Finally out on the Trail

This weekend, Tom and I finally got out on the trail for some trail time and an opportunity to really put the easy boots to the test for JB. For the last several weeks, I have been slowly limbering Rebel and JB up in the arena, both physically and mentally. We have done a lot of ground work, a lot of work on laterals, bending, flexing, garrocha, ground poles, etc.
To start the weekend, I did a short 4 .5 mile ride on Saturday from home with Rebel, which went really well, but on Sunday we headed out to the State land for some real mileage with Rebel and JB . I lost the dime toss on who got to ride JB , so I rode Rebel which was fine. Rebel and I have done many miles over the years on some less than safe rugged mountain trails. He is an excellent trail horse, and it was nice to be on my old standby ! We hit several hills along the way and then got off the trail into some thick timber. This was where I was really glad to be riding Rebel. JB hasn’t completely sorted out the idea of slowing down in tricky footing, like blown down timber, to pick his way through. He kind of stumbles and trips his way, trying to rush. Tom let him trip and stumble until eventually, JB started to figure it out. Eventually a horse will get tired of whacking his cannon bone and tripping in most cases. Pretty soon, JB was paying a little better attention and was actually looking at where he was placing his feet instead of just rushing through everything. Tom is much more patient with this process than me. I tend to try to help the horse too much, which in this case, doesn’t solving anything. The horse has to be allowed the opportunity to figure this kind of thing out on their own if they are to ever be good on the trail. After about a half hour of riding through this tricky footing, along with snow, we found our way back onto a 2 track trail. I think the horse were just as relieved as we were to be done bush whacking. Good experience for the horses but not always fun for the rider. The rest of the ride went pretty well for both horses. JB actually walked out ahead of Rebel for most of the ride, which is a notable improvement. I was rather impressed with JB’s energy level through out the ride. In many cases, we stopped to let the horses rest for a minute and JB would paw, anxious to keep going. He was looking out ahead on the trail, setting the healthy pace. JB’s is showing a lot of improvement in his willingness to move out now that his feet are feeling better, however, we have been trying to sort out a newly developed overreaching issue over the last few weeks.
The few rides I have actually taken JB on since he has started wearing boots have been limited to the busy gravel roads around our place. Every time we tried to trot, he would clip the buckle on the hind with his front hoof and it would come undone. The issue seemed to be worse on the right side. I even tried Cotter pins and those ended up getting broken every time. As a result, our rides had to be cut short because I spent more time stopping to rebuckle and readjust the hind boots than anything else. Wearing the boots was now creating it’s own unique set of challenges for us. The overreaching issue damaged the back of the front boots to the point that I now have to get new gaiters for the fronts. The over reaching was making JB alter his gait to avoid the contact and that was the last thing I wanted him to do. About a week ago, I had hind shoes with pads put on JB in an effort to resolve this new dilemna. My farrier that I use for special issues thought this should do the trick.. I had nothing to lose at this point.

Sundays ride was really the first time we had taken JB out on a real trail with the boots on the front and the hinds in shoes and pads. It seems he is still over reaching and tearing up the back of his front boots, although it is less. If we can’t sort this out, I may have to put JB in shoes and pads on the front as well and then he’ll have to wear bell boots to protect the bulbs of his heels.
We arrived back at the trailer after a little over 2.0 hrs of steady riding, half of it being up and down hills or over difficult footing. Tom stated that JB felt, energy wise, that he could easily do another couple hours. That was music to my ears. JB looked like he felt pretty good as well. He had barely worked up a sweat. Over reaching asside, JB was still looking fresh. Rebel, on the other hand was whipped. He was rather lathered up and was obviously tired. Ofcourse, he is older and completely out of shape. His heart rate came down within about 10 minutes. I expect conditioning with him will be a different process.

With all of the hurdles we have endured with JB over the winter and to now be presented with yet another challenge , I have had to rethink some things. I have to take a step back, or sideways rather, with JB for the season. We have made some great improvement in getting JB’s feet feeling better, no doubt, but with the emergence of yet another issue ( over reaching) I have to wonder if development is causing some of this. Although JB is 7 years old this year, it seems as though JB has just now, this year, reached a level of physical maturity that now defines him as a full grown horse as opposed to a colt. JB looks mature this year whereas last year he still looked coltish. I was comparing some photos and it was only last summer that JB noticeably increased his bone. As the breeder at Quien Sabe warned me, these horses are slow to mature. I may have underestimated just how slow.
As much as I want to do endurance on JB, I have to think about his well being. If he is just coming together, a time to refocus might be the best thing in the world for him right now and will set the foundation for a stronger endurance prospect later on. My plan is to work mostly on various dressage excercises, do a little jumping, let Tom work on horseback archery with him, and of course continue to take a trail ride or two a week as a break from the arena , with no actual goal of training for a race this season.
Depending on what JB shows me over the next several weeks , maybe we can do a limited distance later in the season co but I will let his progress make that determination. There’s always next year and with any luck, he will come out better, stonger and much more ready to handle the strains of conditioning for endurance next spring.

