Moving Along

Work and personal travel has kept me extremely busy and on the road nearly every other week which has lead to a lack of posting here but quite a few things on the horse-front have happened.

About a week ago, my TX horse adventure friend T had to put down her Icelandic pony Nickers due to colic. I was out of town on vacation with my husband in Boston at the time but was closely following T's posts for nearly 24 hours- at one point during the ordeal, it seemed like Nickers was doing better and going to pull though. When the final news broke, it was a total shock.

Goodbye, best ponybeast

Nickers was a tough, opinionated ponymare to ride but so rock-solid steady and a really fun trail parter. I got to experience my first tolt with her and discovered just how fun it was to ride a gaited horse. She will be sorely missed...

On a happier note, Quest and I have been doing well though and still enjoying lovely meanders in the arena and on the trail with the oddly suspicious lack of snow on the ground. I had brought all of my saddles home around Thanksgiving since I now have a secure and safe place to actually store things during the off-season so the only option was bareback. I've been using the pad that I DIY-ed when I first got Quest and it has been holding up just fine with no issues whatsoever. Mareface was so good despite the holiday hiatus during December and has kept on a nice weight.

There is a big change that will be happening in about a week or so but first off...I've decided to get rid of the farrier I had been using with Quest for nearly 2 years while we boarded at OF.

I work a full time 40hr/week, 9 to 5 job so a huge majority of time the farrier would show up at the barn and trim Quest while I was at the office. He text me an update, sometimes include a photo even and that system worked out really well until the past half year when I started to notice more and more that Quest's feet were still looking VERY long despite the fact she had been freshly "trimmed" and the clubfoot was impacting her general soundness.

When I contacted the farrier asking for an explanation, there were excuses why he didn't trim as much (or, one time he completely skipped trimming entirely and then failed to tell me??)....the ground was too hard, bruising could happen, there was ice, etc. The list of reasons went on until, one day I went to the barn and heartsick at the sight of my horse moving unhappily with her overgrown hooves I took out the rasp and and trimmed her myself to at least make her more comfortable.

Enough was enough. I'll be looking for another farrier  that can help us actually manage Quest's clubfoot. Fingers crossed that in a week's time, I'll have more options available and access to proficient hoofcare professionals soon.

Happy, content, sleepy mareface getting her head scratches

First Time For Everything

It took five years but it finally happened...I had my first real "oops, rider overboard" fall off of Quest. We're both fine and but it was like ugh whyyyy, especially given how it happened but I guess it was about time. I was probably way overdue for a first riding fall lol

Fellow trail rider J had texted me earlier in the week about doing a long group trail ride out to the deli and I immediately signed on. Quest and I ride alone so much that more exposure to riding in a group is always welcome- any opportunity to train the marebrain is a resounding yes in my book. W and I organized a large group of our friends (it ended up being about 20 people!) to go apple picking later in the afternoon though so I gave J a heads up that I'd be keeping a strict eye on the time and Quest and I would turn around for home solo when we needed to.

W came out to the barn with me and was kind enough to help continue working on the trailer while I got to enjoy riding my horse in daylight. I gave him instructions on what to do for the day, a thank you kiss in appreciation, and trundled off across the farm to fetch my horse from her pasture and tack up.

The farrier had come out the day before so thankfully I was working with a very fresh trim when putting on the boots. The front shoes were nice for their ease of use and Quest does okay in them but I could tell she was never 100% happy in them as she was in boots. So off the shoes came and we're back to barefoot all around.

During my trip to CA, I learned from the endurance rider I rode with to use duct tape to reinforce the velcro straps that die out way faster than the boot treads themselves. Using the tape, the Gloves stayed on perfectly for our entire w/t/c ride over all the diverse terrain we have here.

After tacking up, we met up with our trail ride group. We have ridden out with J and her little POA mare Lucy a few times and our girls get along very well. Unfortunately Quest had issue with K and her gelding, a sturdy chestnut mustang named Tonka. K was kind enough to give us room when I mentioned that Quest had angry marefaces at her horse whenever Tonka drifted too close. We  made sure to keep them apart and everyone did fine after that.

We set off at a good walking pace with Lucy and Quest trading the lead. In previous group outings, I noticed that Quest has a tendency to tune me out and go with whatever the other horses are doing which is not always a good thing. So this ride I made a point to not fall asleep at the wheel and to keep mareface actively engaged and checked in with me by having her move her feet exactly where I wanted her to go.

