Seven Snippets

1. Ashke has stopped whinnying when he hears me in the aisle of the barn. I think he has started taking me for granted or perhaps he is upset that I no longer bring him treats. It might have to do with the fact that he is on turn out daily and has equine company during that time so time with me is less important. I'm trying to not take it personally.

2. Ashke got Tuesday and Wednesday off. Weds was the first football game and both days T had a ton of homework to complete. The fact that the sun is setting earlier is compounding the problem, because neither of us really wants to ride in the indoor arena, but riding out after dark really isn't an option. I went out last night and worked him in the round pen for fifteen minutes or so.

3. Ashke was full of energy and playful last night. T was on the outside of the round pen and Ashke would shy and jump every time he trotted or cantered past. T chased him around the outside several times and Ashke would kick and snort as he chased him from the inside. It was cute.

4. Ashke is still so wide-eyed and curious about everything. He spent several minutes last night inspecting the doorway into the main tack room at the barn. He sniffed the edges of the door and then lifted his head to sniff the top of the door frame. He did the same thing in the kitchen. He really wanted to walk into both rooms, but I didn't think that was such a good idea.

5. The trail ride on Sunday has been rescheduled to Saturday. I have no idea who is going. I'm thinking we need to do the greenbelt at the end of 152nd across Zuni. If we hit the canal we can go North or South for miles and I would love to do some exploring. I have no idea how long Nicole wants to ride, but I'm up for making a day of it. J and T might be able to go with us on their bikes.

6. I'm really interested in doing the fun ride at Kenlyn Arabians the first of October, but am unsure if Ashke is ready or not. The fun ride is untimed and 15 miles. I want to talk to Nicole and maybe Lisa to see if either of them is interested. If not, there is always next year.

7. I think I can forego the round pen work before riding Ashke. I think I'm just going to walk him around the arena and then ride him in the arena for a little while prior to riding him out. He has settled so much. The only area we continue to struggle with is his balance at the canter. I'm pretty sure that is also impacted by his back but that will continue to strengthen as we go. I want to keep him interested and engaged in our activities, not bored and frustrated with arena work.

Weekend . . .

The first thing I have to show you is the tornado tail I discovered when I went to see Ashke on Saturday.

 

 

I guess there was a lot of static in the air on Saturday. I found this amusing, but can't explain why.

 

I didn't get out to the barn until really late on Saturday, since I had to follow T around the mall during the early evening. Yes, he has hit the age where the mall is infinitely amusing and now a welcome source of entertainment. I wanted to at least lunge Ashke, since Friday night was pretty demanding for a horse still in recovery, and I didn't want him to be stiff when I went to ride on Sunday. We worked in the indoor arena and he did pretty good, although he has an issue cantering while on the lunge line. I think the walls close in and he's afraid he is going to hit something. I only had him walk, trot and canter for about ten minutes and then I put him away.

 

Sunday, we went out to the barn about 11, because Jake was taking a lesson and he wanted to hang out with T afterwards. I was just going to ride for a brief time, but the barn was crazy. Rex had colicked and the vet was there. Grace was frazzled and very far behind because of the equine emergency. J ended up helping muck out stalls while I took a trail ride with Pam and Marit. I felt bad about that, but not enough to not ride.

 

All three horses did great, although I think they were kind of tired by the time we finished. We went down 149th to Zuni, turned North and rode about half way between 149th and 152nd to the green belt access. We turned West and then South and then West again until we came to the canal. We rode the canal North and East until it connected to the green belt that took us back to 152nd. I will try and remember to use the runner app on my phone so I can track the distance the next time we ride out. I really enjoyed the ride and we got to trot a bit up a couple of inclines. All three horses were pretty tired when we got back but that didn't stop Ashke from spooking at the entrance to the driveway back at the barn. I almost came off because the last thing I expected was for him to shoot out from underneath me.

 

 

This was the road going back. I completely forgot to take pictures.

 

 

The rider in front is Marit on Lacey, and Pam on Allectra is in the back.