So that begs the question? What will I do for endurance prospect? JB will still take up a lot of my time but for the rest of it, I will focus my energy on getting Rebel ready for the June Blacktail Mountain Classic ride. From there, we'll see what happens. I mentioned in an earlier post about finally following through on a promise I made to myself and Rebel many years ago. I told you I planned to make good on that promise. Looks like 2009 might just be Rebels year to shine.

Test Drive

Took a test drive last night on JB with the boots. Hopefully, what I experienced will be the first of many rides like it. The storm clouds were moving in quickly from the West and North and by the time I got home from work, changed into riding clothes, layered with fleece and wool, the flurries had already started. There was no accumulation predicted, it was likely just a passing squall but after the lightning strike that came last year about this time in a supposed passing squall, I tend to be a bit more leery of squalls.

The wind kicked up just a bit but I figured we probably wouldn’t melt. It was moving to the aast quickly. JB watched anxiously as I grabbed his halter and made my way to his paddock. I could see right away he was pretty full of himself. Since my tie post is surrounded by pond 4 inches deep, I had to elicit Tom's help to hold JB while I saddled up and wrestled the boots on. Standing still was not coming easy for JB at the moment. I could see putting on these boots is going to be process of learning how to finesse them on.JB was rather patient with me during this process but by the time all four were securely on, JB was vibrating with anticipation it seemed. With the air full of energy, both from him and the squall blowing through, I opted to heed my own internal voice telling me maybe I should take some precautions given his state of mind. The footing wasn’t going to be great and JB was acting like he might have a few tricks in the plan. I might have to relearn how to ride this horse....
I played it safe and chose to start out with taking him for a walk in hand up the road. By now , the snow was coming down heavily but off in the distance, there was a blue sky. JB exhibited more airs above ground and found every excuse to spook , rear and in general, dance on the end of the line like an 800 lb trout unwilling to be reeled in. After a few discussions about manners on the lead, and putting on one heck of a show for a passerby in a truck, he settled in a bit. It seemed I could probably help him more from the the saddle. I decided to climb on. After the initial discussion about who was captain and who was co-captain, we were off. JB offered a big energetic trot (big for a 14.2 hand Barb) with only the slightest hump in his back! The hump went away as he freed up and got moving forward. Then I could feel him let go in a big deep sigh as he reached his head and neck down. Along with that came a nice reaching trot.
We had to be a bit careful as the footing was muddy in spots and icy in others. The wind had picked up and was now whipping snow in our faces. Surrounded in gray and concerned about drivers not being able to see us due to poor visibility, I regretfully decided to turn for home after only a 1/2 mile. Better safe than sorry but once home, I knew I could ride a while longer up and down our short dead end road, where it was safe from vehicle hazards. JB continued to move out nicely in the boots. We probably only went a little over a mile in total but it was nice to ride a horse so full of energy and impulsion. This was something I hadn't seen in JB for a while while. I also wanted to make sure there was no rubbing with the boots before I considered any future longer distance rides. All things looked good when I peeled the boots off.
I don’t know if JB's improved energy and impulsion was related to the fact that he hasn’t been able to get out and move much with the 3 foot drifts in his pasture, or the fact that his feet feel so darn good in the boots… maybe a combination of both. Either way, I welcome his renewed energy. Welcome back Hot Stuff!

BOO-TEE-LICIOUS!!!

Time flies when your having fun. I can't believe the weekend has already come and gone. This weekend found me very busy. Nothing like piling several different things into a couple of days. We had company this weekend , horseback archery friends that came up so they could shoot video for training and form exercises , with the beginner archer in mind. Nothing like a home grown video for entertainment on a Saturday night. It was rather entertaining. There was also an informational seminar that the local vet clinic was putting on. A professor from Washington State University was speaking on lameness and diagnosing various forms of lameness, advancements in technology with MRI in relation to Navicular, etc. Last but not least, we had planned to get the Epic boots fitted with the comfort pads for JB. Since last post and looking at the fit of the Epics along with my vet, we opted to give the comfort pads a go.

While the house was brimming with activity of people coming and going, I managed to sneak away and head to the seminar. It was very informative and gave the audience some new things to keep in mind when looking at a lame horse. I won't go into details but I definitely came away with a lot more tools in the tool box to use in the future when trying to identify a lameness. As a bonus I picked up a few informative laminated cheat sheets that I can post inside my trailer for quick reference for vitals and various other helpful information that evades the mind in the wave of an emergency!!
The most exciting part of the weekend? We finally got the Easyboot Epics on JB all the way around, now fitted with the medium density comfort pads. They worked like a charm. JB was initially tentative walking on the gravel road even with the boots but a few passes back and forth found him lengthening his stride and then suddenly he exploded in a display of airs above ground that would have impressed even the Maestro Nuno! JB literally seemed to leaping for joy, I imagine he felt pretty good. He displayed more animation than I have seen in quite some time. I was tickled pink with the improvement it seemed to make for him. We are officially on our way to possibly being another boot wearin success story! Now, for the ice covered roads.... I think by mid week if the temps stay in the 40's, we might just have that issue licked!!!

