165. Spices 6th Barefoot Trim!

Today, Spice had her hooves trimmed for the 6th time and i am pleased to say that the barefoot trimmer said they are looking better than ever. It's been exactly 5 months now since i first took Spices shoes off so in 4 months she will have grown a whole new hoof since last being shod. Her frogs have almost doubled in size and she is starting to achieve more concavity. My barefoot trimmer even said that she didn't think Spice would need hoof boots for hacking out but after what happened last time with the abscess i would not be confident enough to let her go out unprotected (at least not until her soles have really thickened up.) So, at least in the short term i will use hoof boots. She was an absolute sweetheart having her hooves trimmed even with the flies landing on her every 2 seconds, i was very proud of her manners.

128. Vets, Farriers, Barefoot Trimmers, Chiropractors, Instructors, and Physios...

Today was the first day in a while that Spice actually trotted up to the gate on my arrival. So, i think she is feeling slightly better than she was yesterday....I even watched her canter around the field for a while which was a lovely reassuring site.

The day before yesterday i spoke to my barefoot trimmer, Sarah, who is so far one of a very few number of professionals i have met in the horse industry that is truly passionate about their welfare. You can tell that she is saddened by the way in which most horses are treated and that she always puts the horse first. She even said she wouldn't even ride a horse that wasn't hers due to the fact that she would feel as though she would just be 'using' it having not spent any time developing a bond with it.

She is 'all about the hoof' but has an incredible 'way' with horses. My friend recently said to me that in order to make a decision with regards Spice i had to put my trust into someone (which so far i have found hard to do) - for various reasons. But she's right i do need to trust someone and last night i decided to start trusting my barefoot trimmer - not only because i think she has a really kind soul but also because she is a hoof specialist and who better to help Spice through her transition than someone who knows the hoof inside out? In my view, 'most' vets are like GPs they know a bit about everything but not 'enough' about each thing. Most farriers are probably brilliant at shoeing and doing remedial work to the hoof but again because they haven't specialised in how to transition a shod horse to being unshod are they likely to be the best person to put your trust in?

I trust my barefoot trimmer on a personal level not just because of what she is but because of who she is. I love people who are passionate about horses to the point where they put them first and i believe my barefoot trimmer has this kind of passion...i only wish more professionals did.

97. Spices Barefoot Trim

Today i had a barefoot trimmer come to trim Spices hooves as i thought that her lameness could be partly due to her hooves being imbalanced. Although the trim has definitely made her more comfortable she is still lame unfortunately :( so it could be that another abscess is brewing or that she has some bruising. The barefoot trimmer advised me not to ride her barefoot on hard ground for at least 6 weeks until the soles have had a chance to thicken up so it looks like i am bound to the yard. However, in a sense this isn't a bad thing as i really need to do some schooling with Spice having not done any in ages. The good news is our jump set just arrived so we now have a jumping arena, and round pen which gives us more to do. The barefoot trimmer did say I could hack Spice out using hoof boots so i am going to see if the ones my friend has will fit her tomorrow and if they do then i should still be able to hack out as normal.