 

 

Photos were taken on my iPhone and I was turned around in the saddle trying to snap them, so please excuse the blurry photos.



 

I rode on Saturday with a bat and realized that it made a difference when requesting Ashke to move forward when he has balked. I only had to tap him twice to get him to walk toward something that he found scary. Once he moved forward he was praised and rubbed on the neck. He lead the entire ride and I didn't have to get off him at all. He wasn't the only one that was bushed. J was tired and pretty fragrant by the time I got back, but she had helped finish the shake-down and Grace was very appreciative. And Ashke gets extra turn-out for J's help. T was so ready to go home, in part because he was hungry. He has developed a bad habit of sleeping until almost 11 am, eating breakfast and then skipping lunch. We got him a slice of cold pizza and then took him home for lunch.

 

Monday morning, I went to the barn by myself and worked Ashke in the big arena. He settled into a very nice, fast walk but we are still working on the trot and canter. His trot feels like he is trying to canter every other step, which isn't what I want. I want a nice smooth, fairly fast trot that he can maintain for several hours. (I know, let's not get ahead of ourselves). He seems to prefer to canter. We cantered in both directions in the big arena and the most balanced he felt was when we were going around the corners on the ends. I wonder if maybe he loses his focus when we straighten out and he's not as collected under me then. I'm not sure how to move him up on the bit and will need to talk to Nicole about it the next time I see her. I know Ashke still needs time to develop his back and haunches, to learn to move with his butt underneath him.

 

There is a fun ride on October 6th, in Aurora, at Kenlyn Arabians. I am thinking about maybe trying it out. It is fifteen miles and I don't know if that is too far for Ashke, still. And we have no way to trailer him there, so I should probably wait until next year. However, I do plan on doing more trail work from the barn. I just wish I had someone who wanted to ride that much.

 

Monday night, Grace called about five to tell me Ashke was not eating. She said he was down in his stall and felt hot. I had left the damn sheet on him to keep the flies off (I can't wait for the first frost to kill off a bunch of these buggers) and I think he was just too hot. Before I made it to the barn (sixteen minutes from phone call to arrival) Marit had taken him out and rinsed him off. When I got there he was down in his stall again. I made him get up and took him out to wash him off again. Grace had taken his temperature and it was normal. I thought maybe he had gotten hot enough it had made him feel nausous. We gave him a dose of Banamine and I let him move around in a circle around me. He wanted to roll so I took him to the round pen and released him. He rolled on the right (the same side the vet said didn't feel right to her the last time this happened) got up, shook himself off and then showed interest in grazing. During that time he had pooed twice and passed a bunch of gas. I took him back to his stall and he set in on his hay. I got him some more and then just watched him for a couple of hours. He cleaned up all of his Amplify and was making good headway into his hay when I left at 8 pm.

 

Grace texted me and said he was still eating and looked perky at 10. We won't be using that sheet any more. We've had issues everytime I've put it on him. It just doesn't allow for any air flow. Unfortunately, I don't think the sheet Nicole gave us fits him very well either. It keeps slipping to the side. I need to see about washing the fly sheet Chris gave us and see if that works any better.

 

 

 



The Last Gymkhana

Tonight was Christensen Stables final Gymkhana of the summer. This is the second one that Ashke and I have participated in and I can't wait for next year's. It was a lot of fun, even if there were only five of us competing.

I thought Ashke did great and there were parts that he seemed to really enjoy. I could have ridden him better, but it is a process and I am still developing muscle that I seem to have misplaced some time ago. Believe it or not, riding uses muscles you don't use for anything else.

This was the first class, Western Pleasure Walk-Trot. It was a nice way to start the class and the Gymkhana. 

This was the beginning of the Western Pleasure class. It included walk, trot and canter, plus a turn at the trot. Two of the riders didn't participate because they are Chris' students and one does canter at all and the other hadn't worked the horse she was riding in the outdoor arena.

I was very pleased that he took the correct lead at the canter. It is something I am going to continue to work with him on. I asked Grace how he looked and she thinks he is still shuffling his feet at times. I wonder if that is a shoulder/back strength thing that will get better as he continues to gain conditioning.