First walk with the boots on. You can see it on his face. "I am not so sure about these things....I look ridiculous...Everybody is staring at me...."

Above are the fronts. He is in a size 1. We need to trim just a little off the tongue although they aren't hitting the coronet band, I would like just a little more space there.

Above are his hinds and he is in size 0, again, probably will trim the tongue a bit.

After about 20 minutes walking in the boots and post airs above ground, looking pretty relaxed but observing the pigs next door, wondering, "hmmm.. I wonder if these boots would get enough grip on pavement to chase those things?????"

.....and as for the title of this post, that is what JB wants the other horses to call him now....hehehehehe!!

The Radiographs are In!!

I thought I had better get this on the blog so there are two posts today.

Last Friday we took JB in for follow up xrays of his two front hooves. Over all very good news in the progress we have made since last September. His left front made the most significant improvement with his overall alignment and angle. The right front had the most improvement in his break over and bringing his heel back under him. (sorry , no pics yet, darn weather!)

The vet was quite happy with what we had accomplished. We had definitely been successful at getting his heels back under him better. The not so good news is that JB’s sole depth had not improved much, still between 6-8 mm on both fronts. The vet believes that his sole depth is probably more related to how JB’s naturally built, which surprises me given what he is. It’s hard to know if it’s a genetic thing but I am suspect of that given his breed. It may be more directly related to the fact that the landscape he lives on doesn’t encourage a lot of sole " "toughening". Our property has no rocks. The footing in which he spends the majority of his time on is relatively soft .Our dirt is sandy loam and we also get a lot of moisture in this area. I had to remember that even our other horses, none of whom have any hoof issues and have more than enough sole, can’t exactly be trotted on gravel barefoot without being ouchy. (I keep telling Tom this is a good enough reason to move to a more desert like climate)
So long story short, given the sole depth, we would definitely have to make sure JB has some type of protection, whether it was pads or boots. Overall, the vet felt we had probably gotten JB’s feet as far as his natural hoof form would allow. I am a bit more optimistic on that. I think we can still make a few more improvements and get him just a little more upright with that heel. Hoof growth slows tremendously in the winter so I would imagine we could potentially get greater results when more hoof grows, once spring hits and green grass comes up. The vet also recommended trying a 4 month trial of Farriers Formula to increase growth rate. We'll have to think about that.
There is a great deal of relief in knowing that we are atleast on the right track with this horses feet.. He sure has been a challenge!
I am working on making adjustments to the Epics. I think they might work after all with some inserts.
Now, if the arctic blasts would ever let up, maybe I could actually get to ride JB in the boots and get some conditioning in!!!

Where the Rubber meets the Road

The hunt begins…

Last fall, JB had some hoof issues that we had to contend with. He spent September through November in pads and Gene Ovnicek shoes to allow his sole bruise to heal. Since that time, I have been trying to decide what I will do for the upcoming season. I have two choices the way I see it. Either go back to pads and shoes or look at horse boot options. I would say the choice is obvious, given the fact that pads with shoes only hinder the health of the foot. My goal is to improve JB’s hoof health , not hinder.

Over the last few weeks I have talked to numerous folks and researched the various hoof boot options out on the market. Overall, tt seems Renegades are coming in first place. They seem to really hold their own in the endurance ring and people are quite impressed with them, ofcourse, if you want the best, you pay for it…

Easy boot Epics seem to be another popular choice for those that put miles on. Ofcourse they seem more prone to go flying off into the brush, never to be seen again. Maybe I can install a homing device or modified car alarm system so I can locate them more easily??? Nevertheless, the price is a bit more inviting and a lot of people use them with good success..even better, they are readily available at our local ranch supply sotre. These could be a possibility...

There are the Cavallo boots which look really snazzy but apparently due to the aggressive nature of endurance riding and the wear and tear caused by that, the warranty is voided.. that won’t do! (I swear.. it says so right on their website!)

There is the Marquis boot that are deemed the “Mercedes of Hoof” boots. Well, that got my attention!!...but only briefly…They have an air chamber that allows for custom fit but sometimes requires additional pumping. The comany brochure explains how to adjust this air chamber for better fit but this seemed quite labor intensive. I could just see myself lugging around a screwdriver and possibly a bicycle pump on the trail in the off chance I get a flat…. Mercedes or not, I don’t think that is something I am interested in. Besides,they appear to be more readily used for driving and less intense wear, although they have a really neat “sock” concept that could be useful, maybe even in conjunction with the easy boot??

So those seem to be the top contenders. If any of you out there have any infinite wisdom, please share.. The clock is ticking and I need to make a decision so when the roads do someday clear of ice, JB and I can be out there riding once again with no more sore feet.