Attempted Heel Pix

This is Sonny Bunz off side (or right) fore, that he tends to try to be "clubby" in. Why? For one, genetics does come into play some here. As I looked at a picture of his sire, I saw the exact same front end and hooves as Sonny- which made me wonder why the heck they bred that horse. (But what do I know, right?) Second, the way Sonny Bunz tends to stand and spread his weight on his front end has some to do with it as well- this leg tends to be almost always out in front of him, not bearing as much weight, while the other tends to be under him a lot more, bearing the brunt of the load. Now- that being said, I *am* beginning to see a difference in his stance now as well, with BOTH legs holding weight equally more often than not. Will this help this foot? It seems to be, as this foot- while still looking pretty crappy to me here- is showing improvement. Kacy- I have not forgotten about the knife post you need, and had every intention of providing that WITH pix for you today, but as you can see the frog went ahead here and did a self exfoliation for us. What did I do to help that? Cleaned it and sprayed it with Listerene for about 10 days. It dried out the area, and allowed the crap in there to open up and continue drying. I'll add in some pointers on frogs in a moment for you.

Third reason this foot tends toward clubbiness is the contraction in the heel, due to the deep "infestation" of thrush/ anaerobic bacterium still in the cleft. That too is showing vast improvement. I have a couple of treatment options to consider here, and will sort out which one will work best for this case soon. Of course, results will be shared!

OK, Kacy (and everyone else here who has questions about frogs, garbage in frogs, and just what you can do to help there.) When you have a pocket, that traps material inside, you can set up for the right environment to create a rotspot. (Is that a word?) To prevent that, the best thing you can do is get a good knife- NOT a flat one!! I strongly suggest The Knife, made by Anvil Brand. The reason? The curvature of the blade will NOT allow you to cut too deep AND the QUALITY of the blade. It will hold an edge for a very long time for you. Take your The Knife, (available through JeffersEquine.com for a very reasonable cost,) and trim away the loose areas. No knife? If you can pull it off with your hand, do so. You are not going to hurt the horse. Either that, or your job is going to be clean it VERY well everyday, and try to keep as much debris out of there as possible.
This image above shows how we treat heels. Rasp them. The heel closest to my leg was a wee bit higher, so I was able to do a bit of rasping to show you what we look for in a properly trimmed heel. Is it the healthiest? Nope. Am I done trimming it? Nope- not really. But it IS a start. Worried about rasping those heels too far? Don't be. Just take small amounts at a time, and you will see wonders.
This is admittedly a really crappy shot, but it shows how I check level with my rasp. Sort of. Sonny Bunz moved as I was taking the shot, so I am sorry about the lack of quality in it.
And lastly, THIS is how Sonny Bunz spent the majority of his day today. We got a hay drop on Thursday morning, and it is a different type of hay than Sonny HAD been eating. Know what? My horse has a slight bellyache. We have alternated walking and moving around with resting all afternoon. He IS pooping, normally, has minimal gut sounds, is drinking normally, but has refused his favorite treat a couple of times. When Sonny Boy won't eat an apple, I know something is up.

Drugs are in the fridge as needed, and I will be up checking on him through the night... Everyone cross your fingers that we can connect with our usual hay man and get him back on his usual hay soon. Apparently Sonny Bunz is a delicate type.

OK- I am going to gallop off on you all now, and take him out a warm mash and check on him. Hopefully he slurps this up, and all is well. Will keep y'all posted, of course!

Certify THIS

Yep, This pretty much says it all for me right now! For some reason, (exhaustion mayhap?) I found this hilarious. Like- S-E-R-I-O-U-S-L-Y hilarious. What the heck- it might tickle someone else too!




Above is the Super Sweet Lovely Donkey we played with on Sunday. I am happy to report that mild sedation did the trick, and Dear Husband - who did the trimming while I held the donkey- was happy to report that her feet, while pretty bad, were not as bad as we feared. Afterwards, he was able to spend some real quality time with her as her happy juice wore off. He is hopeful that we will be able to win her over, and not have to resort to sedation again to trim. Y'all, I just want to bring her home and love on her! Look at those eyes, and those EARS!

Now, I am going to deviate from looking at feet for a moment today, and instead take a look at what OnTheBit is right in the midst of going through. Apparently her farrier- who has been with her and her Thoroughbred for years- has had a massive "life change" out of the blue, and pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth.

She began a search for a new hoof care provider, and wanted to search out a barefoot trimmer. We exchanged a couple of emails about this, and vetted a few trimmers. During that process, it dawned on me that there sure are a lot of "new" initials after people's names who trim. If those initials confuse me, what must they be doing to others?

We are all pretty familiar with these:
AFA
BWFA
GPFA

AFA = American Farriers Association. You have Journeymen, and Master Farriers.

BWFA= Brotherhood of Working Farriers. Same levels I believe as the AFA... but skills are.... well, let's just say VASTLY different. Vastly. Different.
GPFA/ or "Guild" = Guild of Professional Farriers.

Of all those, were I looking to have a horse shod, I would seek out a Guild member. The testing is more stringent, and the farriers there are highly skilled. My next choice would be an AFA Master Farrier.

BWFA... yeah... umm.. Not so much. No thanks. I'll pass.

What about barefoot trimmers?
AANHCP
Strasser
DAEP

Those are the three big ones (and maybe the only ones- I am not 100% sure there.) But what the heck do they MEAN? Well, for one, it shows that the trimmer attended and did their best at a course taught by professionals. Two is it gives you background on WHO they studied with, and what their trim style will be like.

AANHCP = American Association of Natural Hoof Care Practitioners
Strasser = Student studied with and completed a course with Dr. Hiltrud Strasser
DAEP = Degreed Applied Equine Podiatrist

AANHCP members studied the style promoted by Jamie Jackson, and at one point in time, Pete Ramey. Overall, the trims are good. If I needed someone, I would hire someone who worked with Pete Ramey to trim my horses. I'd take a look at a Jamie student, and ask to see their work, but chances are they would do quite well, and be hired.

Strasser- Dear Husband and I call them "Strasserites". Why the derision? The trim method is EXTREMELY INVASIVE and in poorly trained hands has lamed numerous horses and caused the death of a few as well. It promotes a mindset that does not allow for moderation, instead choosing to FORCE the hoof into correct shape through invasive trimming. Would I hire a Strasser Certified Trimmer? Oh. Hell. No.

DAEP members... well.... Some of them have produced good work. I have not seen enough of the new grads to say much about the quality of the work being done. What I do know is they are encouraged to charge a hefty fee for trimming. HEFTY fee for trimming. Would I hire one? Tough question, actually as in total honesty, I knew the person behind this school a long, LONG time ago. This person is a good trimmer, in fact he was a good farrier. But the students.... I'd have to see. And from what I hear, I would most likely have a coronary on the spot over the price.

But what if there are no initials after their names?
Seriously, how many of you have a farrier who has "Guild Member, Master Farrier" on their cards? Or even "AFA Member, Journeyman Farrier"? Most of what you see are "Graduate of the OK School of Horseshoeing". (I wouldn't hire one of those, either by the way- not unless he/ she had put in some SERIOUS continuing education.)

What do I look for in a hoof care provider?

- Who did they study with?
- Do they keep up on continuing education?
- Have they read any of the studies by Dr. Robert Bowker? Dr. Hilary Clayton? Dr. Ric Redden? Dr. Chris Pollit?
- How long have they been trimming, and may I see some photographs of before and after work?
- References, and follow up on them.

Finding someone to provide high quality care for your horse in a lot of areas is a CHALLENGE. When it comes to hoof care though, if owners educate themselves, and enough of us ASK these questions, those shoe hangers out there are either going to have to buck up and STUDY some, or they will go out of business. We want the best care for our horses, and demanding education from service providers will ensure that it happens. (Oh- that continuing ed? Most of it is available online, and for free. Seminars are available. All it takes is making the effort.)

