Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Pictures are up

Just wanted to post here, that the pictures from the Darby are up on Show In Style. We had a great time and Kat did really well for his first time out in harness. There were a lot of 'firsts' for him. First long road trip, first time overnighting, first time seeing other ponies pulling carts, first time really working anywhere but home or the horsepark, first time doing obstacles...  He handled everything really well and I am proud of him.

I didn't get a chance to braid him but I will soon and post the pics of the process here. There is an ADT next month at the same place, part of it is dressage and based on turnout. Another show the same weekend is a pleasure show where again, turnout counts. Either way, braiding needs to be done.  I guess I need to get after it!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Hmmmmm....

At some point there comes a time when we have to weigh all the options and consider what it best for our horse. Sometimes this decision is about shoeing or leaving them barefoot.  What to do, what to do???

There is a driving event up north, next weekend.  Kat is due for a trim.  He has good feet, hard enough not to chip or crack all that easily, but soft enough to leave him a little 'gimpy' and tender for a few days to a week or two after a trim.  When he gets a little long- he overreaches really, really, really, really bad.  Click, click, click, click with every stride at the trot. Even with standing him up in the back and squaring the toe- when he gets long and is due- you know about it because you hear about it.

I have been putting it off trimming him, while considering whether or not to have him shod.  Talking to the farrier he asked where up north we were going? Flagstaff in some areas has a lot of cinders in the ground. Think Lava soap. The green stuff with the pumice in it...   If he is gimpy after a trim, the cinders could wear his hooves down even more and leave him incredibly sore. Not something I want to do to my pony.  So we planned a day, I figured for at least front shoes and this morning he got them on.

He has been barefoot all  his life so when the farrier went to hammering and shaping the shoe, Kat was a bit on edge.  When he had to cut off the heels to make the shoes small enough to fit him and the sparks flew- it really got his attention!  Kat's feet are a little too big for pony size shoes, but a tad too small for triple otts (sp?) or 000 size. He is in between.  He has been difficult to fit with everything else- why should shoes be any different? *hands in the air and massive eye rolling*

He was a champ though and although he flinched several times and gave the farrier some wild eyed looks as he hammered away on the shoes to shape them, Kat stood there and didn't move.  Damn I love this pony! 

The farrier also asked if he has any kind of movement? I showed him a few of the photos from this blog and the other one, where he was working in long lines. Wow! was his response.

If that's what he looked like before- now that he is shod up front and correct all the way around, I can hardly wait to see what this little guy has got!  I admit I have been trimming him for quite a while and I don't always get it right every time. Knowing when to step back and let someone else do it can be tough for some people.  I have no problem with it at all. And of course I had my phone handy to show the pictures to the farrier, but did I think long enough to take a few while he was working on Kat or the end results? Oh come on now... Are there any posted here?  Yay me! *snork*