This was the Western Reining class. We didn't pick up the canter quick enough when asked and it was in the wrong lead. But I can't complain. I am going to work on the cues to get the canter correct, so that we can look at learning a flying lead change. The last video will show you why the flying lead is going to be important.

This is the English Riding Pattern and we didn't post. Ashke did really well in this pattern and seemed to understand the cones meant something was changing. I'm rocked by how damn smart this horse is . . . It was also better since the canter was to the left and that is his favorite lead.

The barrels were fun, but he's never going to be a barrel horse. QH have the quick pop of speed that makes them ideal for this event and Ashke is missing that. It was still fun though and good practice at getting him to listen to me and allow me to set and guide both his pace and his direction. 

Here is where we rocked and where being able to do a flying lead change would make all the difference in the world. Ashke has a nifty little turn and we have worked the poles a lot for bending around the point and listening to the neck rein. Usually we just weave through as an aid to teach Ashke to give to leg pressure and to begin to understand the neck reining process. 

Afterwards, his legs were rinsed with cold water, he was bathed and then I used Absorbine Horse liniment on his back, croup area, and all four legs from the shoulder down. 

Friday night marks the start of a four day weekend where I can ride during the day Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Yippee!

The Emperor's New Clothes

I think I am seeing something that isn't there . . .

I talked to Soooossssaaaannn (you have to say it in a scary voice, like in Monsters vs Aliens) last night about how Ashke looked and how he moved. She said she thought he looked great and seemed to move well. She made the comment that he didn't look lame.

The farrier said the same thing when I was having Ashke move for him.

I finally realized that perhaps what I am feeling is the difference between his gait and the other horses I've ridden in the past. I've never ridden an Arabian, or any horse with such a short back and the kind of action Arabians have. I think that what I am stressing about is his gait.

He's not moving like anything is hurting. At the trot his front and offside hind move in perfect unison. He isn't head bobbing of toe stubbing any more. His action is loose and he has nice movement.

He also has a sweet little canter. Nice three beat when you listen to it. No tripping or clipping any more. Smooth. We just need to work on him moving like this when I'm on his back.

I need to chill and just start to enjoy. His back and butt are getting stronger with each passing day. He's not too heavy and he's going out in the pasture four or five times a week with Lacey and Stoli.

I'm not giving him treats until we are completely done with our work. It has helped cut down on the biting/nipping. I have the cinch thing worked out and know exactly how tight it needs to be.  I'm pretty happy with him and I think he is pretty happy with me.

What do you think?

Seven on Sunday

Today was the trail ride that I gave up Broncos tickets in order to attend. Ok, so I did organize it. And advertise it. And promise everyone I would lead. So, it is a good thing that Jake and T and J and Barb all got to go. They had a great time. The game was pretty good, although really hot, and I got to spend the day riding Ashke.

When I got to the barn, the first thing I saw was Miracle Man (one of Chris' horses) outside at the end of the barn eating grass. No person around. No halter on. When I realized who it was I gathered up his halter and put him back in his stall. Then I locked the stall closed and went to tell Fernando that the stall had been left open. Ashke was pretty upset with all of my walking back and forth without saying hi to him. The fly sheet seemed to work pretty well, was still on him and there was no more swelling of his neck.

Nicole, Abbi and I got them groomed and moved out to the big arena. I worked Ashke in a few circles at the end of his rein, and then mounted up. We walked and trotted and watched Nicole and Callie. Nicole moved Callie to the west end of the big arena and worked her in circles. At one point, Nicole asked her to canter and Callie exploded. She galloped and bucked and sunfished for a good fifteen minutes at both directions. Nicole kept her at that gait until she was breathing pretty heavily and finally ready to listen to Nicole. I really thought part of the problem on Saturday was that Callie hadn't been warmed up enough and allowed to work out whatever was bugging her. She was much better today after exploding in the arena.

Finally, it was about that time and we were ready to go. There were seven of us.