On another note, not too long ago, another much read horse blog said that owners should never under NO circumstances learn to trim their own horses hooves. My response? Why The Hell NOT? If you seek out a professional, and work on YOUR HORSE one on one with the professional, I don't see why an owner can not learn to either trim the horse themselves, or at least provide touch ups in between trims. The only time I would not advise this is in extreme pathological cases.

Owners knowing about hoof care is NOT a bad thing. Owners who can pick up a rasp and help maintain a healthy hoof is NOT a bad thing. Is it going to put hoof care providers out of business? Lord above NO! There are not enough of us out there for the number of horses in the United States! If you are interested, start learning!

*cough cough* Off my soap box for the day here folks. Now y'all have an awesome day out there, and be sure to hug your horses today!

Continuing Heels Talk

Today the PLANNED post did not happen. Oh No. Today was going to be how to trim back heels, and show you all how we balance them out, and how we would treat heels that are underrun. (Since my horse battles with both of those, he was going to be a good example.) However- my horse, for the first time in too long now, was SOUND. And feeling FRESH. Somehow, the thought of getting under him and trying to trim his feet while he was that frisky and happy really did not appeal to me.

Instead, a reader had fantastic timing, and sent along some really good examples of her gelding's off side (or left) fore hoof. The pictures below will show an unaltered one, what flare is, and it also shows a great example of orientation of growth.




In the above picture, you can see a great example of orientation of growth. Instead of the hoof allowing his heels to grow forward and become crushed, this horse tends to grow them down. Many would consider this a club foot, while I would have to reserve judgement on that. Why? Because I am betting with some minor adjustments in the heel height, this hoof would look much different in a short amount of time. Club feet also tend to have contracted heels, and very poor frogs. I have seen sole shots of this foot, (I think all his feet actually,) and he has wonderful frogs and wide heels. The fact is, most "club feet" are man made, on the off side, and correctable through proper trimming.

This image shows the flare. Under the blue line, you can see almost a "lip" or a slight bump in the hoof wall. Were you to run your hand over that, (and when you see a hoof care provider running their hands over hooves, we are actually feeling for flare. Many times, as we are working, we can feel things much easier than we can see them.) Oh- back to the flare here. Were you to run your hand over that with relaxed fingers, you would feel your hand actually shift direction and follow the hoof. You can feel flare often times easier than you can see it. How do we treat this? First, we work from the bottom of the hoof to ensure balance. Second, we trim the toe of the hoof, and begin to ease breakover. Third, we address the flare itself from the top of the hoof with the rasp.
What causes flare? Imbalance in the hoof, and uneven hoof growth actually force the hoof into a different shape. This is a somewhat abbreviated explanation, but it covers the gist of it.


This photo shows the heel height, AND the orientation of growth. If you look closely from the hairline down, you can see the "tubules" that we mentioned in Heels Part 1. How would we adjust this foot? We would carefully begin to lower his heels, and work on the flare from the top.

So how much of an issue is it, if your horse has odd feet?
That, in total honesty, depends on your horse. This horse that we used for today's "class" has stayed sound and strong for years. He is healthy, and moves out wonderfully for his owner, and they enjoy time on the trails tremendously.

My horse has issues similar to this. And we all know how sound HE has been off and on for the past year. While not all of his soundness issues have been from his feet, it added to them significantly. Think of it this way- add a tiny wedge to one of your shoes and walk around for a few days. Some of you won't notice it at all, while others are going to be sore as all get out, and headed to the chiropractor and masseuse.

Fire away with any questions, and always feel free to keep the photos coming! This has been so much fun for us, and I hope all of you as well!

Heels- Where Are They?

Heels are a Hot Topic DuJour in the Horse World. Too high, too long, none there- you name it, heel health is one of the most often asked questions in our practice. If we had a dime for every time we heard, "My Horse Has No Heels", we'd be able to travel to each and every one of you out here, and do a mini-clinic.

In response to the Invite post, (which was GREAT! THANK YOU ALL!! Keep them coming!) we start the first in what will most likely become a series on hoof health and owner questions. Today, we are going to start with heels, and The Orientation Of Growth.

The hoof is constructed of finger-like tubules, that interlock through hair like growth not just from the hair line (coronary band) down, but through the entire length of the hoof. (In fact, Dr. Bowker proved that hoof does NOT just grow from the hair line down as we have all been taught for years, but thanks to these fine connections that grow laterally, the hoof wall has the ability to grow around as well.)

These tubules initiate growth from the hairline. If you look closely at the top of your horse's hoof, you will see for the first inch or so down from the hairline, the direction that hoof WANTS to grow in.

For today's topic, we are going to view and discuss how this growth can be affected by NOT trimming heel, thus making it APPEAR that there is "no heel".

I am going to start off by saying this:
It is a physiological impossibility for the hoof to NOT grow heel as it grows toe. Period. They ALL grow. It is what the hoof care provider DOES with that growth, that determines what they LOOK like.

The image below is my horse, Sonny Bunz. Look at the two arrows- and you will see the Orientation Of Growth is DIFFERENT in his feet. (This was taken in early fall.) The off side (or right) hoof tends to grow very forward. The near side (or left) tends to grow upright. We are not going into WHY this happens today- just the direction. Looking at his hooves on the ground however, it appears that he has decent heel HEIGHT. Which he does.


Now, looking at this image below, the blue arrow shows two things: one the orientation of growth, and the arrow point itself shows you exactly where that horse is STANDING on it's hoof. Sonny, above, stands with his feet underneath him, thus supporting his limbs and allowing for energy dissipation. The horse below must-- MUST -- stand "in front" of himself.
This image shows where the horse is standing. Those heels look to be about 2 1/2" long, and growing forward. The red arrow shows the weight bearing point. The blue arrow inside the circle shows what could potentially be a fairly painful condition for the horse, with the bars overgrowing onto the sole. On the right side of the hoof, the blue arrow there again shows where the horse is carrying the bulk of his weight, and the orange is merely showing less bar tissue than the other side.
This image below again shows long heels. Overall, the hoof would be easier to correct.
This image of a rear hoof again shows bar material that is leading to problems. Known as the "seat of the corn", it is one of the areas that we see abscesses develop. Also the heels are about 2 1/2" long, with very forward growth.
How would this be corrected?
Hoof care providers Have Got To Trim Heel. Period. The heels MUST be rasped level. Heels WILL grow. A lot. How would we correct the bar tissue? By trimming it to the level of the existing sole. Having bars folded over like that is quite painful and can trap material in there that will set up decay and abscessing.

By trimming heel, you bring the heel back up under the horse. Once you have a horse who has shot their heels (and consequently, the entire hoof capsule) forward, (underslung is also a common name for it, as is crushed heels,) you are probably looking at more frequent trims for that horse. Is this something the horse owner can do? Why not? If you have a competent hoof care provider, who can keep an eye on things, you are actually going to be making his or her life easier by touching up the heels.

Thus ends Part One of Heels, Where Are They? Look for Part Two to explain "heel purchase" (and no, I don't mean buying some 'ho shoes!)

Invite

Right- heels are a Hot Button Topic here. I'd love to do a post on heel height, length, and orientation of growth, and addess any questions you all have. Since I don't have any pictures to share, and honestly hate surfing the web for someone else's images, I'd like to invite readers to email me with questions and pictures. I am happy to keep all submissions on the ANON side as well.

Fire away! swequine@yahoo.com

WHOOHOOO Wednesday!

Why is it a WHOOHOO Wednesday? Because Top Chef is on tonight, as well as Ghost Hunters! (Hey, works for me!)

We are going to veer away a bit from hoof talk today, (just until I can get an extra pair of hands to help out some with pictures,) and instead answer some questions that Nuzzling Muzzles recently posed on her blog. Those of us who have been reading along on her blog for a while now, have seen some amazing leaps in progress with her horses and skills. In her quest for continuing education, she put a lot of thought into the following questions.

