Karen's EasyCare & Endurance Musings

A photo of Pro Bono (Bo) galloping with Easyboots on all four hooves!

Here is another photo of my new horse. This was the one that is in the 2008 EasyCare calendar. We are looking for photos for next year. If you have any, submit them to us. They need to be landscape shaped, and hi-resolution.   

I took Bo out on a ride for a couple of hours  tonight. We mostly walked with just a bit of trotting. I opened and closed the gate from his back. 

I put four Epics on him for the first time. He took 2's all the way around. I think that I will eventually be able to get 1's without a heelstrap on his hinds, but for now it's a bit tight. He lifted his feet up high for the first few steps but by the time I trotted him out and back he was moving normally in them and felt totally comfortable in them on our ride. I'll give him plenty of time to get used to the boots before his next competition. He goes fine in regular Easyboots, but now is the first time he's using Epics on his unshod hooves. I don't have very many size 2 boots with gaiters but now that I have Bo and Tigger taking 2's and will need 6 size 2's between them if they go out for a ride together I'll have to get some more!  Fortunately, if I need to I can use 2's on Chief's fronts as well - he actually measures in the size 2 range and the 1's are a super snug fit. It's nice when they can go okay in more than one size, and lots of times the Epics adjust enough so that they can.  I always like to be prepared, so that means having enough boots on the horse.  Plus I like to carry spares on my saddle and also in my crewbag at rides.  I rarely need them, but everybody knows who to come to if they need a boot -- ME!  So I often am lending them out -- usually to riders whose horses have lost a shoe, or have a loose shoe.   

Bo is definitely a pleasure horse - I feel so relaxed riding him. I've been spending time with him just hanging out getting to him. He wasn't bothered on our ride tonight by anything - the two dogs running about, birds, rabbits, motorcycles. I think he has close to a 5 mph walk too. I'll have to take the GPS with us next time and see. 

And the shoes came off the endurance horse!

These shoes were removed intentionally!  I took a lot of photos of Bo's hooves.  He has nice sized feet and they seem to be strong and healthy.  There is definitely room for improvement.  I can't wait to see the changes!!!  Can you tell I couldn't wait to get the shoes removed - I've only had Bo for 24 hours and in that time have hauled him home over 600 miles.  He is so pleasant to work with.  I let him graze with Chief in the pasture for awhile after we got home.  He is in his own paddock now so the horses can get to know each other a little better with a fence between them. 

Karen may have found the perfect new horse!

I will post more about my new horse soon --we have only just gotten home from Utah this afternoon.  I rode Bo (here is his ride record) 55 miles (day 2 of the ride) and really liked him.  He sure is nice -- though not exactly what I was looking (he is tall).  Fortunately, he is built really well and my saddle fits so nice that getting on him is really easy!  Plus he is absolutely one of the best mannered endurance horses I've ever seen and stands still when you mount.  He turns 10 this month, so was at the top of my preferred age but that is okay. He is really well trained, very level headed and he is ready to go to rides!  I used Easyboots on over his shoes since he came shod, but we will be pulling his shoes off tonight!  I am going to ride him next at Fort Schellbourne and then decide if he'll be coming home with me permanently. 

This photo of him was taken at Bryce last year, with his current owner Kerry.  They are also the March 2008 photo in the EasyCare calendar and on the back of the EasyCare catalog.  Small world! 

It had been years since I rode a shod horse in an endurance ride.  It was kind of weird.  At least he had boots on over shoes, which was nice because it kept him from slipping on some of the slick rocks like many of the metal-shod horses did.  The boots also came off clean and nearly free of sand so were a really good fit.   He takes a size 76 blanket.  Chief takes a 68.   