From the left of the picture is Susan with Kiele, Nicole and Callie, Ashke and me, Abbi on Rhythm, Grace on Jazz and Mike on Vanna.  Marit on Lacey took the photo. Mike was the only male rider and Ashke was the only male horse. Everyone did great and there were no issues with any of the horses. There were several obstacles we had to work through but everyone was calm and patient and willing to wait to give those of us riding green horses an opportunity to train our horses. Abbi, Nicole, Marit and myself all had those moments.

Marit on Lacey, who has limited experience outside of the arena. She is in the stall right next to Ashke and everytime he saw her, he would whinny like he had lost her. Silly boy, she was walking right behind him most of the day.

Mike, Grace's husband, is riding Vanna, who is a fjord horse. Not a pony. Just a short horse. He said he was really sore at the end of the ride. I was too.

Vanna was a rock star. She was rock solid and seemed to really enjoy the ride. Her ears were up and she had no issues with leading the pack.

We moved at a walk, a fairly comfortable walk, but a walk nonetheless, for the duration of the ride. The horses were pretty tuckered by the time we got back to the stable. It's just about 5 miles and took just about two hours to ride.

Kiele seemed to enjoy being ridden in a way that didn't require making circles. She and Susan did a great job, although she was not real interested in the flapping black nylon windbreak staked out across an area of land the Parks and Rec people were trying to rehab. I offered Susan the use and training practice of my car wash and tarp obstacles in the arena to help her familiarize her horse with them. We will see if she is interested.

 

The lake was pretty fun, although Lacey was the only horse who actually went in the water. Ashke stepped in the mud, which was an improvement over the last time we were at the lake. He got in the mud up to the top of his hooves before deciding it was too scary. Maybe next time we will actually touch the water.

 Grace, our barn manager, on Jazz. Jazz is a Paint-Arabian cross. The only Paint you can see in her is the white sclera around her eye and Grace says there is a small dot of white on her belly. I haven't ever looked so I can't tell you the size or location. 

I don't think Kiele tried to go in the water. I think Susan was more comfortable watching. It was a nice change from the day before.

Callie has got the best mane in the world.

There is a section of trail that meanders under the trees and Ashke wouldn't walk into the shade. Lacey came up and backed down the trail, because she wouldn't walk forward. Vanna moved into the front and led the rest of the way home. There were no other issues.

See the big trees in the background? Very scary.

More shade, more trees, Vanna was leading so there were no issues.

All of the horses were pretty beat by this point.

Some of us got off and walked the verge on 144th. I was one of them. I figured it was safer, although I think Ashke was tired of me getting on and off. My mistake last time we rode around the lake was not getting off when it felt like I should. I didn't make that mistake today. I got off even when I think I could have managed from the saddle. Ashke is so much more relaxed when I am next to him on the ground and next time he will remember that and be okay with me on his back.

Nicole got back on but I waited until we hit Pecos to mount up again.

Almost home.

Kind of spaced out. The horses were getting pretty bushed. Callie was regretting her frantic galloping in the big arena about now.

Nicole was pretty happy with Callie. I was pretty happy with Ashke. There were no issues or problems with any of the horses, so everyone was happy about that.

Our next ride is going to be the in a couple of weeks. We are going to try a different time so Chris can join us. Between now and then I will have to see if I can find other people to ride with me.

Saturday Ride

Today was the day I agreed to ride with Pam at 1 pm. I told Nicole and Paul that we were going out, so they both decided to join us. I'm not sure Pam was happy with my inviting other riders, but I figure she can get over it.

Nicole and I had arranged to meet to ride because I had been given Broncos tickets by my boss on Friday. I talked to J and we decided we wanted to invite a boy that T knows from the barn to go with us. I called Nicole and told her I wasn't going to be able to ride on Sunday and invited her to come with Pam and I on Saturday. As it worked out, I ended giving my ticket to Jake's mom, so she and J and T and J are all going to the game and I am riding on Sunday anyway. (It's a preseason game and J is taking the telephoto lens - the tickets are on the 25th row.) However, since I helped plan and advertise this trail ride, I feel that I should probably be there.