Knowing that I tend to get a bit "wordy", I asked her if a post here would be OK to give my perspective on it. (In fact, NuzMuz would like to encourage a good discussion on this, and get lots of us to post our answers to these questions. Which is an excellent idea!)

Enough with my jaw jacking! Here we go:

1)How do you gain confidence?
I gain confidence by learning new skills one step at a time. I learn best by watching watching watching someone else do things- anything from trimming a horse to a riding skill- I have to see it being done repeatedly. THEN I attempt it in stages, adding a bit to each task until I can do it well. As I master each stage, my confidence grows. (This applies to pretty much anything in my life. If I see it done, I can duplicate the results easily. Just don't ask me to explain how I got there!)

2)Do you have any examples of when your confidence affected your horse in a positive way?
The best example I can think of in this instance would be a young client horse, or a horse who has been abused. By exuding a calm, confident manner, and being quiet and making myself as non-threatening as possible, it seems to completely calm the nervous horse. Often times when confronted with a spooky, scared animal, I'll slip on my favorite halter and lead combo, and ease them off away in a quiet area. We get to know each other a bit, and I wind up able to trim the horse with the end of the lead tucked into my apron belt. **THIS IS NOT SOMETHING I RECOMMEND TO JUST ANYONE. PERIOD. If you aren't skilled as a handler, this will get the snot beat out of you.

3)Do you have any examples of when your lack of confidence affected your horse in a negative way?
Yep. When I was a teen, I had a cute little mare who had an abscess. It was my first time having to clean and treat anything like that, and all I could think about was how she was going to be spooked, how she was going to wind up blowing back and fighting with me, and how I would get hurt. Now, this mare had NEVER been a problem in the past- she was cool as a cucumber all the time. Nothing got her upset, ever. (She kinda reminded me of one of those laid back surfer types.) I had NEVER had a problem with her lifting her feet for me to clean, and the farrier said she was a dream to work with. But I just KNEW this was going to be horrible.

It was. She blew backwards on me, busted cross ties, and knocked me on my butt in the dirt.

Anticipation. It can either be great, or it can be a mess- it all rides on whether or not you expect good things or bad things.

4)How do you regain control when things get out of control?
It kinda depends on the situation. If I am say, messing with Sonny Bunz out in the yard here, and he blows and has a tantrum, I have to step back a bit and let him have his tantrum. If I "shut down" emotion, and stop REacting, things usually settle down to a controllable level pretty quick. The INSTANT he seems to be thinking about what to do next, is when I step in and Give Him A Job. Change his direction, change his mind. Move the feet, control the brain, control the horse. If Sonny Bunz thinks he can be a poop, which he does on a fairly regular basis, he has to move his feet at two different trot speeds and with LOTS of direction changes thrown in as well. It is not long before his head lowers, his eyes soften, and he sighs and quits acting like a kid hopped up on JOLT Cola, and acts like a respectable equine citizen. (Playing is GREAT- but NOT when I am in the paddock or on the end of the line. When people are about, I expect and GET eyes on me with a calm demeanor.)

5)How firm do you have to be to get what you want out of your horse?
That is going to depend, IMO, on each horse, in any given situation. I had a trainer once teach that you "Do what you have to do to get the job done, and NO MORE." For example: getting Sonny Bunz to stop making nasty faces and snapping his teeth at blanket time, all I have to do is growl at him. That Draft mare from a few posts back? That took extreme measure. Dear Husband did what he had to do, and STILL wound up hurt badly from it. But he ONLY did as much as necessary, AND NO MORE.

6)If your horse does view you as his/her all-knowing leader, what did you do to get to that point? Was it all about confidence? Or consistency? Firmness? Kindness? Communication? Calmness?
Consistent Calm Confidence, setting RULES, BOUNDARIES, and LIMITATIONS. Communication comes in many forms, as Nuzzling Muzzles describes so well in her post, and ALL of that plays a key role in showing the horse repeatedly that you can be relied on to not put them in a dangerous situation. As they gain trust in your ability to make safe decisions, your partnership grows exponentially.

7)How do you calm yourself down when something happens to get your adrenaline pumping?
I have to reason with myself, and literally decide that I can freak out later on, because I MUST handle the situation at hand and do the job that needs doing. (Learned that in EMT school... kinda glad I did!)

8)How do you calm your horse down when something gets its adrenaline pumping?
Step one- *I* have to be calm and BREATHING.
Step two- My horse needs to focus on me. Therefore, we go back again to giving him a job. Move the feet, control the brain, control the horse. Direction changes, pace changes, speed changes, anything you can think of that the horse already knows how to do WELL, so that he will lower his head, blow out a big breath or two, and begin to look to you again for leadership.

Hope that helps!

Totally Frozen Tuesday

My equi-blogging pal Callie from MidWestHorse fired away with some good questions, one of which was "What is the best way to make sure the heels are level?" Like any good pal, I trucked on outside in the blustery cold, and convinced Sonny Buns that he needed to stand still and model his hoofies for all to see. (Oh good grief. How pathetic and BRAIN FROZEN does that sound already? One would think I had never been exposed to cold weather before. Sheesh.)

Back to the main train of thought here.

Sonny Buns was duly convinced to behave, and here are the results of his photo shoot.


Please forgive the blur here- I had a tough time holding him, his foot, the camera, and the hoof pick across the heels to give an idea of how I like to check if the heels are level with each other.


Here is the same hoof, held in the T-square view, with my focus again on the heels.

Sonny Buns last had a trim on December 30. What I see in this picture that needs attention (when it warms up some so he stops tap dancing on my head,) is the wall in the quarters is just about ready for a trim. At the toe, you can see a decent toe callous on the sole as well.

This is his historically "bad" foot. I was thinking it looked utterly horrible, until I looked at pictures of this same foot from several months back. All in all, aside from the nasty frog issue, I am pretty pleased with his progress here.
This is the nasty frog issue, from the heel view. Treatment is cleaning daily, and spraying with an antiseptic/ antibacterial. I think this is the widest I have seen his frog, and I anticipate clearing this mess up actually fairly easily. In the next day or so, it will be time to once again trim back necrotic tissue on the frog, allowing more air to it, and stopping it from trapping debris in the cleft.

In this foot, he tends to "trap" sole. He has a tough time allowing for natural exfoliation, so staying on top of trimming his bars is crucial. (Left to their own devices, those bars would overgrow, and "fold" over onto the sole. This traps bacteria and such in there, which in turn set up for abscesses and just a big mess.) While he still has a long way to go here, I am pretty happy with how things are going.

That about wraps it up for today! Any questions, fire away...

Savoring A Sweet Monday

Both Andrea and OnTheBit saw fit to pass along an award, and encouraged me to kick back a moment with a cup of said sweetness in hand. While it's not spiked (too early for that for this kid,) it IS sweet and fits the day.

The Lemonade Award is passed to folks who work hard at keeping a great attitude. I will freely admit, there are times when my attitude is questionable. However, I do try to turn it into something that will amuse others, and maybe help ME learn along the way.

The Ladies mentioned above also encouraged sharing with 10 other bloggers. This award has made the rounds, but I am going to dig around a bit here, and find some of the newer bloggers to share with as well.

I choose:

Mommy In Spurs
(Not Quite) Home On The Range
LittleKeebler
The Milk Mans Wife
A Cowboys Wife
A Horse Crazy American In Germany
A Bay Horse
Wacky and Wonderful World of Ezra
Vaquero Girl
The School of Life With Horses

There ya go! Go forth folks, and spread the sunshine!

Part Two- Breakover

Dear Husband graciously offered up the use of his hands for this photo op, to show you guys a trick. The hand position above represents a shorter toe length- the one below a longer toe length.

Take your "free" hand, and put pressure on the "toe" to simulate walking. What do you feel? Which is more comfortable?

It WORKED! (Or, Here Ya Go Callie!)