Things were going really well and we were making excellent time on the trail trotting areas where we could and walking where the footing got too gnarly to move out. Lucy took the lead on the single track areas and Quest was definitely game to move out but still listened to me politely. As much as I would have loved to continue on with the ride, the time was drawing closer for Quest and me to turn back for home.

Being familiar with the area, I knew that the route would open up to the roadway after the last section of trail we were on and the plan was for us to use the trail split as the turn around point. Just one more section and we would part ways for home.

It had been awhile since Quest and I had done a long ride so there were a ton of new obstacles along the trail such as downed trees and brush all which we navigated successfully earlier in the ride and have done so before. So when we came across yet another fallen tree, it should have been no big deal. The trunk was quite wide but it was traverse-able. J and Lucy, who both love to jump, cleared it with no problems. Quest and I do not regularly jump nor did I have any desire to attempt any heroics on the trail so I had Quest to settle into a calm walk to quietly step over it.

Instead she paused and with a massive lurch, heaved herself bodily over the trunk.

We made it over, but I was completely taken by surprise and ate dirt, landing on my side and back. I somehow manged to hold onto the reins though. To her credit, Quest immediately stopped and stood still, waiting for me to get back to my feet. Quick check: Quest was fine, I was fine- thankfully I had landed in the dirt and leaves next to the trail, somehow avoiding the rocks, and nothing was out of place.

After reassuring J and K that I was okay, I mounted back up and we headed down the trail together for a moment until I realized that we had to double back for my FitBit which had fallen off. After recovering it exactly where we thought it had landed, it was definitely time for Quest and me to head home to the barn. K offered to ride with me to make sure I got back okay but I thanked her and sent them off, not wanting to ruin their ride plans that day.

To my immense surprise, Quest didn't scream or worry a single moment on our solo ride back home, if anything she relaxed more and was completely compliant to every request I made. We walked, we trotted, we cantered in beautiful autumn weather- enjoying our time together.

Stopped by the trailer to say hi to W and told him what happened.
Poor husband got so concerned...I felt bad for worrying him ):

The trailer is coming along nicely though.
Quest seems to approve too, happy with her snack break.

Despite the tumble, I was thankful that I wasn't badly hurt and Quest was no worse for the wear. I was pretty sore later that evening and the day afterwards but that's pretty much the extent of it. One of my friends is a PA and she regularly asks me how Quest is doing, I saw her the day afterwards while grabbing a group lunch together and she reassured my husband (who was still fretting) that I was fine/she would have had no idea what had happened if I had not finally told her.

Things happen, sometimes all we can do is get right back into the saddle and ride on.

New Shiny (Purple) Things

After doing this horse thing for nearly six years, I have been slowly accumulating a list of items that needed replacing pretty badly after nearly daily/weekly use and abuse. 

Unfortunately most of the tack stores around me are a solid 40-50 minutes away so it was always a little hard to justify a store run for just one or two items at a time. I could always order online but IMO things like clothes, boots, and helmets are better off being tried on in person...at least that's the kind of shopper I generally am.

This past weekend, W and I went on a mini getaway to Philadelphia PA to visit some close friends who recently moved to the area and we were fortunately able to swing by for a tack store stop on our drive down.

First things first, I made sure to pick up some Venice turpentine. I debated between that and Durasole for awhile but after talking with the store staff, I decided to go with the former just to start. In addition to building sole, Durasole has a whole slew of medicated stuff that treats hoof problems that Quest does not (and hopefully won't ever) have so I opted to start with simple solutions first. 

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally got a pair of Ariat Terrain boots for trail riding. My paddock boots from my riding lesson days have seen a ton of miles on the trail and hours in the saddle. Six years later, they are finally beginning to show signs of wear and desperately needed a hardy backup. The Terrains were very comfortable when I tried them out and walked around in the store and so I'm excited to see how they fare out on the trail later this week. 

I also picked up a new helmet...it is PURPLE and I love it. I actually first asked for graphite black to replace my current one but they didn't have that color in my size but they had it in purple.

I was the tiniest bit hesitant that it was actually too much color but hey, you only live once so purple helmet it was. I trail ride 99.9% of the time and don't do any fancy show riding to merit sticking to plain grey black again and plus more safety precautions- you seriously can't miss this purple helmet bopping around on the trails and roadway. 

