With these gorgeous days of Winter sunshine - comes the cold! When I left to pick up Farah this morning, it was 10 degrees! I had on my warmest pants, a layer of thermals & new gloves :-) The wind was blowing out at the farm, dropping the temperature even lower. I may have to invest in ear muffs :-)
After almost 12-weeks - yes - 12... Today the Farrier was at a friend's farm to do all the horses. Farah's last shoeing was the 22 of Sept. so this was by far the longest she's ever worn a set of shoes. I had no idea what to expect. She's been really thriving in her outdoor paddock on a steep hill. Her coat is thicker & fluffy. She's maintained her weight & seems to really enjoy the company of other horses at the barn. I'm so glad she is.
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Enjoying the grass~ |
I was prepared this time, with a rope tied to the trailer door. She loaded right in, started to go back out & guess what? The door was closed! :-) Just a short drive - I enjoyed meeting our new Farrier. How interesting to see the different process used to trim feet here. I was impressed at how hard the feet were!
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Using the torch~ |
I told Ryan that Farah might just object to this - having never had it done. He ran the torch back & forth over the sole until it's a light brown. That softens the sole about 1/8th inch deep. We brought Farah into a stall so she could watch the other horses, before it was her turn.
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Barefoot & trimmed! |
We didn't need to use the torch on Farah - at least not yet - but her feet looked amazing! Only two small spots of the black crud I'd been trying to get rid of for months. Otherwise, the nicest looking feet she's had forever.
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Left front~ |
Frogs are trimmed too, maybe a little more than I'm used to. I was told to keep shoes on - in the Winter is not a good idea. When it snows, the snow packs inside the shoe - as it did in Washington. Here though - it doesn't fall out. The snowball can continue to
grow - especially when the temperatures drop. With Farah on the hill - I didn't like the sound of that at all. With all the trails mostly dirt - there's really no need for shoes, unlike riding on gravel logging roads.
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A little more grazing :-) |
I haven't had a blanket on her yet & she certainly isn't suffering at all! We're due for some rain/snow & sub-zero temps by Saturday though - she'll get her blanket her for that!
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Ice on the Pond~ |
I pass this little pond & it's always so beautiful. Different from the wetlands of Washington, but I appreciate the differences. I haven't missed my trails from home like I thought I would. I'm so glad I'm not there to see the houses going in - that would have been just too hard. I love the fresh, brisk air & such different scenery. We now think of a 30 degree day as
warm! :-)
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