So, I got to the barn about 12:30. Nicole was showing Rhythm to a potential buyer in the big arena and Pam had just gotten there. Paul showed up a few moments later. I went and spoke to Nicole, then went to get Ashke. Guess what I found?

The Jammies that Ashke had under his sheet cut off the circulation in his neck and caused swelling at the top of his chest. I could have cried. I took the sheet and jammies off as quickly as possible to inspect the swelling. I'm going to send the Jammies back because I don't see a way to prevent it from happening again.

I had Nicole double check it for me and she wasn't too concerned. The swelling went down pretty quickly and it didn't seem to affect his performance, ability to graze or to drink. But it made me feel awful! And J wasn't happy either! If it's not one thing, . . . I really hate it when I am the cause of him being uncomfortable.

I got Ashke groomed and rubbed his throat a bit to help the swelling go down. I cleaned his feet and took pictures.

Front left foot with the shoe. Can I just say that he was tender on this foot while I was warming him up in the round pen (tossing his head up and down, visibly favoring it at a trot) and continued to act like it was killing him in the arena. Ashke was favoring his left front right up to the point where we opened the gate and headed out.

His back feet look pretty good.

Once we were out of the arena and on our way, Ashke forgot to favor his front feet, pricked his head up and started walking out. He has gotten very spooky. So has Callie, actually. I think that maybe they are sharing a brain.

Pam and Allectra are in the front, and Paul on Rupert are second. Allectra is a nice little Arabian and Rupert is a thoroughbred. Neither of them had been on a trail ride with anyone before and neither of them really understood trail etiquette, which became probamatic in my opinion.

This is Nicole and Callie. Callie is a QH/Friesan mix and is only 3 and a half years old. Nicole has been riding her about as long as I have been riding Ashke, which is one of the reasons we enjoy riding together, because our horses are at about the same place in their development. Callie was pretty tense and Nicole was reacting to her tension.

As we were making our way to the greenbelt, there was a galvanized steel gate that gave the horses fits last time. It isn't latched tightly and it bangs against the post with every breathe of wind. All of the horses spooked when it banged as they were walking past. Callie had spooked badly the last time we had ridden past it and Nicole decided she needed to do a little training. She swung off and led Callie to the gate, banging it and knocking it against the post. Callie figured out pretty quick that it was just noisy and wasn't go to hurt her. Then Nicole retied the gate so it wouldn't swing any more.

While Nicole was working with Callie, I stopped Ashke and waited for her. I understood what she was doing and why, and when you are riding with a group, it is smart to wait. If I had ridden on, Callie would have been isolated and it would have raised her anxiety. It would have separated her from her herd. Pam and Paul didn't stop and continued to the top of the hill. It was a pattern that would continue for the duration of the ride.

The road we were on goes up a hill and at the top of the hill is a greenbelt. It moves to the west and then south and then back to the east in a big square. Pam and Paul reached the top of the hill five minutes before Nicole and I did, but neither of their horses would go past the edge of the fence onto the greenbelt. I asked Ashke to move forward. He balked a little bit, but finally moved between the fences and onto the greenbelt. We led the way. About half way down the greenbelt, Ashke stopped to poo. (He still won't walk and poop at the same time.) Pam yelled from two horses behind me, "Why are we stopping." Ashke finished and we moved on. When we came around the corner and headed south, Ashke stopped. He absolutely didn't want to move forward toward the ditch. The last time I rode him that way, I had to get off and lead him down past the culvert. Again, when Ashke paused to evaluate his options, I heard Pam asking why we were stopping. It wasn't the question so much as the way she asked. I pulled Ashke aside and said, "Pam, you can go ahead." I figured if she was in such a big hurry, she could lead. Pam and Paul moved past me and then Ashke was willing to follow them. That whole herd instinct thing.