I also picked up a new turnout sheet for Quest to backup the current one she has now that I have on my to-do list to repair. Fortunately for me, mareface has been generally pretty good with her clothes that I haven't had to do massive blanket repairs until now. I already got the supplies to patch up the old sheet but figured it was probably time to get her a new one just in case. Quest's size was on backorder though so it'll be shipped to us in a few days time. 

I do usually make a point to buy sheets/blankets used but the store was doing a blowout sale on select sheets and blankets and also a store-wide holiday promotional deal. I was able to take advantage of that and got a nice gift card which I'm planning to to use to pick up a pair of riding pants because my old one is literally in tatters and threadbare after six years. I figure for the sake of my dignity (and saving W from spousal embarrassment) that I get something that won't split down the middle at any point while I ride. 

Last but not least, I managed to snag a like-new Stowaway pommel pack for super cheap though the endurance tack sale group on FB. 

I picked up the English cantle pack a few years ago at a tack sale and absolutely love it. Since then I have been keeping an eye out for the matching pommel pack- most of them were too expensive for their age and condition. I stumbled on this one last week at a steal and had to snatch it up.

Even if it was for essential must-haves, it was really nice doing some retail therapy. I usually have a hard time buying stuff for myself too so it was really good that W was entirely supportive of me getting everything I wanted and reassuring me that it was also everything I needed. 

Finding a New Normal

It's been almost two months since the whirlwind of life changes and all has been well so far.

As things have settled down, I've been carving out more time for the barn so Quest and I have been getting in more rides together! We were super lucky with a recent break in the late summer heat and got some gorgeous weather perfect for brisk trail miles with lots of trotting and hill climbs.

Our experiment with regular front shoes is going okay so far and Quest is eating up the gravel roads with gusto. However while mareface is still sound, I can tell and feel that she is a bit tenderfooted after the rockiest rides. Our trails at home aren't easy and while they offer the typical trail scenarios which are great for conditioning for NE-coast endurance, it definitely requires horses be properly outfitted with appropriate footwear for trail riding.

While doing hoofcare, I've noticed Quest's soles have been a bit softer than normal and Farrier D has been noting the same thing. Given the muddy areas in the lower pasture paddock around the hay/feed area, I'm not all that surprised and pretty annoyed that drainage hasn't been improved yet. Ugh.

So the new game plan is to pick up some Durasole the next time I make the long trek to the tack store (the closest one is 40-50 mins away) and we will be switching back to hoof boots so Quest gets some extra protection on the gnarly terrain while we toughen up the front soles. I know that one possibility is to pad the shoes if we really wanted to keep using shoes but that doesn't solve the underlying issue of softer soles. So we're going back to the basics before we complicate things and plus, I don't mind using hoofboots since they actually fit Quest pretty decently.

That aside, mareface is doing excellent and we celebrated our 5th gotcha day earlier last week! I can't believe its already been five years together. Things have panned out much more differently than how I originally had hoped but such is a life that naturally takes interesting turns and twists.

Everything is (hopefully) baby steps in the forward direction though. Right now, I'm slowly gathering supplies for the trailer and making a checklist to prep us for our first haul out to some training trails. I've also picked out some parks that allow horse camping to eventually expose Quest to overnighting in a low stress environment. It might take us 5x as long and we may have to work 20x harder but we'll get on the endurance trails one day. As along as we keep stubborn and stay positive, we will get there.

By the way if folks are curious to what our trails look like, Gonehikin recently did an excellent trail write-up on our neck of the woods. It gives a great overview of the type of terrain that Quest and I get to slog over during our normal trail rides. You might recognize some familiar scenery too!

Hello Summer

Quest turned 14 this past weekend! Unfortunately we haven't been able to properly celebrate yet since I had to attend and help friends at their wedding but you rest assured the mareface will indeed get her traditional horse birthday cake ;) I wouldn't be so cruel to deprive her of those moments of joy in life.

Thanks to the longer summer daylight hours, we've been getting a good number of weekday evening trail rides in. Quest has been so delightfully steady and sane that I've been doing about 50% of those rides bareback. The benefits are plenty from riding without a saddle too.  It doesn't take much time at all to get her groomed and tacked up so we make the most of our time and whenever I find myself getting lazy while riding, nothing cures that instantly like a bareback trail ride. No lack of core, poor posture, or being lazy with your seat here haha

With summer in full swing, my weekends have been filled with too many things to do but on those days that are blissfully unspoken for, I have set aside for longer trail rides. The main goal for those outings has been having a safe, fun time while getting in some quick, cardio-filled miles. It satisfies our need for speed and it makes me so happy to see mareface charge up those hill climbs easily with happy ears up and forward.

