treeless.. back to tree'd.. back to treeless today.

a second hand Barefoot saddle, picked up today. I've had a short ride with it..
things don't change much for me over time.. lol. Quince is barefoot, I rode her in this headcollar today but usually use a bridle with a bit.
herself looking good for a wet muddy winters day.

marching marching

we're getting out and about, marching down the road.

Abbey and Quince

 it was always my dream to have these two girlies... this was the morning Abbey was leaving to go to her retirement. hope to visit her in a week or two. this is the one decent photo  from a series of about 20 where they wouldn't stand, moved around, made faces at each other, i had my eyes closed etc... lol
Quince is convinced she can't have her front feet lifted to be picked out... we're working on it... the hoof trimmer is due this weekend so she might not have much done this time. her fronts look like they've been cut too short anyway so they need to recover. Abbeys feet are perfect.

good girls

 Ellie and Abbey,

a rosette each for Horse Agility



saturdays wee walk

Abbey being a wee star. nice and calm, marching along. she's wearing hoof boot, you can hear them. 

bravery, pony style!

today we rode through the section of path through the trees outlined in red... about 50-100 yards long... first time along it... ridden.. without ever having being led by me or another horse... whoohooo!! Abbey is awesome. bless her little scared socks...

Is the Hoof Smart? Adaptability of the Equine Foot

Is the Hoof Smart? Adaptability of the Equine Foot


lecture on the barefoot hoof, about an hour long if you have time.

saddle fit

saddle just returned from original makers , it was sent off to be widened  to fit Abbey better.. and had some D rings sewn on at the back to attach the picnic bags too.
now to try to get out on a picnic adventure...

aww, her first pair of boots

Abbey hasn't had metal shoes on her feet since shortly after she came to me. Mostly she does just fine with her hooves bare. She manages the stony driveway, and the very rough lane through the trees.. however one ride we do occasionally involves a stone track that has been repaired with big rough stones and she just can't walk on them.. so the choice was not to go there or to try boots. She had them on for 20 minutes today for a wee wander round, they seem fine, she didn't seem bothered with them at all and there were no obvious rubbed spots. Cavallo Simple Boots

pony power

the S-bend

up till now we have usually scattered poles everywhere... but seem to be getting the idea ... in the next 'level' I believe the S-bend is be done at the trot... yikes!! it might be a good while before we can get that!!

ponies in the snow

girls at the gate. Abbey, Shuna and Fizz

Abbey and Fizz, I always think that two horse heads make a heart...

barefoot pony print.

walking the plank

ta da! all four feet on the plank, brave pony.

barefoot pony feet

a couple of people I know, their pony's have shown some lameness recently, immediately their vets advise to shoe them. constrict their feet into uncomfortable metal shoes that restrict movement and circulation....why is that the first thing they say?
I am so annoyed.

http://www.barefoottrim.com/
http://sarahbellbarefoottrimming.com/buy/buy-the-book/
http://www.thenaturalhoof.co.uk/9.html
http://www.thehorseshoof.com/

feet...

if you wear sandals then your pony will jump on your foot...dirty mark shows where...

so the next day it will look like this..... and procede to be colourful for a while!

Abbey's feet are all in good order, but you can't put all four on the plank at once....

frog update

over the last couple of weeks its just looked like it was disintegrating.... this is it tidied up by the hoof trimmer, he has removed some of the overhanging bits and pieces, it still gets cleaned daily. hopefully it will all grow out and look as nice as it did before.

a brief anantomy

The lovely Abbey, she has a four reasonable feet, now barefoot and recovering after many years of shoeing and showjumping, her feet are improving all the time but she is not 100% sound.

this is her front right hoof, called the off fore, after being trimmed just over a month ago, I have been taking occasional photographs to show the improvements.

this is the bottom of the same hoof at the time of trim, this is the hoof that now has the deep cut in it.
photograph of internal hoof borrowed from Natural Horse Trim
you can see in this detailed(and very real!!) anatomy that the frog covers and protects the digital cushion which protects the insides of a very complicated process. its designed by nature to be perfect just as it is. no shoes thankyou. Abbey has a very deep cut, if it gets infection in the frog that is not good. if it is deep enough to get infection in the digital cusion that is even worse. if it had been deep enough to get as far as the bones she would be in pony pastures over the rainbow by now. the broken bottle neck has caused a cut which is at the deepest part of the frog which is why she is still with us. although Abbey is not lamed by this I am on high alert to prevent infection and will be for some time.