Nicole had to dismount to pass the ditch. Callie was very tense and Nicole was smart enough not to push when she wasn't feeling safe. Callie followed Nicole with no issues, but Ashke started to get really tense. Pam and Paul were a block and a half ahead of us and not waiting. I asked Nicole why they weren't waiting when I had asked several times for them to wait, and Nicole said Pam didn't want to ride near Callie. Pam was afraid Callie would spook Allectra. I answered that it didn't make sense since Allectra was behaving just fine. Nicole said that Pam was just that way. I wasn't real impressed. When you ride out as a group, you should stay together as a group. As it was, Ashke got antsy and started to dance.

Ashke wasn't being mean about it, he just wanted to be with the group he could see ahead. He reared a little bit and then started to trot as slow as he could walk. You know the dancing little trot I am talking about. I kept pressure on his mouth and kept telling him to walk. Nicole moved Callie up next to us and that seemed to help. Ashke settled and we made the rest of the ride pretty close together.

 Toward the end of the greenbelt loop is an empty lot with a low lying ditch. The past couple of times we rode this way, the ditch was empty. Today it was muddy. Ashke walked up to it and reared a little, then stomped in the mud. He was a bit surprised when his feet sank a good four inches into the mud. We had to go around it, cuz I wasn't up for jumping. And I'm not sure it would have ended well. Paul and Rupert crossed it over the dry part, like Ashke, but Pam didn't even try with Allectra. Callie went over the ditch in a small bound.

 

This is what Ashke, Callie, myself and Nicole saw for the majority of the ride. In Paul's defense, he did tell us he was having trouble slowing Rupert down and since Rupert takes one stride for every three Ashke takes. I enjoyed riding with Nicole, which I always do. I had thought I would enjoy riding with Pam, but not really so much. I think Pam might have been upset that I invited other people to go with us, but she really didn't make any effort to talk to me.

 

Nicole seemed to have a great time and she really appreciated riding with me.

When we got back to the barn, we unsaddled and went to rinse the horses off. Nicole washed Callie first and then I started to wash Ashke. I had him soaped on one side, when Grace went running past me. I called out and asked her what was wrong and she told me Rhythm had gotten free from Abbie and had taken off. Nicole, who is leasing Rhythm to Abbie for the month, went tearing by in her truck a couple of minutes later. I rinsed and squeegeed off Ashke, thinking that Rhythm knew where the barn was and she would be on her way home. I figured I stood a better chance of catching her if Ashke was with me. Once he was rinsed off, I untied him and we headed out on foot toward the lake. 

At the lake, Abbi and Bailey had taken Rhythm and Coyote to play in the water. Unbeknownst to me, J had video taped them on her iphone. Rhythm was the one in the water.

According to J, as Rhythm came out of the water, she began to act up. She was circling around Abbie at the end of the lead line. J said that one of the times Rhythm came around Abbi no longer had the lead in her hand. Rhythm took off for the barn. T started running after her on foot. Abbi started running after her on foot with no shoes on. J jumped on her bike and took off after her. Rhythm outran them all. There was one major road that Rhythm had to cross, which she did safely, thankfully, and then she was on Pecos and headed home. Pecos is closed at that point for car traffic, so the likelihood of her being hit diminished sharply. J turned around when she saw that Rhythm had crossed 144th safely and went back to Abbie, who was close to hysterical at that point. J handed Abbie her boots and then handed over her bike and told her to go get Rhythm. J went back for T's bike and then went to gather him up.

Ashke and I turned up the hill on Pecos to see Abbie and Rhythm coming down. Abbie had J's bike in one hand and was leading Rhythm with the other. Ashke and I walked up and I took the bike from Abbie. Nicole called at that point and Abbie let her know that Rhythm was safe and we were on our way back to the barn. Poor Abbie had tears streaking down her face and wanted Ashke and I to walk her back, which we did. I reminded Abbie of two things: first, Rhythm could have spooked and taken off in any direction, increasing the difficulty in locating her; second, Rhythm wasn't hurt. The bottom line is Rhythm being loose could have been traumatic for everyone if she had been hit by a car. She was smart and headed for the barn.