Best of all, Quest has been sound sound sound.

Since we aren't actively training for any major events, I've decided to keep mareface barefoot for as long as possible and am watching her feet (especially that pesky clubfoot) like a hawk. The farrier I'm currently using has been amazing with communication. He calls/texts me schedule availability and has even sent me mid-trim pictures of Quest. It's super wonderful and I'm satisfied with his work so far. Most of our trail outings are done barefoot but for rocky rides like the climbs at Hawk Watch, I boot her fronts and that setup has been working out well.

As for events, I had fully intended to do a number of off-site trail adventures and fun hunt paces but with gas prices being such a travesty lately and my truck cost-sharing partner being in bad financial shape, it doesn't feel like a prudent adult decision at the moment. Endurance is still in the books for us, though probably not as soon as I had hoped...but know what? That's fine. The sport will still be around when Quest and I are ready.

Right now, we're just enjoying our time together and that's totally okay :)

Checking In

Well, hello there. The blog has been pretty silent as of late but much has been going on behind the scenes. Over the last 2-3 months, we have been focusing all our attention on recovery and doing a generous amount of self-care.

The first order of business was trying to figure out the proper shoeing arrangement. Mareface got her first set of fronts last cycle and she did really well in them...until she pulled a shoe. Fortunately it was the day before the farrier was due back out but unfortunately that was when Vet K was supposed to check Quest's progress. The pulled shoe didn't allow for a clear evaluation so it got pushed back a couple weeks. Vet K was nice enough not to charge me for that, thankfully.

The second issue has been containment. Mareface had been allowed to roam the pasture freely in hopes that she'll stay quiet enough to heal.

But then there are days when I visit and Quest is tearing around the field like a wild child. As much as I don't want to contain her, Vet K suggested that we should try something to get her to stay more still. So the nice folks at the barn are trying to set up a temporary corral of sorts. Hopefully this will aid in the recovery process and not make her a stressful mess.

As for me, I've used the time to take care of myself and build new friendships within the various communities I'm a part of. I have been getting time in the saddle but most of my hours lately have been spent reading, practicing saber, and doodling lots of art. I really miss working with Quest and sometimes get really sad thinking about it but such is the state of things. We just have to allow time to do its slow, steady work.

Mareface Update

When Quest first came up lame, the barn worker suggested it might be Lyme since there was a huge outbreak at the barn this year. I was doubtful since she didn't exhibit any of the other symptoms at all. She was content, fat, and sassy. But of all the things to go possibly wrong, I'd take an abscess or Lyme over any other injury. It's strange how owning a horse changes your world perspective...

After immediately ceasing all work, I did my own quick diagnostic. I could tell the issue was on her right diagonal. There was no heat/swelling around the hoof or legs and zero reaction when I palpated suspensories (thank goodness). Other than the lameness Quest was totally fine so I opted to do a bit of wait and see. After almost a week of rest though, mareface was still NQR so I got the vet out. With nerve blocks, Vet K isolated the issue to the RF heel, took radiographs, and currently we have it diagnosed as caudal heel pain, possible soft tissue injury. It seriously sucks that we could be dealing with a similar issue yet again but the vet said prognosis is good overall.

After giving it some thought, it's really is a matter of form follows function. If you have bad form, there is bad function. Quest is slightly clubfooted on that leg. It has been a repeat offender and source of grief for two years out of three. From the very start, I have been responsible for her trims and used a professional to reset/check my work regularly. We have zero issues when doing rides in the arena or meandering on trails. However when the workload increases to include longer and faster mileage, that's when things appear to start falling apart.

Looking back, I dare to venture that this was about the same point in our training/conditioning timeline that the suspensory injury surfaced. The signs seem to point that Quest needs extra help to stay sound and active. This means corrective shoeing, which is something way beyond basic owner maintenance work. One of the things J mentioned to me right before we left WSS was that she would put front shoes on Quest if she were her horse. A year later, and probably none the wiser, I am finally going to do just that. We will see how the shoes work out and move on from there.

This newest development will change a few things in terms of management and competition. Obviously first is adding the front shoes but I guess on the upside, I now have more than enough Gloves for her hinds and for spare tires. As for competition, I'm not sure what the future holds for us distance-wise. As much as I would have loved her to be my first 50/100-miler horse, she may be limited to CTR/LD distances only. This will largely depend on how she holds up to future conditioning mileage. If the corrective shoeing proves to be the answer, maybe we could venture into the realm of longer CTR-format distances like a 2-day 50 or 3-day 100.