Hey Look -- A war wound across my knuckles. That is the end result of rasping my hand. As you can see from the scar on the knuckle next to it, it happens more often than I like to admit. (Lytha- I can hear you now yelling at me to use gloves. I don't use them. Didn't use them even in Tundra Country. I *hate* gloves.)
At this stage of the trim, I tried to deliberately make the point of what the sole looks like, when the foot is longer than it is wide. In this instance, it worked well to illustrate the point. When the foot is longer in the toe and lower in the heel, there is a good amount of stress exerted on the foot, the joints, tendons, and ligaments. This ultimately turns into a lever, adding to the stress on said portions of the anatomy quite a bit. This will bring us to talking about "breakover". Breakover is very basically when the foot levers over in motion. The longer the lever (toe), the longer the foot, the longer the breakover point. The more stress on the body. The entire leg - and thus the body- must move differently in order to compensate for that extra length in front.
If you can try and imaginate here for a moment, what the motion of this foot would have to be, in order to move.
Another view- again- try to imaginate what type of extra movement would be needed in order for this pony to walk.
This is the end of the trim. There is still room to go in the next trim to shorten this toe, and thus ease the breakover.

Since my skills with this browser are somewhat lacking, I am going to put up a quick Part Two for this, with Dear Husband's explanation on a good way to understand breakover, and the stresses involved.

Friday, and Everything Went Ffffzzzttttt....

Today's planned post? It was going to be Callie's post on width of hoof VS length of hoof. Complete with pictures.

Why is it NOT here for Callie and y'all?

The camera batteries said, "You want What? Riiiight. Try this on for size.... ffffzzztttt...."

My brain? In a total fog. It too said, "You ARE Kidding, right? .... fffffzzztttt..."

I did manage to catch a cute movie, while waiting for pain meds to kick in though. (My back? Yeah... see above. It said pretty much the same thing.) Dennis Franz was in a movie called "N.Y.P.D Mounted". Overlooking the really bad riding (Mr. Franz did not do horrible per say, but it was not pretty by any means,) the movie itself was pretty full of one liners that had me chortling.

Worth a watch if you have nothing better to do. Just don't look too close at the riding... the shoeing... the movement on the front end of the little red Quarter Horse.... but the one liners were good. And the tiger was really pretty.

Tomorrow? I am hoping for much better. Fresh batteries for the camera, and I have given my back a STERN talking to about it's behavior. Tomorrow, we aim once again for the pictures, and a post on orientation of growth, and toe length VS hoof width.

No more fffzzzttttt.

Wild-eyed Wednesday

This is going to be a "catch up" day, with a bit of variety going on in this post.

First, I have to send a shout out to Stephanie, over at The School Of Life With Horses. Girlfriend went and got herself included in an upcoming issue of of Horse and Rider magazine. Mega Congrats to her! Be sure to stop by and give her a well deserved pat on the back. (Oh-- OK-- just be careful of her back....! Don't pat too hard. She is still fragile!)

Next, Command Central and everyone in it sends our deepest sympathies and condolences to Solitaire Mare at A Good Horse. She lost her gelding today, and I know we all know how hard it is to loose someone you love so much.

Right- Andrea! Draft baby! Baby Hughey!
This is what we suggest:
First- bear in mind that this is a Draft baby. (Kinda hard to forget that given his SIZE already!) It is this size and bulk that tends to throw Drafts off a tad now and then, and they can have a very hard time staying balanced when their feet are lifted. Young horses grow and change at such a rapid rate, that for them keeping good balance and "finding their feet" can be quite a challenge. Thanks to added size, and some differences in their growth patterns, Drafts now and again face bigger challenges than say, your average Quarter Horse.

That being said:
First, forcing him to pick up his feet is going to be a disaster. Your job is going to be to break down into very small steps how to pick up a hoof politely. No mean feat- trust me. It *sounds* like your boy needs to learn to lift his heel first, (more or less if he just rolls the heel up off the ground, reward him with praise and rubs, and a walk around.) Gradually, ask him to lift his feet completely off the ground. If you have trained him to allow a rope (soft cotton, like Mikey has posted pictures of,) looping that around a pastern and gently rocking the heel forward is a huge help as well.

Next, and this is NOT something we like with ANY horse, but we will make exceptions now and again, he might need stability. He might be one that now and again needs to lean on something solid, (not the farrier) like the barn wall. If he is one of those horses that needs the security of something to lean on, a set of stocks for him might not be a bad thing. (Oh I can hear it now. The Polite Police will be pounding on the door here with nasty posts on their blogs and emails to me about how cruel and inhumane stocks are.... Fire away Polite Police. I always need entertainment.) Teaching your big guy to stand in the stocks and have his feet handled while in there is another post entirely, that we will save for IF you should need to take that step.

Third, and this is IMPORTANT, Keep The Hooves Held LOW as you can as he is learning. Lifting the foot high will throw him off balance, thus causing the struggle to begin where he tries to put the hoof down (usually on top of the person holding it...) Once they loose their balance enough, it WILL scare them. They WILL remember it. And they WILL resist. I am hoping your farrier is willing to be a bit flexible here, and try out different ways of holding your colt's feet and legs.

Personally, I can not STAND the traditional stance of a foot between the knees in front. Maybe it is because we do/ have done so many older horses or horses with physical issues, but we find a modified stance allows for some really happy horses. (Modified = holding the foot with one hand, braced either against my leg, or in a hoof cradle, trimming with the other hand. Being ambidextrous helps!) Young horses respond amazingly well to this as well. We are able to keep their feet lower, and more under their bodies, thus providing a sense of stability and comfort to them.

Next on our catch up tour:
Remember the gray filly from VA that was sent to my Thoroughbred trainer pal (under the guise of being about 100 pounds underweight and completely sound to race)? The one who showed up dead lame and as a walking skeleton? Well ya'll ought to see her NOW! Cinderelli is race fit and sound, and WANTS to run. Pop on over to Holy Racehorses! for the full scoop, and the current pictures. This is a story that will make you want to stand up and cheer. (I did, after I called my Trainer Pal T!)

And lastly (for today anyways,) Lisa AKA: Rapunzel at Laughing Orca Ranch has had a really, really rough go of things lately. She has been getting some HUGE support from her blogging pals, and her family. In fact, the kids proved their eternal devotion to their Mom and her love for her animals by bringing in a couple of her chickens for a visit. I admit- I thought I'd seen it all until that post. Had me in stitches I was giggling so hard. (** Award to be posted as soon as the computer decides it CAN still indeed, post pictures....)

Miss Rapunzel saw fit to grace us with an award, saying that it was needed here for sure. After the seriousness of the past few posts, she pretty much is bang on right with that!

My heartfelt thanks go to Miss Lisa/ Rapunzel, in her guest room, for bestowing us with the "Keepin' It Real" award. Thank you Lisa, and heal up quick!

Callie- I know you are looking for the width VS length post too, and I promise, I will get it to you! (Just remind me? You of all folks know how bad my CRS is these days!)

Think About This Tuesday...

Yesterday I posed a bit of a philosophical question, by wondering how you can expect a horse to move ahead in his or her life, if the handlers and people providing services for said horse continue to treat the horse as if the horse was either continuing to be abused, or as if the horse was freshly removed from a bad situation.

This brought about some pretty interesting thoughts from you guys.

The easy answer to that question? You can't. One can not expect the abused to heal (physically or emotionally,) if one continues to only see the animal in question as a "victim".

I can't tell you how many times there has been people to tell us that "This Horse Is Special, because he survived such and such." They go into great details, at great length usually, explaining away every possible reason they can think of at the time, why the horse is going to be a problem to work with.

Then we find out that the horse was "rescued" as a weanling, and is now 10 or 20 years old. (Read last Thursdays post....)

Someone please explain to me WHY the horse was seen as a poor pathetic creature for ten plus years, when he should have been getting an education on how to be a proper citizen? Someone please explain to me, why so many people believe that equine service providers are supposed to hold that same sympathy? Or that we hold a Magic Wand to cure all the horse's problems? (*ahem*, NO, the Magic Wand in this case is NOT a Golden Rasp, used to swat offending subjects out of the way.)