Nicole was at the barn and talked to Abbie when they walked in. The first words out of Nicole's mouth were "I'm not angry." She handled it very well and spent some time talking to Abbi about how to calm Rhythm, how to redirect her energy when she gets anxious, and what to do in the future to prevent something like this from happening again.

I finished washing Ashke and then turned him out in the field. I turned Stoli out with him.  They were very sweet together, right up until he ruined my wash job by rolling in the field.

They were out together for about 30 minutes. 

Doesn't he look awesome?

They stay ten to fifteen feet apart.

Isn't she nice looking? At five months.

He is doing awesome! Now if I can just get his feet worked out.

Nicole also gave me a fly sheet that is too small for either of her horses. Callie has outgrown it and so has Rhythm. We put it on Ashke and although the back leg straps kind of bothered him, he didn't over react. 

It is very loose and shouldn't aggravate the swollen tissue on his neck. We sprayed the exposed parts with fly spray. 

I'm sending the Jammies back.

Wonder what will happen tomorrow . . .

My 100th

This is my 100th post since starting the blog 22 weeks or so ago. Thanks for reading . . .

Shoes . . . and then some work.

I wanted to start with the Jammies by Toklat I ordered online and received Wednesday. I would have bought them from Murdocks, but Murdocks only carries QH and TB sized stuff. My Ashke is more of a cob or pony sized horse, especially his refined head, and Murdock's has nothing that fits. Neither does Brighton Feed. So, online ordering it is. I like the color. It's almost the same color as the sheet. Chris is going to give me her sheet from Joey (Leopard Appy she had to put down a couple of months ago) and see if it fits Ashke any better than the one I currently have. At least the Jammies kept the sheet from rubbing any more hair off. I took the picture after I had started to take them off, while Ashke was trying to get out of his stall. Booger.

Today, Thursday, was farrier time. Ashke has started favoring his left front again and I thought maybe it was time for a trim. This is his front left foot. Do you see the big groove? That is the growth line that indicates when we moved him into the stable. It will have taken 8 to 10 months for his feet to entirely grow out, by the time we have reached past that line. Dan says the left front foot just grows differently than the other four - it splays out to the sides and the toe is shorter. 

 

 

 

I think the toe is shorter because the silly bugger paws in his stall and wears the toe down. The hoof below is the primary reason I had Dan come out. The sole and the hoof wall are inversed (the sole should be up off the ground and the hoof wall should be absorbing the impact.) Sorry, I didn't clean his feet first, but I was in dress clothes because I was on my lunch break from work. This foot is also almost entirely black, which makes it harder and more brittle, with only a bit of white. It had chipped up from the riding we have been doing.

 

 

Dan said, after looking at his feet, that he couldn't do much other than shape them up, because they were too short, especially in the toe. (His heels on his left don't grow as fast as the hoof on the right). After discussing the things I am feeling when riding him and our options, I agreed that we needed to put shoes on the front again. The shoes will keep him from wearing down the toes, keep the sole off the ground and help protect this foot from chipping.

 

As Dan started paring away the sole of the hoof to prepare to put the shoes on, I noticed a bright red line between the hoof wall and the sole. I have done some research and have been validated in my earlier prediction of the pre-condition for developing laminitis. It was this post: http://theeashke.blogspot.com/2012/06/talk-me-off-ledge.html

 

The red line between the wall and the sole is indicative of laminitis. Dan thinks it was bruising from the coffin bone when his toes were long and he was on the hardpacked clay and rock in Texas. Since this is the last of the old hoof, and we know exactly where the change in diet and exercise and care began, we can predict that the issue should disappear in the next couple of trims. This red line was present on both front feet, but not the back ones, and it was worse in the left front versus the right front. I did not see the spreading of the white line (but I also didn't know to look, which I will be sure to do next time), which indicates tearing of the laminae. I am hopeful it was just from his feet being long and the malnutrition and the hard packed dirt he was existing on and not a long-term, chronic condition. Dan has done a good job of trimming the foot to improve his breakover (contributing factor in laminitis) and Ashke is getting zero grain, which has the quick sugar that aggravates this condition. 