It's not the best news but we do have a game plan lined out with plenty options. I knew getting into distance riding with my own horse would be difficult but this has honestly not been an easy journey, especially with so many setbacks right from the onset. I've never been one to go down without a fight though, and we are not giving up just yet.

Winter Whirlwind

Winter weather is fast approaching, heralded by snow flurries and temperatures dipping below 32F every so often at night. Life has been rather chaotic (when has it not been!) but Quest and I are doing well and still enjoying our time at OF.

Mareface got her feet trimmed during Thanksgiving weekend. Her hooves really slow down growth during the fall and winter so they weren’t too long and I touch up as needed. I did however want her as comfortable as possible since we have been doing more trails (more on that in a moment) and it is always good to have experienced eyes regularly checking my work.

JA highly recommended her farrier P so I decided to give him a try. While he rescheduled the date/time a couple times and ended up arriving at the barn really late, P was kind and knowledgeable. Before he got started, I filled him in on Quest’s feet history including the suspensory rehab and our distance riding goals, and mentioned that I did the maintenance trims myself.  

To my immense relief, he said I did really well! Apparently usually when owners tell him they trim their own horses, he often finds quite a mess to fix. Once P realized that I was genuinely interested in learning, he was eager to share his experience and would describe what he was doing, calling me over to point out observations on Quest’s feet. At the end of the visit, P ended up gifting me a used rasp. It was “too used” for professional standards, but more than fine for my personal use. He also said if Quest only needed small/simple things done for a trim that he'd be happy to point the areas to address and let me handle it myself to save some money. I was VERY thankful for that. It was definitely a nice confidence boost to know that I’m still seeing/trimming correctly though and it's very fortunate that Quest has good solid feet which are great to learn from.

As the chill begins to set in, it has been too cold to tack up in the pasture on weekday evenings. So we now opt for bareback walks in the indoor and adding the trot back in steady slow increments. It has been an extreme test to my patience…the arena has always bored me to tears but I’m going to remind myself to be grateful for lights, non-dust footing, and being indoors whenever I start to hear myself complain.

Our weekends are all about the trails though, cold weather be cursed. Asides from a couple group outings, Quest and I are solo for the majority of our trail exploration adventures. While the barn location does provide direct access to miles of trails, the footing is very rugged and technical at times. I have been consciously avoiding the tough parts while Quest continues to rehab and sticking to easy/moderate stuff for now. Mareface and I were recently able to tackle a few trails that I first explored with Rori about 3 years ago. It was a fun recall challenge and thankfully my memory did not fail me.

After taking two horses down the exact same trails, the differences between Quest and Rori become very apparent. Rori is a total sweetheart but she never seemed to enjoy longer rides and lost interest quickly after a couple miles. On the other hand, Quest is 100% game and her energy never seems to end. She motors right along, even when traveling new trails solo. It's nice to know that she's just as eager as I am to plunge forward on a random detour to follow a new trail marker and discover what's around the next bend.

For all the good things I say about Quest, not every outing we do is 100% perfect of course. Biggest homework right now is standing still on the trail- this is imperative for re-mounting, chilling with other riders, or even waiting for right-of-way with road traffic. It has been mareface's weakness for a long time so we're taking advantage of the walk pace to do lots of trail training. I’ve also played with entrusting Quest to pick out the best path on technical terrain…most of the time it works. I leave her be as long as her selected route doesn't scrape me off the side of a tree. I'd like to retain functional kneecaps, thanks.

Despite the rugged trails, the area has many interesting things to see and explore. For now, Quest and I have trails that meet our needs for a long-slow distance. Knowing us though, we're probably going to very quickly exhaust the places we can actually reach without assistance.

Happy September

Autumn is my favorite time of the year and I’m so very glad we were spared the wrath of Hurricane Hermine and able to enjoy a long weekend under blue skies and bright sunlight. I took an extra day off from work last week to run some errands and visit Quest. My mom decided to accompany me to the barn since she has never been to WSS since we moved.

When we arrived, I found Quest was peaceably standing in the run-in with B’s warmblood mare Duck while the rest of the herd grazed much further out in the main field. Duck can be rather alpha in pasture and Quest is usually with her mid & lower ranked mare friends. All was well though.