Speaking strictly from the aspect of a service provider, the only history I need to know about your horse is as follows:
- Is he halter trained?
- Has he been taught to lift his legs politely?
- Does he have any actual PHYSICAL issues, that would prevent the horse from standing comfortably?
- Are there any METABOLIC issues, that will present problems in the feet?

As a service provider, I approach each horse with the expectation of calm compliance. Most of the time, that calm assertiveness on my part works wonders, and we have no issues.

However, there are those animals out there who have their OWN agendas. It is not because of any past history of abuse, neglect, or any other possible excuse an owner can come up with. No, I am talking about horses like the following:

- Appaloosa mare- well bred, handled well by knowledgeable owners, and sent to a very good trainer. Mare would..."forget" what she was doing in the middle of doing something. Literally- every single day was an adventure with her, since every single day, you had to retrain her to halter and lead, retrain her to stand at the end of the line, and retrain her to respect polite requests. This went on for YEARS. This was not some backyard yahoo with a widdle pony- this was a respected local breeder, who was no slouch as a trainer, and a trainer who was incredible with "problem horses". As the years passed, the mare got worse and worse and more and more dangerous to herself and others around her. She was put down.

- Thoroughbred gelding. Raced lightly, with several wins. Very nice gelding, good manners. Why did he stop racing? Because he started this "thing". He would be either standing there, quietly, being a very kind horse, and you could literally watch his eyes "turn off". I didn't believe this, until I saw it at the trainer's barn. The exercise rider, still limping about and with a cast on his arm, had warned me about this horse and this "thing" he was doing. The farrier I served my apprenticeship with at the time was under this gelding. I was holding the horse, and handing off tools. The shedrow was quiet, all horses in their stalls munching hay and resting, minimal staff around. I literally watched this placid gelding (who was about 17 hands,) change from being a complete gentleman with the softest eyes to being the equine equivalent of Mr. Hyde. Wha-BAM. His eyes went small and hard, his body tensed, and he blew. I yanked the farrier out of the way, and had my hands chock full of plunging fighting horse. Know what I "understand" about that situation? That horse was damn dangerous. Never seen a horse go from a kind, placid creature, to snorting fire from his nose? I don't suggest you seek it out. What happened to him, I can hear you asking? Shortly after we were there, he blew again walking into the shedrow from a leisurely walk around the track. He blew upwards, hit his head on the main beam, and killed himself. That's how hard this horse blew up.

Those are but two examples of the equine version of "Springer Rage Syndrome". (Sorry Springer fans- that is the closest thing I can think of to compare this to.)

That being said, we move onto the horses who have been given every opportunity, and every chance to go from a horrible lot in life to a sterling one--- except for one thing.

The one thing is the handlers/ owners/ trainers who persistently treat the horse like he is a poor, pathetic suffering creature, allowing excuse after excuse for dangerous behaviour. They continuously tell any and all comers that their "poor, poor horsie" has "special needs" and we are to treat them with kid gloves and keep them wrapped in cotton... (Mikey is right- next time a client tries to pull that card, THEY will be holding the foot for me to work on. Period.)

Know what? I have rescued horses from some pretty damn bad situations. I have brought them home off the back of the slaughter truck, and nursed them back to health. Bought them from trainers, and sounded them up and given them a job and a new home. How is it that these horses that have passed through my barn, were able to go from being in such bad shape, with so many issues to overcome, to turn out to be solid minded, sound bodied, productive, usable citizens of the equine realm?

Maybe it was because I treated them as such. Maybe it was because I expected them to heal. I expected them to learn. I expected them to behave with manners.

I expected a lot.

They provided. They lived up to every expectation and then some.

This is not saying we don't have sympathy or empathy for the plight the horse WAS in, or is CURRENTLY in. We do. We became service providers because of our love for the horses. But we also EXPECT the horses AND THE OWNERS to behave with integrity and manners.

Is that indeed, asking too much?

I.
Think.
Not.

But apparently there are some out there who DO see it as "too much".......

Monday, and I Can't Think Of A Title!

Point To Ponder:

Horses, like children, can and will live UP TO or DOWN TO expectations.

If you see a "rescue" horse, and go into the entire deep sympathy routine, and continuously excuse any and all behaviour issues on The Poor Horrid Past The Horse Had...

How

Can

You

Expect

Them

To

Grow

And

Get

Better?


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Want the answer?
Tune in tomorrow.

Sweet Silent Sunday

Saturday in the Sun!

This morning was cold, overcast, with frost on the ground. The morning started out looking like it matched my mood- which thanks to a lack of sleep AGAIN, was pretty foggy internally. The sun crept ever higher, my morning brew began it's magic, and chores were done in short order.

A bit after 11, the phone rings. Very Dear Friend was on her way, and had three of her lovely granddaughters with her, coming to work and ride Graham Pony. Graham was pretty excited to see ALL of "His Girls" coming to see him, and his lovely eyes lit right up. He was fussed over and loved on, groomed to a high gloss, and then The Divine Mizz Izz went to work. Graham was a bit of a putz at first, but soon settled down to be more or less a gentleman. Mizz Izz overcame a few things of her own today, as we concentrated on her sitting up tall and strong, and riding the pony forward. By the end of her time, her little legs were tired, but a beautiful smile split her face as she pumped a fist in the air and let out a yell. The Divine Mizz Izz today learned the meaning of "Cowgirl Up". Y'all, there is no way for me to tell you how blasted PROUD I am of that girl!

Mizz Izz may have been toast, (she is only 7 afterall, and a tiny 7 at that,) Graham Pony was not ready to quit yet. He still needed some schooling. Into the paddock stepped Izz's big sister, The Amazing B. At "almost 10", as she informed me today, she is taller and stronger, and ready to help Graham get the message a bit better. Within 5 minutes, that pony was working soft and smooth, and kind as can be. Amazing B and Graham hit it off, and finished out his schooling session perfectly. He was walking head comfortably low, soft eyed and soft mouthed, listening perfectly to the direction of his sweet passenger. Amazing B has a natural grace about her, and a soft kind way that the ponies fall in love with. I don't think I have had the chance before now to work with her as she was riding, and I loved every moment of it. She could have a future ahead of her, should she wish to help start ponies. (Not only do I adore Amazing B, both Cub and Wrecking Crew do too. They had a blast playing with her today as well.)

While all of this was going on, I of course, have to vocalize the occasional "Good Boy Graham!!" or a "Way to GO girls!" Who should come wandering up to the fence but Sonny Buns. What was Sonny's opinion on everything? Jealousy. Sonny Buns was j-e-a-l-o-u-s. No one was paying court to His Royal Highness, and his pouty face and pinned back ears were not enough to express his displeasure- oh no. Sir Sonny Buns actually stuck his big red head over the dividing fence, and tried to take a chunk out of Graham and Mizz Izz.

I was NOT happy.

Bad, bad move Sonny Buns. Bad move.

Sonny spent the remaining 25 minutes tied to the "Patience Tree". Having a horsey tantrum, stomping his feet, nickering softly, and giving me the most pathetic looks I have ever seen cross his face. Me thinks Sonny Buns needs some more time at the Patience Tree, and hopefully some saddle time in there soon as well.

Rotten horse!

All in all, an amazing sun-filled Saturday. Seeing the kids progress so strongly with Graham, and seeing the HUGE smiles all around did my heart good. Teaching kids who truly WANT to learn is such a great thing. It leaves a "glow" that lasts for days. Everytime I spend time with Graham, I can't help but smile, knowing that he is going to make such a great partner for these wonderful girls. Next time, I need to remember to get my CAMERA out there, so you all can see how soft and sweet his eyes get!

Happy Hoofin' Y'all!

Fantastical Fun Filled Friday!

