New Shoes & Trimmed Feet

This morning, Jim Bergevin, our farrier (horse shoer) came to Fish Bowl to take care of all the horses' feet. Some of us are barefoot, some wear shoes only on our front feet, and some wear shoes on all four feet. I am barefoot right now, but will have shoes put on next time Jim is here since lessons will be in full swing by then and I'll need some protection from excess wear on my hooves. Since I don't wear shoes, I just have my hooves trimmed when Jim visits every 6-8 weeks. Three of us are barefoot right now: me, Blossom, who stays barefoot all year around, and Jynx, who will be barefoot until she learns to be ridden as a 3 year old. Jynx has learned to stand pretty well for Jim to trim her hooves. He uses a tool called nippers to trim the hooves and then a rasp to smooth them. It doesn't hurt to have our feet trimmed; it's just like having your finger nails trimmed. Hooves grow, just like hair and nails. A farrier neesd to know where and how much to trim, and how to keep the hooves balanced and correct so it feels good for us to move. It's a technical job, and one that requires understanding how horses move, the anatomy of feet and legs, the proper use of the tools and how to handle horses.

Inigo and Nils wear shoes only on their front feet. Did you know horses naturally carry two thirds of their weight on their front feet? They do! Inny and NIls are quite good for Jim, standing quietly as he moves from foot to foot to pull the front shoes, trim all the hooves, and shape and nail on the new shoes on the fronts. Jim uses a forge to heat up the steel shoes and shape them with his hammer and tools so each shoe fits each foot correctly, and then he nails them on.

Braeburn and Echo both wear shoes on all four feet. Echo used to go barefoot, but she is ridden regularly, and the shoes protect her feet from wear. Echo's shoes will be drilled and tapped for studs the next time Jim is here. Studs are like cleats: they are removable traction devices for horseshoes, and will give her traction on slippery grass.

The shoe in this picture is one of mine, pulled last Fall when lessons were over for the year. Horse shoes are fun to make into picture frames or hang over door ways. Remember, if you hang up a shoe to hang it open end up... that way you'll keep all the good luck in the shoe!

Shameless Commerce Division

When you go to the stable how do you carry all your gear? Your helmet and gloves need a bag to keep them organized in the car. Here's your chance to get a really handy tote bag! If you would like one, please email Emily for price and info (ewigley at mindspring dot com). If you come straight from school to the stable it would be so handy to have a bag for your breeches, sox, boots, helmet and gloves....and don't forget a carrot for me!

Where did that come from?

It snowed early this morning!

Clinic Auditing

What does one do when an international dressage star comes to town? Audit her clinic, of course! Debbie McDonald is giving a dressage clinic at Traumhof in Carnation this weekend. Auditing is limited due to parking limitations, and Emily is very pleased to be able to attend. More during/after the weekend! More info about Debbie and and her horse, Brentina here.

Hair...EVERYWHERE!

I showed you a photo (below) of the fence where I'd rubbed my side because I'm starting to shed my winter coat, and now I'll show you what was on the floor of the grooming shed after Emily brushed me for only fifteen minutes and clipped my mane off. Nicely groomed Fjord horses have a lovely long-roached mane, generally clipped at angles on the sides so you can see the black dorsal stripe, but mine has been shaggy and cozy this winter! Now it's time to get shaping up for Spring when I'll be enjoying my times with riding students in lessons, and that means a mane cut and regular grooming. Look at all that fur and hair on the floor!! If any birds are ready to make nests, my old fur will be handy interior decorating!

Zebras

While we have been here in Washington state enduring winter weather (snow, ice, rain and melty messes here, flooding elsewhere), Emily went on a very exciting trip.... to Tanzania in Africa! I don't really know how far away that is, but she told me about the striped equids called zebras she saw there! I have my exotic dorsal stripe but zebras have stripes all over, and vertical stripes in their manes! They are so handsome, and lucky Emily got to see babies and adults walking, trotting, cantering and just having a good natural time in the wild. How many zebras do you see in this photo? I see eight.... good luck finding them all!

The Days are Getting Shorter.... Really!

The days have been extra dark feeling lately because we've had fog. Fog: down to the deck, can't see more than 100' in front of you, you know there's blue sky above, but it's thick and dark outside kind of fog. Really eerie at night, when Emily has to shine her light on us to be sure we're where she should be. Last night she fed us just after darkness fell, and it was very quiet and muffly outside as well as difficult to see very far. Emily thought she knew where she was in the big field, but she underestimated and she was two fence sections away from the gate when she was finished feeding us! She looked surprised, but just re-aimed her headlamp and went on to feed the others.

With the darkness of fog it is difficult to tell that the days are, indeed, getting longer! The sunrise is a few minutes before 7:47 a.m., and sunset is at 4:54, so it is dark for 14 hours each 24-hour day.

However.... as evidenced by the photo above, I am beginning to shed! What?! Yes, the days are getting longer, so my coat is starting to loosen and itch and I rubbed on the fences the last two nights. That's why there is fur in the fence! The daffodil and tulip bulbs have sprouted also, so I'm not the only one thinking that Spring and longer days are in the not too distant future! What do you see around you that makes you know Spring will be here in two months??!