After getting mareface groomed and cleaned up, I touched up her fronts. I’ve been doing little trims to try as much I can to keep her comfortable while healing.

Then we played dress up with a new black biothane trail bridle I found SUPER cheap on a FB tack group. I was looking for just black reins and found the bridle with the reins thrown in as part of the package. The price was way too good to pass up.

The browband was a little huge but everything else fit fine

I retied the orange rope halter and added on some purple paracord- it looks so snazzy on Quest! I also organized my tank trunk and took a bunch of stuff home to wash. It was a short visit but a lot was accomplished.

On Saturday, I was able to snag a ride at the old barn. I had not ridden Smokey in a couple months but it went well. A told me he got worked hard the day before so I really had my work cut out for me with an extremely unmotivated horse. We focused on forward trotting and managed to get in some nice short canter sets before calling it a day with arena riding. A and I then took the horses out for a short trail ride.

Western turned English pony  

All in all, it was a good horse-filled start to a long weekend. I’m really looking forward to riding more this month.

#HoofBoots

I've been so swamped with work and traveling that I haven’t had much time to recap the past few rides but I have a lot to update on!

Starting from the beginning- two weekends ago Quest and I got in a great ride despite negative temperatures and freezing wind chill. Yes, judge away. Everyone said I was crazy and I’d have to agree with them in this case. I don’t know what possessed me to think riding in that weather was a good idea but the sun was out and the trails were calling. It was more of a training ride then a conditioning ride. We got about 6 miles in before I started to REALLY lose feeling in my toes and fingers. Quest had no issues with the cold though- not even a shiver.

Best of all she was SO incredibly sane despite the wind that almost knocked us off the trail a few times and rustled every branch and leaf.  We didn’t do much distance-wise but I think our trust in each other grew in leaps and bounds that ride.

This past weekend I made plans with M, the other boarder at WSS, to ride together on Saturday. When I got to the barn J and B were there as well and tacking up horses for a training ride to pony River, J's newest endurance prospect that she wants to start competing with this year. River is a 9yo Arabian and literally looks like a smaller version of Quest. J sent me a picture of the mare with the message “Remind you of someone??” and I seriously had to do a double-take. Despite her petite size (probably 14.2hh?), River has a ton of energy which probably intimidated her former owner and limited her handling. I met her briefly before she was sent off to the trainer but I remember immediately falling in love. Of course looking like mini-Quest does help, but there was just something about her that I really liked. J commented while we were out riding that they also have very simliar butts lol

Anyways, I didn’t have any specific ride plans in mind asides wanting to test out a pair of Easyboot Gloves that J let me borrow (more on that in a bit) so the 4 of us set off together with 5 horses. Quest led for the majority and the ride was mostly uneventful except for the topping the ridge and mareface getting speedy.

M and I continued on the trail after J and B headed back to the barn. We were barely a minute out when three ladies walked by and asked if they could ride together with us. Introductions were made and it turned out two of the horses were also pulled from the same auction location that I got Quest from. The third horse wasn’t a rescue but he was just was interesting because was a dainty little Arabian gelding named Tru. His owner G has been riding horses since she was young and did the college IHSA thing. She was interested in doing endurance with him so we started really chatting. Tru and Quest were fine together along side by side but about halfway through the ride G decided to take her horse off by himself ahead of Quest.

Well someone got really angsty about that and started doing her canter-jig which I was not okay with at all. To make it worse, one of the ladies behind us decided to canter and looked like she had zero control of her horse. I kept my head though and got us down to a safe paced trot to catch up with the others and resume the walk. M had to get back to the barn and I was more than glad to part ways with them. I like riding with other people if they are respectful and responsible; unfortunately that lady was neither. I confided in J later about the event when we got back to the barn though it was mostly to learn how I could better manage Quest on my end. It wasn't an ideal ride but no one was hurt, I learned new things and best of all, I think we might have a hoof boot solution.

A couple weeks ago, J had the farrier out so I asked if he could check Quest’s feet and trim if needed. I didn’t think she needed a trim and turns out I was right; the farrier said her feet were self-trimming enough and actually on the shorter side after being out 24/7 and then coupled with our Saturday weekend rides.

Since moving us to WSS, I have re-doubled my research and reading efforts about the different hoof boot options so when the time came for me to finally decide which or what to do, I wouldn't be totally clueless. When J suggested that I start at least booting her fronts for the trail, I wasn't too overwhelmed and already decided that I was willing to give both the Easyboot Gloves and Renegades a try and see which worked better.