Yup- there IS a theme here this week. Wonder where the heck that came from?

Anyway- yesterday's post detailed why professionals come up against burn out, and why many decide to quit.

Today, it is time to see The OTHER Side of the coin. (Yes- two sides to every coin, light follows the dark and all that.) Today we are going to go over how lucky we are to do what we do, and just how much we love it, and WHY.

Before I get into that though, I need to say a heartfelt Thank You, to those of you who DO work for other companies. Thank you for being at the cable company (by the way, if y'all work for Comcast? You Rock. Comcast here in the Southland is awesome. They have REAL Customer Service!!) Thank you to those who work in the grocery stores, and smile when you see us coming with out boys. Thank You to the Nurses, Doctors, mechanics, small animal vets and their staff, for making our stops possible and enjoyable. Thank You for smiling, thank you for listening when we have a problem, and thank you for doing the best at your job that you do. It makes a world of difference.

Now onto today's thoughts.

Dear Husband and I both dream of horses and hooves at night. We have tried, with out much success, to do "other" jobs over the years, and only found misery. A serious talk last week between us decided that we are going to build a practice again- something we were not going to do down here in the Southland.

Mikey says, "We do it because we CAN, and not many people can do this. We have a hoof health obsession around here."

Which is very true- it does become an obsession, and not many people CAN do this job. There is more too it, though.

It gives us time to be together, since Dear Husband and I work together. We also bring along our boys- which gives us opportunities to teach them the business, how to behave in public, and introduces them to all sorts of people, places, and things. Just yesterday, they got to meet a PIG. Not just ANY Pig- but a piggy that was just about as tall as Graham Pony, and almost as long as Sonny Horse. He was a really NICE piggy too- the boys and I were able to scratch his back, and he would close his eyes when we hit a good spot. It was hilarious!

We see older horses who have lameness issues, and we can help them feel better and move better.

We see young horses, and teach them it is OK, and not to be afraid.

We see horses- all day long. Over the years we have met so many fantastic animals- young or old, and somewhere in between, they all had a story and if we listen hard enough they are able to teach us as well.

We have had the pleasure of learning from some amazing people as well- PhD's, to Regular Joe's. They, too, have had a lot to teach.

Picking up a hoof, and picking up your tools is NOT a "job" for just anyone. So many people see the prices and think it's "easy money". It isn't, and they don't last.

There is a deep sense of satisfaction that goes along with this job. Handling the tools, seeing the hooves come back to a healthy state and shape, watching the horse's bodies change along the way, and watching them become stronger and sounder- there is no way to explain the satisfaction with that.

Hoof care is a calling. True hoof care providers feel a deep, strong pull to it. We see a horse, and the FIRST place we look is the feet. We feel urges to dig out a rasp and make small adjustments, and watch the horse travel again. We learn to read xrays like books, and take great pride in teaching vets that yes, this CAN be fixed in this way....

Yes, we are building a practice again. This time, we are doing it on OUR terms, and in OUR way. We know what we are looking for in clients, and we know that we don't have to accept any client who gives us pause. We work hard to be reliable, return ALL phone calls and emails in less than 24 hours, schedule horses promptly, and be there ON TIME. All horses are treated with the utmost of respect, and owners as well. (That is something we noticed yesterday- it just freaks people out around here that we show RESPECT for their horses. They don't seem to know how to handle it. Makes me feel bad for what they had to deal with before, but now they see a difference in quality and caring!)

Do we have bad days? Sure. They happen. But we learn from it and move along, onto the next stop. Let it go, move ahead, think ahead, and if need be, send an nice email or phone call to the client, explaining very politely why we can no longer provide services for them. (The Rasp Enema is held in reserve for extreme emergency only.) A friend of mine told me recently, "Change the way you see things, and things will change for you."

It's true.

My wish for you all out there in the bloggoshpere? To be able to have a job, equine related or not, that you too can be as happy with and passionate about as we are.

Now go Ride!

Thoroughly Tired Thursday

Dude- I am seeing a "theme" here this week...

ANYWAY, onto today's subject.

Recently, The WoW Factor over at A Cowboys Wife was given some garbage over her Scrapped post. Know why? Because she said she was tired of horses, and would be happy never setting eyes on one again. I read her scrapping list, and LOVED it. But then again, I happen to have a different perspective from the regular 9 to 5'ers who can walk away from work at the end of the day, have weekends off, and holidays off, and not have to worry about that 9 to 5 paycheck bouncing.

Yesterday, I vented my spleen to those folks not only in a comment on WoW's blog, but I also did a post of my own in the Daily Journal. Today, I am going to take this opportunity to explain, in a bit more detail, WHY those of us who deal with horses as a profession- who rely on horses (and their owners,) to feed our families and pay our bills, tend to get mighty sick and tired of horses (and their owners) after a time.

Here are just a few reasons, why Farriers / Hoof Care Providers, Horse Trainers, and anyone else in horses PROFESSIONALLY, Burn Out:

- Most folks we talk with are swept away by this "romantic" fantasy of working for ourselves. (Romantic? Y'all ever SMELLED the air around hoof care? Not MY idea of romance, let me tell you. This is one of the few jobs that you wash your hands BEFORE you pee, and you can change clothes five times a day, and folks will still let you go first to pay for your gas and a Gatorade because you STAAAANK.) They see no "boss" standing over your shoulder, telling you what to do. They see setting your own hours. They see no pantyhose for work, no ties, no suits, and no dry cleaning bill.

What they Don't See:
- No Boss? You are kidding, right? Clients are notorious for standing over your shoulder (and not paying attention to the HORSE) and telling you how to do your job. Or saying things like, "That doesn't look so hard. Why do you charge so much?" Or, "Hey! That's pretty good! The last guy couldn't catch her hind feet as they were flying at him in a hissy fit." Or, "<...GASP...> What did you DO? She has NEVER BITTEN anyone before now!"

- Setting Your Own Hours? Right. The phone rings all the time, with calls. Emails come in all the time, with requests. There are the: "Oh Please come QUICK! I have an event to haul to tomorrow, and my horse needs a trim!" When you arrive, you see a skinny horse who has not been trimmed in at LEAST eight months. There are also the: "I work all week, so can you come on Sunday/ at 6PM/ Saturday evening?" Or, "Oh! I have Thanksgiving off! Can you come then?" And THEN there is my personal favorite- the "Well, I don't really know what is wrong, but he has been kind of moving funny in his front end for about, ohh.... three months now..." and we pull up and see a severely rotated laminitic horse who has seen NO vet care, and NO hoof care.

- No Panty Hose or Suits: Panty hose keeps my butt warmer in winter. While I hate it, on the RARE occasion I find myself working in blizzard conditions, Panty Hose in ON. Both of us. (Know how hard it is to find hose to fit Dear Husband? Geesh.) Oh- did the Blizzard conditions idea make you laugh? OK- how about blistering heat and 90% humidity? In the SUN? With no FAN? And no SHADE? And no WATER? With an owner who tries to slip back into their AIR CONDITIONED HOUSE because "It's too HOT out there for me!" No matter what the weather- we are expected to be out there. Know what happens if we aren't? The word gets spread that we are unreliable and cancelled for "no reason".

Which brings me to another point:
You all may gossip around the water cooler about the latest office affairs, who is schlepping whom, and what the score was on The Big Game last night. We have to deal with Word Of Mouth. It is a wonderful thing. Or not. For instance- we had (note the HAD there, please,) one client who had a real Bitch of a LARGE draft horse mare. I mean B-I-T-C-H of a mare. This horse was EVIL on four legs and a solid 18 hands tall. After about six months of trimming her, Dear Husband had her settled in to behaving for her front feet (mostly,) and one hind foot. The near side hind however, she tried to kick him- WITH INTENT TO INJURE HIM- every time. Finally, a year into this crap, Dear Husband had ENOUGH. He dropped her hoof, and punched the mare's flank with his fist closed around the nippers. (** The Tool NEVER Made Contact With The Horse, although I think it should have...) The owner had a freaking FIT, yanked her horse away, threw the money at us, and stormed off. She is pretty lucky Dear Husband was at the rear of that horse, cause SHE most likely would have gotten whapped too. So what does this dipshit proceed to do? Tell EVERYONE she comes in contact with that we are Horse Abusers! And that we Traumatized Her Poooooor Baby!

