Yesterday I decided it was time to do some work on Gigi's hind feet, oh by the way this is Anne, I'm sure you recognise our styles by now! Beatrice had diagnosed a fungal infection ages ago, but between the weather (freezing) and the horses unsettled state, up 'till now we hadn't found a good time to subject her to at least one and a half hours of standing still having her feet soaked.
It all started of relatively well, we brought them up from the field (paddock paradise) to the yard, prepared the solution and steeped Gigi's right hind in the specially designed boot.
All went well for a while we fed her and Flurry some lucerne to keep them quiet
But then the donkey across the way started calling and I took my eye off her for a second and she was out of the boot! So she was coaxed back into it, without too much loss of the magic solution and I hung onto the boot for the next hour and a half!
The astute amongst you will note the boot is now on the left hind and the right hind was wrapped in a plastic bag to "steep" for a further 20 minutes.
Well after 90 minutes of this caper they were both getting a bit restless to say the least, so it was decided enough was enough, but not before I noticed one of Gigi's wraps on the front was really loose, and with a bit of encouragement from Martine the other front wrap was persuaded to part company with Gigi's hoof.
So this meant that at last we could use the Renegade boots we had bought from California. Unfortunately Flurry has already outgrown his hind boots.
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| Shiny red shoes and the camera bag affixed to the saddle's D-rings (which worked quite well) |
But all of Gigi's boots still fit her.
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| Tacking up GiGi, with her yellow boots on all four feet! |
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| Flurry tacked up "Trec" style |
Martine had the foresight to ride Flurry plus head collar, but not me ! So when one of Gigi's boots started to come adrift I had to juggle boots , martingale and reins while I fixed it. Fortunately she was her usual good natured self and stood fairly still while I took the boot off and reseated it.
Well we made it back to the field without any more issues, but when we checked the boots again, both horses front boots had twisted a bit, Gigi's more than Flurry's , so more attention to adjusting them next time out. And we're seeking advice from other bare footers!
Tomorrow we will attack Gigi's front feet, in the hope that the clean trax solution will help with her sand cracks, but more on that later!
I used to lose a boot when I first used renegades. Then I compensated by tightening them too much, which meant that Ben got rubbed on his heel bulbs. I eventually realised that I had to make sure the heel capsule was placed correctly - I had been placing it too low.
ReplyDeleteThat is a nuisance - although a good sign - that Flurry has grown out of his hind boots. I bought front boots only initially. They are now Ben's hind boots (and rarely used) and I bought wide boots for his front feet after the first few months.
They look great and I love Flurry's expression in the photo.