J had a tub of Gloves in different sizes so I fortunately didn't need the fit kit. M had a set of 4 Renegades for Remy at the barn but taking a quick look, we could tell they were too big for Quest. The only way to try them was to buy them. After a bit of searching online, I managed to find a like-new pair and snagged them at a very good price.

I was able to try out both kinds of hoof boot this weekend and the verdict? While I loved how easy it was to put on the Renegades and the size and shape were perfect, I didn't have the know-how to adjust them properly. The captivator was first too low then too high on her heels. I managed to get them in between and had her move out at a walk. Not sure if it was Quest's first time with hoof boots on- if it was, she never freaked out or had an issue with them. They stayed on but they just didn't look quite right and I wasn't happy with my on-the-spot adjustments to feel confident about riding with them out on the trail.

So next up were the Easyboot Gloves.

As suspected, the application was a bit more difficult and I needed a hammer to seat the hoof completely in the boot but I was much happier with the look of these and tried them out both days this past weekend. Looking at the pictures now, I can see a little bit of gaping on the inside left front but the bottom line is they STAYED ON.

The Easyboot Gloves worked out perfectly the entire time despite mud, a creek crossing, and crazy canter-jig moments on Saturday and then even more mud on the trail, long stretches of cantering, and muddy puddles on Sunday. During the ride, I would glance down from time to time to check and each time they were still there. Quest was more prancey-er when moving out with the Gloves on but no changes other than that. Towards the end of the second day with them on, she started to adjust and her trot felt a lot more normal.

Dark mud on the trail. The boots stayed on though! 

I really do love the Renegades and think they would work out great for us but there are too many parts to adjust and tweak and I don't really feel like messing with them when the Gloves have impressed me so far. I really hope this is the solution! but I've read about enough booting nightmares that I feel it is best to remain cautiously optimistic haha

Now that the fronts have been figured out, next time we'll do the hinds. I have a feeling Quest might be the same size all around since I tried the next size down and couldn't even get them on. At least it'll make buying spares a little easier.

Happy hoof, happy horse

I have officially been a horse owner for 6+ months and as some of you know, I've been trimming Quest's feet since I got her. Owning a horse is much more than just grooming, tacking and riding. If my work schedule and living situation allowed it, I would do rough board and self-care but alas it is presently not possible.

I knew when I got my own horse I would prefer it to be barefoot if possible and fortunately miss mareface arrived from auction unshod. I wanted to be involved in my horse's hoofcare longterm by learning how to trim but for the first go I needed/wanted professional help. Her feet were solid but much too long and there was a crack from what looked like an old abscess in the LH, and a stone bruise in the RF.
Quest's first trim was in October last year when R set me up with a base to work from. Since then I've been doing all the work myself every 2 weeks or so. I have been pretty diligent with the schedule and keeping notes on what I did. About a month ago, my friend T scheduled R to come out to do her mare and asked me if I wanted him to do Quest as well. Her timing could not have been more perfect since I had planned to set up an appointment every 4-6 months to have R touch up and also to check my work.

R was finally able to came out to trim yesterday afternoon. I was unable to meet him since he came during work hours but my friend T was able to be there. I was a bit nervous because I've been the only person working on Quest's feet for almost half a year- anything wrong (or right) would be my doing entirely. T texted me updates and said I had done a good job though- Healthy, happy hooves all around. 

I took down notes on what R touched up on for future reference and realized the things he did were all things I had noticed too and was working to address. This was a huge boost of encouragement. My main problem is I still (and probably always somewhat will) lack the brute muscle power to do take off a lot in a single trim so shorter frequencies between sessions work in my favor though it takes it longer for me to fix something. The upside to being physically limited in strength is that I won't ever take off too much in one session I guess!
 
It is super nice that Quest has rather solid feet to begin with and she handles rock and gravel well (SO much better than poor tender-footed Rori), though I am planning on booting her whenever we get to doing more distance with tougher terrain. Knowing how to trim for proper boot fitting will definitely come in handy. All in all, yesterday's trim was a positive progress check and I'm pleased that I have been doing a somewhat decent job with my mare's feet in the short time I've been at this.