Puh-leeze.

I am still waiting to give her a dose of her own medicine. And someday, it will happen.... and I will get to see it....

Let's review here. Horse was BAD. Horse exhibited DANGEROUS ACTIONS for over A YEAR. Owner never did a damn thing to correct the behaviour. (Owner is afraid of the horse.) Owner never sought out a trainer to help with this specific issue (she did send her out for RIDING, but never asked the trainer to help the horse overcome her kicking habit.) Horse had connected with Dear Husband a time or three in the past, and Owner only tapped the mare on (an 18 hand, 2300 pound) shoulder, saying, "No No! Bad Horsie!"

We won't even go into the sob stories, the "I forgot my checkbook", "Can I mail it to you? The Wife took my cash", or the Rubber Check syndromes.

Why do hoof care providers burn out? You sort it out. And remember-- word spreads very fast in this small community about who has good horses, who has BAD horses, who pays cash, and who does not pay at all. The grapevine works both ways folks.

Wondering Whimisical Wednesdy

For a few weeks now, (maybe a month or more,) I have been telling Mikey, our Horseshoeing Housewife, that she is Wonder Woman. Now dear Mikey, (who probably thinks I am a total nutcase, and will probably want to smack me by the end of this post,) really has some similarities to Wonder Woman. At least, the brief snippets that I recall from my youth of Wonder Woman that is. These days, "Wonder Woman" may have taken on a whole 'nother meaning that I am not aware of.

And no, I am NOT implying that Mikey romps around in Wonder Woman Underoo's, either.

I can hear you now- what on Earth am I talking about?

Think about it. Wonder Woman protected the innocent from Evil, Saved the day, Wore a wicked cool Wonder Suit, and could ROPE.

Now, let's examine... errr... read up on Mikey for a moment here:

- Protecting the Innocent From Evil:
Oh Yeah. She does this in spades. Rescuing horses, (Sugarfoot her most recent,) dogs lost or abandoned in the desert, and even taking special care to remove rattlesnakes and tarantulas with the utmost of care and concern so that they too may continue to live out their days.

-Saving the Day:
Keller. Need I extol the virtues on this one? Mikey, reading Juli Thorson's blog, saw this Appaloosa mare who needed help, and what did she do? She hooked up, packed up, kissed Mercy and Wade, and hauled butt to the ends of the Earth not only to pick up this blind mare, but she then trimmed her feet and delivered her into safe keeping, where this lovely mare will be in excellent care. 'Nuff said there, huh?

- The Wonder Suit:
While we have seen evidence of her in some suits to make us all wonder, (ie: the Halloween pictures, where she and Poor Wade dressed up as Adam and Eve,) I am betting that Mikey could put Wonder Woman to shame with the REAL Wonder Suit. Might have to pad the brassiere a tad, but hey- who's counting?

- The Golden Lasso:
Ask Sugarfoot- Mikey can rope. She may not shake a loop out in a Golden Lasso, (at least with the horses that is. Don't know about what she may do to Poor Wade elsewhere,) but Mikey can do something many of us (myself included) can only day dream of: She Can Rope. I only know one other girl who can do that well, and that is KDW.

-Resemblance:
One last thought here. Remember Wonder Woman's masses of lovely dark locks? Hey- have y'all looked at Mikey's long curls?

I am telling you guys. Mikey is not taking that job at the vet's office- she is fixin' to whip out that invisible jet plane of hers, ready to do battle and Fight Evil on a grander scale!

(*cough cough* Ok Mikey, can you forgive me for this admittedly bizarre post? Please?)

Two-fer Tuesday

Yesterday while out meeting a new client, we heard a rumor about our local equine vet. I made a phone call when I got home, and found out it is in fact, NOT a rumor, but true. Our area equine vet (*ahem* our ONLY area equine vet- the next horse vet is TWO HOURS away,) Dr. Mike Lewis has suspended his practice. His letter said, "... Due to National Guard obligations, all equine clients have been referred to ........" Now, Dr. Mike did not come right out and SAY he was shipping out, but that was what Dear Husband and I got from it.

So to Dr. Mike, Thank You. Thank you for your service to our great country. Thank you for being willing to keep us all safe. We appreciate you.

Dr. Mike has a lovely wife, and several small (and absolutely ADORABLE children,) and is a devoted family man. I can not imagine how this must be affecting his entire family, and Dear Husband and I wish to say, that if the family should need support or help with anything, all they have to do is call.

God Speed Dr. Mike, and know that we here at Command Central will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Now, onto the Two-fer part. It's a PSA!

My dear equi-blogging gal pal MIKEY sent me a link yesterday to a site that you all need to take a look at. Of course, I had to look. Mikey the Wonder Woman there always sends over such great info, that NOT looking would be a missing part to my day!

I went.

I saw.

I studied the images. And read the story. A truck load of MEGA KUDOS goes out to all involved in the rescue of these two ponies, and a special nod to the farrier that is seeing this through as well. Damn fine job there.

Time for the PSA part of this post, an open letter of sorts to ignoramuses everywhere.

Dear Jagoffs Who Have No Need To Own Horses;
We have seen the end results of your neglect and abuse, and your willful ignorance for entirely too long. We have seen horses starve to death, and horses that were too weak to go on, dying moments after reaching safety.

We now see the results of your complete and utter disregard for the welfare of this little mare, and in fact, You Allowed Her To Be BRED with these feet and legs. Have you NO concept of what PAIN is? Or are you too stupid to have any understanding of that concept?

Here is a News Flash you jerks- Hoof Care Is Not Going To Break The Bank. Even if you only had her trimmed two times a year, this situation COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED. Say you had to pay $40 per trim. That's EIGHTY DOLLARS A YEAR. If $40 every six months or so is going to break you, I suggest you wash up and go get a second job (or even a FIRST) at a place where you have your name on your shirt.

I can understand that not everyone knows what a proper trim looks like. I can understand hooves getting a bit long now and again, in between trims. I can understand not knowing anything about horses.

What I can NOT understand is your lack of willingness to be educated. Your apparent desire to not give a rats ass about the condition of that mare. Your blindness in NOT seeing that there is very obviously something WRONG there. In short, I can not understand your overall willful ignorance.

Thankfully, these ponies have a happy and safe place to be now. With people who are doing their best to continue to learn, and continue to provide a high standard of care. Little Grace is one tough girl, and my hat is off to her. My hat will also remain off to those who are providing her care.

Dear Jagoffs, do us all a favor. Learn something. Ask for help. Stick your misguided "Pride" in your ear, and LISTEN. READ. LEARN. It's free. It's on the INTERNET for pity's sake. Or if you can not be bothered to learn something, then just GIVE UP. Leave room for those people who have a sincere desire to learn, and better the lives of those around them.

And thus ends today's PSA.....

Things That Make You Go ... Hmmmmmmm

Right, so once again I happened to take a peek at an ad, just to see what the person had to say as they were "selling themselves". OK, ok, so TECHNICALLY they are trying- note that word: TRYING- to sell their service. And we can all learn from ads like this, right? Might improve OUR ads for OUR services, right?

Nice thought, but in this case, it is a shining example of what NOT to do, when you are attempting to convince people that YOU are worth paying. So- would any of you call and interview this person?