 

 

I also discovered when searching for information on the interwebs (how wonderful is that?) that some Egyptian Arabians are prone to club feet, but in looking at the images provided, I am happy to say I don't believe this to be an issue for Ashke (Like I need something else to worry about.) I have also discovered that "club foot" is not a proper term - rather stumpy hoof or bear hoof is the proper veternarian term to use.

 

Here is the back left. It is much more of an up and down foot. The hoof wall is in line with the pastern and the angle is good (although this is a horrible position for the camera in order for you to see it that way.)

 

 

This is the bottom of the back left hoof. You can see the difference in the sole and hoof wall. Ashke obviously does not paw with this hoof.

 

 

He was so excited to see the farrier. Can't you tell from his attitude in the crossties? And he also knew I had peppermints in my front pocket and hadn't given him one yet.

 

 

Rasping on the front right foot. The red line on this foot was much smaller and not directly over the toe. It was more broken up and to the side of the front of the hoof. This hoof is a combination of both black and white hoof.

 



Dan shaping the horse shoe after heating it in his little forge. Pretty cool stuff.

 

Do you notice the vice grips? That's cuz the shoe is still hot. I guess some farriers do hot fitting, where they use the shoe to scorch the bottom of the horse's hoof to get a decent seal between the shoe and the hoof. Smells awful and I don't understand why you would want to shoe that way, although the interwebs say most farriers use hot fitting to check the fit of the shoe to the hoof, and then rasp away the scorch marks. The farrier I watched do it did not do the rasping and I was told the hot fitting was to better the fit. Hmmmm . . . .

 

Ashke's attitude with the shoes being fitted on and a definite lack of enough peppermints. I do have to say that he got lippy standing there and managed to snag my work shirt over the right breast, so I got to go back to work with a large dark green mouth stain in a very conspicious place. I was not happy.

On a side note, do you see his nice pectoral muscle development in this picture?





Dan fitted the shoe and then did some shaping before nailing it on.

I was happy with the results. Although, I am not so happy with the focus ability on my iPhone camera. Looking at that picture makes me feel like everything is in focus but his hoof. Damnit!

Dan set the nails, pinched them into the groove in the hoof he made under each nail and pinched them down. Then he buffed the hoof and put on some hoof flex. He said that overall, Ashke's feet are getting progressively better. He did not seem unduly concerned with the red line and seemed to think it would work itself out over time. It's funny, because I thought Ashke's feet and legs looked the best when we went to Texas the first time, but that's because I had no idea how bad they had been before.

Last night we went out to the stable after dinner and I worked Ashke. He was pretty surprised to find a small human (boy about four) rolling all three of the blue barrel racing barrels down an incline towards us as we walked around the edge of the stable. From Ashke's reaction, he was more startled by the small human than he was of the blue barrels. Although, just for kicks and grins I rolled one of the barrels into the round pen for him to look at. He promptly lipped and rubbed on it until I made him get to work. I didn't let him do the same thing with the small human.

Then we moved to the big arena. We did some cantering, some trotting and some walking. I think Ashke was still getting used to the shoes on his front feet and might still have been a touch tender. We didn't work for long and I am looking forward to being out on the trails this weekend.

There is definite development of back muscles and Ashke is no longer clipping himself. He had one spot, but I know that happened in the field with Lacey and Rupert and he kind of tripped in the small ditch. Otherwise, when I am riding him he is keeping his feet away from one another.

And a touch of cantering. We did do a full circle and a half without him stopping. Today, Friday, he gets the night off. Tomorrow I ride out with Pam and Allectra for a short trail ride. Sunday, we do one with a bunch of people.

Pam had Allectra checked out by the vet. The vet said everything was good. He proscribed a medication to help with her flexion, since she is getting older and was perhaps a bit stiff. Otherwise, this so called friend of Pam's was just being mean.

This is the picture Pam's daugher took the other night. Too good not to share. (I asked permission first.)