Of Hooves and Teeth

Quest got her teeth floated yesterday. The barn has a dentist come out twice a year but my friend C opted to get someone of her own choice to do her gelding since it lined up better with their show season schedule and as a certified vet tech, she is able to assist and watch the procedure instead of paying extra for an assistant.  Quest wasn’t having any problem eating or any issues with the bit but since I knew absolutely nothing about her health history I felt it was more prudent (and the responsible thing to do) to get someone to at least take a look.  The main barn dentist had left the week before Quest arrived and he wouldn’t be back until the spring. C told me about the visit a couple weeks ago and asked if I wanted to sign on. Plus we could split the call fee so, win-win.  

I wasn’t able to be there in person because full-time job, but C was awesome enough to fill me in on the details. The dentist was confirmed that Quest is definitely 9-10 years old (she had registered papers so no huge surprise there, but still). She’s got soft teeth so no huge work was needed when floating. She has had her teeth done before but not in about 2-3 years so it was a VERY good thing I got them done yesterday. (And she apparently doesn’t need a ton of tranq to relax which is nice, no small elephants here.)

This little tidbit of information is useful in helping me piece together her history. Last documented evidence was a couple of video clips of Quest in a western pleasure show with big name professional trainer (Owner #1?) in 2009. Assuming that he did routine health work, this means that Quest probably made her way to Owner #2 in New Jersey in 2010-2011. If she spent 2-3 years in Owner #2’s care and didn’t lose her training (from what I found through stalking research, he doesn’t seem to know very much about horses)…. then Quest could be one of those horses you can toss out into pasture for months/years and get right back on again. It’s all speculation of course. I’ve contacted both owners the weekend I bought her and haven’t heard a word since then.

Ugh, anyways. Naturally I gave her the night off from riding yesterday so we just lunged and did groundwork. While cleaning out feet, I noted Quest’s frogs are shedding and need to be cleaned up a bit. I don’t have a hoof knife yet though so I did some looking around online when I got home and the selection is enormous... I mean, seriously.

So barefoot folks- any suggestions for hoof knives based on experience? I just need something to start with!

Happenstance

Going to the barn after work during the weekdays is a bit of an endeavor in it of itself. I battle rush hour traffic which can be 20 minutes on a good day and almost 35 on a bad day.

Friday night was a good day. I made great time with minimal traffic and arrived at the barn all ready to ride and get my 2pointober time. It had been raining and thunder storming earlier all week and FINALLY cleared up so I was itching to get some saddle time...but you all know what happens to the best laid plans.

When I got to the barn I noticed a farrier's truck was in the yard, we have a few that come by the barn so I didn't think too much about it. I walked into the barn to grab my grooming bag and lead rope and saw the guy just starting work on a horse. I introduced myself and it turns out that it was R, the person that I asked to trim Quest's feet earlier in the month! I was out of town on business when he came to work on her so I missed meeting him then.

I had called R based on my friend T's recommendation and he turned out to be just as nice as T said he was. I told him that I was getting into distance riding and interested in learning how to barefoot trim eventually or at the very least, become more educated about taking care of feet. R immediately offered to let me watch him work on Celita, an old 20yo mare who had shoes on her fronts and barefoot on her hinds. R explained everything while working and was very informative. He stopped often to let me touch and feel what he was doing. To help train my eye, he would "quiz" me by sighting heels for balance. If the heels were not even, I had to tell him which side was off. I'm glad to say I was right every time! I think it does help that I work on costumes that require me sculpt and shape in 3D but still, it was pretty encouraging to know that I was seeing what he was seeing. After working on Celita and putting her away, we talked for a bit more and R gave me a bunch of references for places for me to get supplies and offered to give me some nippers, hoof knife, and a pair of used leggings the next time he was around if I still didn't get any by then. I asked him a bunch of questions and it was encouraging to hear that I was on the right track in my understanding of things.

When I checked my watch, I only had about 40 minutes left before the barn "closed" for the night. I was so engrossed in watching and learning that I lost track of time! I profusely thanked R for his time and help and excused myself to get Quest out of her stall. It was too much of a rush for riding so I opted to just lunge and do groundwork. While I had Quest in the cross ties for grooming, R offered to check how her feet were doing 4 weeks after his trim. He confirmed my thinking that she was doing fine and would be okay with waiting a couple weeks more before another major trim. So far only her right hind needs a bit of touching up on the heels which I'll do this week. Other than that, she's looking and doing great feet-wise!

Before R left, he gave Quest a nice head rub and commented on how calm and happy she looked. My friends told me she was an angel for the trim but I guess she still was pretty wired back then. R probably noticed a huge difference with her demeanor, and it was enough to say something.

"She is a lucky girl- she knows she's found a home " R said.  I could only grin in reply.