I'm looking for another endurance horse

I'd like to find another horse that I can ride endurance on.  Please let me know if you know of anything that might work, or know of somebody that does.  I really only have one good competing horse right now with Chief.  Tigger bucked me off at the start of Cuyama and I'm not yet decided on if I want to keep working with him, or let Dave Rabe handle him, at least for awhile.  Rocky will need a few more months to fully recover from his hoof issues and then he probably won't be doing much endurance.  Zenos is going to become a pleasure trail horse/ornament next door with my neighbor soon.  He is recovering from a paddock injury (vets have been unable to diagnose or fix, not for lack of trying) and I just don't want him doing endurance--he will have a great home where he is going.  I'll still get to see him every day too!  Below is a list of things I'd like to have in a horse: 

Requirements:
Gelding
Arabian
at least 5 or 6 years old
no older than 10
sound
sane
good feet
some conditioning and training
not the dominant one in a group

Wish list:
Short:  14.2 or 14.3 range
Chestnut or Bay (though for a good horse, I'm color blind)
Ready to complete slow 50's

I don't mind paying a fair price for the right horse, and would be a good home.  I want a horse that can do conservative, steady mileage - I'm not interested in racing.  Karen

We've been shake, rattling and rolling here in Nevada!

There has been a huge increase in the number of earthquakes here in Northern Nevada.   Click here for a local news article on the topic - we had a magnitude 4.7 last night at 11:40 p.m., followed by another 50 aftershocks.  I'm south enough of Reno to not feel most of them.  I have one overly sensitive dog that doesn't like the shaking and I'm quite certain the horses know as well.  They tend to stay out in the open more. 

I just took these photos of Rocky today.  I love the ear in the first shot!  I'll post more later about his feet and how things are progressing after his founder episode earlier this year.  He's been on a diet - can you tell? 

Are you thinking about trying barefoot for your horse?

I've been looking through a lot of my hoof photos.  It's really encouraging!  Along the way I've learned a lot about horses feet.  I'm glad that I have, it's been a good experience and while I don't consider myself an expert on the topic, I can at least tell what a healthy hoof should look like.  I am always open to learning more and actively seek out the opinions of others.  I am willing to try new things even when what I'm currently doing is working if I've been presented with enough evidence that it might work better.

Cheefy has a new baby brother!

Isn't he the cutest thing ever?  Click here for more photos.

Update:  Congrats to Wizard Arabians - here is a link to the new foal's pedigree.  Click to enlarge.   Chief and Zenos are both excited to have a new baby brother!  I'd love for him to stay chestnut, but he'll probably grey out.  I guess that's okay, I've grown somewhat partial to grey horses.  ;^)   Can't wait to find out what his name will be - I kind of like Crystal's Gem. 

Chief gets yet another new gig....

There probably aren't too many horses out there that have ridden more miles in Easyboots.  So I guess that makes Chief an authority.  The hardest part was the voice training lessons!  ;^)  We have been working for months; he has had a tough time learning English but finally got it! 

Just for fun, check it out (click on play, top left corner).  Look for more of Chief on the EasyCare website in the coming weeks!  He is certain to have an opinion (as he always does, especially on a ride) that he'll want to share. 

Grey or Bay, which horse does this tack look best on?

I got a new set of tack at the AERC convention from Hilltop Saddle and Tack.  It just came today and I had a chance to try it on the horses.  I originally planned on using it on Chief, but think now that I may like it as well or better on the bay horses  (Zenos and Tigger)- what does anybody else think?  This halter has a snap on bridle for it, and I also have a matching breast collar.  It is beta biothane (I like it better than the other stuff) with an overlay.  There were lots of choices of overlays and different thicknesses of biothane to choose from - I got the thinner version as I really liked the weight on it when I tried one on Chief at the convention.  Here are a few photos of Chief and Zenos modeling.  Once I decide which horse I'll use this on, I'll make adjustments so it fits properly.  Click to enlarge.

Chief makes the Reno paper

Breaking in his shoes....errrr....boots. Chief made one of the Reno, NV newspapers - the News and Review.  They took our photo while crossing the four lane highway while out on a break from the AERC tradeshow. 

Chief was really such a great sport about the whole thing and is really a great example of not only a Spanish Arabian, but of horses in general.

