Hoof care

I'm feeling exhausted.  Last week we had a retreat at our home, which was delightful but retreats are always tiring.  It finished on Saturday and I have been out on a hack three times since then.  I rode Dee and Red on Sunday. So it is not surprising that I am feeling so tired. 

We are now into week four of the get-Dee-fit campaign, and there are signs of progress.  She is not puffing so much up the hills and not sweating up so much.  Also she has been a dream to catch the last couple of weeks, so she must be enjoying it.  She is still struggling with the stony parts of the Wenallt trail, so today I have ordered her some hoof boots.  I had to wait until today in order to get a hoof measurement straight after her having her feet trimmed by the farrier. 

Dee had a lot of hoof attention today.  After being shod at the front and trimmed at the back, I cleaned the cracks with hibi scrub, applied hoof hardener, and then filled the parts that needed filling with hoof putty once her feet were dry.  Her hooves are gradually improving and the farrier is happy with them.  He says that her hooves are good and strong and this should only be a temporary problem.  His estimate of the timeframe to which her hoof problems relate, based on an average growth rate, does correlate with her move back from Cornwall.  So I think all this was due to that unsettling time and will indeed be a temporary glitch.  Her feet have always been healthy previously.

Tonight Dee is tucked up in Red's stable because it is worming time.  I'm sure she will not mind this for a night or two – especially as it is pouring with rain at the moment.

Dee has now been sound for five or six weeks.  I've been checking her back regularly as she is doing more work than she had done for quite a long time, and everything is fine.  No swelling, no pain.  I will never know for sure whether it was the Equissage massage equipment that brought on her lameness – it may have simply been coincidental.  I returned the equipment anyway and did receive a full refund.  So that is the end of that little saga.

On Monday I rode with Charlotte, one of the helpers at Briwnant.  She tells me that the horse I pictured in my last post Bareback Riding, 9th October, is not Molly, but Deanna.  Apologies to both mares!  Also my Beloved mentioned that I have not credited him for photographs recently... Practically every photograph used on my blog was taken by my husband, 'ö-Dzin Tridral.  He is becoming quite a skilled photographer and you can see a gallery of his work at Red Bubble and at Zazzle.  Lluniau Naturiol means 'Natural Pictures' which refers to the fact that he does not edit his photographs in any way – they either work or they don't.

Red is seeing the equine dentist on Friday.  It will be interesting to see how he feels about that.  No more riding now until Saturday, so my body has a couple of days to rest.