"i have 30+ years horse exsperiance. i can train as well as do farm work. i train with gental methods and believe that a horse learns with hard work and repitition. i can train or work in the following. cutting, reining, barrels/speed events, western pleasure, hunter/jumpers, dressage, halter, driving, trail, and race horses.i have some gaited horse exsperiance. i can also give lessons in all of the above as well, from begginers to advance. i have worked with just about every breed out there from mini to draft and everything in between. i have shown horses at the world level as well as local. i also know how to run a horse or horse breeding facility. everything from horse care to client care top to bottom. i can drive a truck and trailer as well as most farm equipment (show me once i can operate it) i can even drive a semi truck/trailer. i am very reliable and will provide referrences on request. "

I kid you not- this ad was NOT tampered with. It was copied directly from the site I found it on....


On a slightly different train of thought here:
If any of you are Georgia readers, and have some extra time, Dear Husband and I are setting up a bit of a meet and greet session at a local stable, where we will happily answer questions about barefoot trimming. Shoot me an email (swequine@yahoo.com) for more details!

Happy Selling (and Spelling) y'all....

Silly Sunday Stuff

While looking around the 'net this morning, (OK I confess-- I was looking on Craigslist.. just LOOKING is all,) when I came across this ad that had three horses for sale, or trade, priced at $2500. Being what the market is these days, I had to look at the pictures included.

The horses look fat and sassy.. but the sale (or sell? <..snork...>) ad had me baffled. Can anyone decipher what this poor lost soul (who Failed at Hooked On Phonics) is trying to say?

"1 quarter horse 1 arbian horse 1 shetland / miniture pony an also if u buy all three ill give u 3 sattles they are in excellent shape i need to sell em all asap or ill let u buy just 1 ill even take offers let hell ill even take trades u want no till u ask ill trade for bout any thing but more livestock lol i want to get out da bisness these 3 r all i got left so let me no wat u got and well do some sellin trading or wat eva thx call me"

Dude.

On to other Sunday Sillies.

OnTheBit Scrapped me a bit ago, to name off 10 (more) scraps of info about me. While I am not sure if I can come up with 10 more things I am willing to divulge, I'll give it an honest go here. (Besides, she thinks I am funny. Go figure!)

1) I tend to be very shy, and not talk hardly at all if I should be seen in person. Ask me how to fix a horse, or anything horse related, and I can talk. Anything else? Not so much.

2) The older I get, the more sarcastic I get. But the better I get at holding it in, and just smiling... smiling... smiling....

3) I don't want my sons to go to public (ie: government) school. The lack of values and morals found in those (government) institutions is appalling.

4) Horses are my passion. Key word there being "my". I love teaching one on one, and doing small clinics. I am NOT a "Guru", nor will I allow myself to be seen as one. If someone begins to see me as some sort of super star with horses, that relationship is quickly redefined. On MY terms. *I* do not hold all the answers -- your horse does. All I do is help you recognize that.

5) When I count my blessings, I count my horse twice. For real. Sometimes I count him 9 or 10 times in one day..... depends on how my other two little blessings are behaving...

6) It Is Time. Dear Husband and I had a serious, serious talk last night, and decided that It Is Time to once again build a practice.

7) My Dear Husband says I am nuts, but that is one of the things he loves about me.

8) Horses are in my dreams every night. They are one of my first thoughts every morning, and I fall asleep thinking about them. Were you to ask how often I think of my family, it comes out a tie with how often I think about horses.

9) Sonny Horse feels like my old Appaloosa, Jack. Seriously. Sometimes, I think he is channeling Jack.

10) Horses have been my Life for as long as I can remember. Were you to talk with my Dad, he would tell you horses have been my everything "... ever since she had legs." Jack was my lifeline through some very, very bad years. Were it not for that sturdy little horse, I would have given up long ago. Now, I am glad that I didn't.

I think this has pretty much made the rounds, but if you have not been Scrapped and wish to play along, fire away! Let us know in the comments, please, so we can all go and read yours!!

Dear Husband Says...

With all the talk about books and videos, Dear Husband, who is a quiet soul, said this morning he would gladly do a video on the following:
- Tool Selection and Care
- Horse Handling Safety Tips
- Trim Methods
- Anatomy of the Equine Hoof

For a nominal charge to cover materials/ shipping, he would happily "star" in videos to answer questions, and share some of his knowledge of the equine.

Interested? Shoot us an email (swequine@yahoo.com). We will compile a listing, and get to work on production!

2009... Wow

It's here. The New Year. I still am not sure where 2008 ran off to, but 2009 holds promises waiting to be discovered, and trails yet to be ridden.

Of late, Command Central has been bustling with the usual insanity, both equine and otherwise. The horses have been working well- and Graham Pony is making fantastic progress. In fact, he is doing so well that his last session with the ever talented Mizz I, his favorite little person, has done his ground work and riding. Graham is getting very close to being ready to go home, and continue his schooling there. My job when that happens will be to go out, and check in, and give "homework" about once a week. I'll tell ya what - seeing a seven year old little lady school that pony filled my heart with joy. Graham locked onto her as his herd boss, and when the Divine Mizz I pointed and suggested he move his feet politely and in an orderly fashion, he did. Now how many petite little SEVEN year old kids can do that?

Graham's owner asked me the secret. The thing is, It Is NOT A Secret. There is no magic wand, to help that child and this pony communicate. All I did was slow things down, and show them both how to carry on a "conversation" of sorts. We are swamped in a world that has instant gratification issues. Oatmeal in 60 seconds, microwave ovens, and gadgets and gimmicks galore to force horses into frames and where we want them to be. People are looking to take the "easy way out", and get a fully trained horse in the blink of an eye.

What did we do with Graham?

We.

S-l-o-w-e-d.

Down.

*Each horse (or pony, as in this case,) MUST be seen as an individual. They can not all be lumped into the same category.

*Each horse will show you, if you look and listen well enough, how they need to be trained and handled.

*Each horse will teach you things, and those things can be taken forward and applied to every other horse you come into contact with.

*Each horse will show you something new- you just have to be able to recognize it.

Those trainers out there, that claim that every horse can fit into Program X with no alterations, just bug the ever- loving tar out of me. Those trainers are also usually the ones who proclaim themselves to be "Horse Whisperers", and miracle workers. Their horses however, generally tell a far different story- anytime I see a horse going around with pinned ears, clenched jaws, and a tail that is either tightly wedged down, or swishing furiously tell me that Trainer Dude needs to go back to poop patrol with a really tiny pitch fork.

What, if any, rules do I work with?

Well, John Lyons has three I really like:
1) You must be safe
2) Your horse must be safe
3) Your horse must be calmer at the end, then when you began.

The only other guidelines I use are actually from Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer:
1) Exercise
2) Discipline
3) Affection

Exercise does NOT mean run them around in endless circles, until they are ready to give out and collapse. Exercise means controlled action, specified direction, controlled direction and pace changes. Exercise means Use Their BRAINS, and not just the body. He who controls the feet, controls the mind.

Discipline does NOT mean beat them about the head and legs with a two by four, whip, tree branch, or whatever you happen to have in hand. Discipline means consistent (CONSISTENT!!!!) respectful handling on YOUR part, with FAIR and kind guidance given at all times. Do what it takes, and NO MORE.

Affection does NOT mean you are a treat vending machine. Affection means kind words, special rubs, and quiet time spent bonding with your horse. Affection means that the horse can look to you to be a kind, fair herd leader, who provides the grooming, the fresh water, the fresh feed, and the direction they need to go through their day. Affection is often that special pat on the rump, the rub on the forehead as you pass by, or even just standing quietly with that special horse, sharing a moment.

That pretty much sums up what I did with Graham Pony. Let him be a horse, slowed down the training to HIS pace, and did it consistently, fairly, and calmly.

Now, I have a question to pose to all of you who read here. It has been (strongly) suggested (several times, by a dozen or so folks now,) that I need to provide either text on specific training and rehab work, video of the same work, or a combination of both. What do YOU all think? There are a multitude of training books and videos available out there- would one more person make a difference? Would YOU be interested in seeing any of the above materials? Let me know please.

Happy New Year, y'all- may you travel your trails safely, and get in loads of horse time this year!!