides, and  my observations of  my friends putting their boots on in the wee hours of E/ride day.    I decided on Renegades.   They seemed to go on allot easier,  and  stay on better, and they had brite colors so you could find them easier if one did come off.  So that step done, I contacted the Renegade folks,  I cant tell you how helpful and kind they have been to me. And patient, dealing with me does require allot of patients.  

December 18, 2011    Shoes came off!

    Sooooo Here we are,  12/18/11    Chance was in serious need of a re-set. His  hooves were grown out pretty far, and since it has been so wet they were looking pretty yukky.  So today was the day. If I was going to try the boot thing I was going to go all out with it and do it to the best of my ability and then if it didnt work  out Id  just go back to shoes.  

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I didnt trim him rite away. Shoes came off 12/18/12 I trimmed on 1/4/12
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 So, Now I was ready to get boots. Trying to figure out how to measure, and fit them was a bit of a learninmg curve. Mostly because I lack self confidence.   Gina Lander at Renegade was such a great help, along with the wonderful fittin g videos they have. Which I will try to get on this web page, but no promices. Any way Gina gave me a good deal on some slightly uded boots, and a couple of sending back and forth to get the rite size and we were set.

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 My big idea of saving money quickly faded as I realized all the tools I  had to buy to do this. 

. But When I figured  up  everything I have spent on boots and tools, against what I would have spent on shoeing from 12/18/12 to now 4/1, I am still money ahead. And my farrier is more reasonable that what most people are paying around the USA. 

RF side 12-18---1-23.

This is when the shoes were pulled note the wave in the wall and coronet

Coronet Wave gone, heel lower, and edge beveled wall waves are going.

5 weeks

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 First really good ride in boots, 16 miles rocky rugged trails. We had only been going barefoot, and short booted rides,

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6 to 18

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4-1-12