He had a couple of different people commet on him being an "Appaloosa".  He is a fleabitten grey Arabian, but definitely doesn't have spots big enough to qualify him as an Appy! 

Insulin Resistance Horses

I got the results back from the vet clinic on Rocky.  He doesn't have cushings but was at a 68 on his insulin level with 65 being the top level of normal.  Fortunately I have had my hay tested and know what he's been being fed.  My current hay tested really good, so I am good there.  I think that Rocky's problem started in November when I opened up the fall pasture to all of the horses for two weeks while I was gone on a trip.  He was able to enjoy grazing on the grass, which was by that point brown.  I now know not to do that again!  Fortunately he is doing well and is happy wearing his G2's with dome comfort pads. 

Here is an excerpt from an article on safergras.org:

Chief's Award Plaque from Grand Canyon XP

I got a plaque and matching mug today.  I had to share - here is a photo of the plaque.  At the Grand Canyon XP last October, Chief reached the 7,000 AERC mileage mark.  I'll post photos soon from todays 50 at the Eastern Mojave endurance ride.  It was a great day! 

Old Mac's G2's and Dome Comfort Pads Make for a Happy Horse :)

I took a few photos earlier this morning of Rocky and his Old Macs G2's.  Looks like the spring thaw is well underway and we have been alternating between muddy swampy goop and frozen hard ground.  As you can see from these photos, it's quite the mess! 

Rocky has been wearing his G2's for four days now in these conditions and I wanted to see how things looked inside.  Well, I didn't really *want* to (lol), but I figured that I had better check to make sure he wasn't getting any rubs anywhere, or scratches.  I'll put a note next to each of the photos below explaining what they are.  Click to enlarge. 

This shows the area that the horses are in now.  It's been like this all week.  It melts during the day and becomes a goopy mess.  Then at night, freezes up hard. 

Here is how the boots look on Rocky when I got him out.  He's wearing the G2's on his fronts, with dome comfort pads inside.  I'm not using an inside gaiter or anything because I thought it might get too messy and wanted to see how it would work without.

After digging through the caked on mud, I found the end of the leather buckle strap.  Used a tool to grab onto it and pull it to open.  I did this same thing when putting the boot back on and was able to get it nice and snug.

Here is how the boots looked inside.  I was able to use a hoofpick to clean a bit of the mud out.  Once things dry out further, I'll take the boots off and give them a good cleaning. 

I bought some medicated foot powder at the $1 store and have been putting that inside the boots.  This helps keep it from getting smelly and so far so good - no signs of any thrush and no stench. 

I used a brush and brushed off the foot that I took the boot off of.  You can see that there has been no rubbing from the boots and everything looks great!

Another view showing Rocky's RF from the outside.  There are no signs of scratches, rubbing, or tenderness.  I am pretty sure that he is going to be diagnosed with insulin resistance (since he has all the signs) and am glad that he can wear the boots for extended periods in these kinds of conditions.  I am really glad that he can walk around comfortably on the frozen uneven ground and have total hoof protection.  Rocky is a happy camper! 

Now if only this mud would dry out and stay dried out!! 

 

Blog feed and horse feed

The RSS feed for my blog should be working now.  I think it was a setting with Feedblitz and we got it fixed.  If not, let me know! 

Onto the topic of horse feed.  I lucked out today and was able to pick up 15 bales of straight grass hay.  Which is not quite a ton.  Cost:  $225.00.  OMG - somebody get me a bag so I can stop hyperventilating!  Can you believe that grass hay is that expensive, and that I was lucky to even find it at all?  I still have enough of my grass alfalfa mix left so that with this hay I'll be able to go a couple of months before needing more.  Fortunately this hay is really good quality and has been tested so it perfect to feed to Rocky.  I'll get his results back this coming week and will know if he is IR (insulin resistant), or is starting to get Cushings.  The vets think he is probably IR which can be controlled with diet.  Now at least I will be okay leaving for the Mojave ride this coming week.      

