Mike came and did his usual great work with Bar's feet, and we think we may be past the hard part of the year. You know, the annual wet-to-dry-to-wet-to-dry and back again. Hard enough for horses with great feet, a real challenge for Bar.
It's really a couple of different things. One, he has Thoroughbred feet with thin, flaky hoof walls. Two, in the winter, the hooves don't grow as fast, so in order to have enough hoof to work with, we were trying to go a little longer. If we didn't work him, it also wouldn't be so much of an issue, but not working him is NOT an option for a whole host of reasons--me not hitting the ground chief among them.
I think we're going to invest in a set of boots, too, like Old Macs or something along those lines. Duct tape worked great in a pinch, and we'll always have it in the trailer, but for trail riding, we need back up that's a bit more substantial. I just don't want to worry about being 2 miles out and losing a shoe--on either horse!
Mike was great at talking through options with me, and never once got defensive when I asked questions about treatments, ideas, etc. I've had that experience before with farriers, but Mike just takes it all in stride and gives me clear, honest explanations that help me make the decisions that are right for my horse. Reason #456 I'll keep him as our farrier as long as he wants to shoe my crazy horses.
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