Thank you Chief!

They say to touch Heaven, your soul must go higher
to streets that are paved with gold and with pearls
But for me, it's a ridge, high above an endless valley,
being one with my horse, at the top of the world
Thank you Chief, for showing me the world thru your ears.

I wrote that when Chief made it into the AERC yearbook with 5000 miles.  This last week he received his 7000 mileage patch from the AERC, plus his 7000 mileage marker for his AHA plaque from the Arabian Horse Association. I think that I was really lucky to have had two such terrific endurance horses to begin with Weaver and Rocky. Then somehow another miracle happened, and I ended up with a third horse (Cheefy!) that has been such a great gift for me it is beyond words to explain how special he is.  I think most of what makes him so special is that he isn't perfect, and it has taken a great deal of effort and determination on my part to do what works best for him.  He and I both understand each other, even if we don't always agree, we are a team.  Mostly we argue about how fast we should be going.  He loses those arguments.  You just never know, if I keep him going slow and consistent what he might be able to do - he may even make the AERC Decade Teams like Weaver and Rocky did. This is his 7th ride season. 

Starting a new horse is hard, if I had a choice I would never have ever started another horse.  Are you kidding?  I would ride Weaver off into the sunset, and Rocky into the sunrise day after day if I could.  Yet, once you do you realize that you can again develop another super special but different relationship with another horse you know it is worth the effort.  It isn’t easy, and no horse will ever replace one that you’ve had that special relationship with.  But, it is worth doing because you have yet another opportunity to have something just as special as you had before.  But in a different way.  None of our horses is with us long enough, so be sure and appreciate them every moment in your life that you are fortunate enough to have them.

Barefoot Horses and hoof care

Here is an article on going barefoot.  (horses, of course)  I've very busy these last few weeks.  Between work, shows like WESA and Equine Affaire, plus trying to keep up with everything around the place including the horses.  I'm probably not doing a very good job of anything because I feel so scattered about.  I'm not really cut out for this being away from home so much.   

Now that I am home for a few days I have a lot of things to catch up on.  One of them is the horses hooves.  Since we have had so much going on we decided to ask Leslie Carrig from High Desert Hoofcare to come out and trim the horses feet.  She did a great job and here are a few photos.  Fortunately, three out of my four horses have good feet and were all in good shape. 

Rocky needs help and Leslie suggested I talk to my vet about having him tested for Cushings, and also test my hay to see if that could be contributing to some of his health and hoof issues.  I've had my hay tested before in the past, but not any from the loads that are still left in the barn.  It is a grass mix with some alfalfa.  I'll know in a couple of weeks what the results are and will post them then.  In the meantime, I'm on a search to find more hay (almost out anyway).  Finding good hay is extremely difficult, especially this time of year. 

For now I'm going to start turning Rocky out in boots and Comfort pads most of the time.  That will be good for him and it's a good way for me to test some of the new boots and gaiters and see how they hold up on a horse 24x7.  Rocky is the kind of horse that if he can, he will destroy anything (including his own self, via dings and dents always in a new spot each time!).  He does well with boots though, and did nearly all of his 7600 or so AERC miles with them, and has indeed worn them for weeks at a time in turnout previously and they hold up to even his orneriness. 

Fortunately, the other three horses all have good feet as you can see in these photos.  The top photo is Leslie with Chief's left front foot.  He has nice round hooves.  The photo below here on the left is one of Tigger's - and believe it or not, it is a front hoof.  His front feet are shaped more like a lot of horses hind feet are.  He has nice feet and I think will be a nice little multi-day or high mileage endurance horse.  He was such a good boy today too with Leslie, I was so pleased with him!  The next photo is of one of Zenos' hooves - a hind.  He has beautiful hooves.  The photo showing the concavity is of one of Chief's hooves (I think) - if it's not Chief, it's Zenos.  They are full brothers and both have nice hooves, though Leslie also agreed that Z's are probably a bit nicer than Chief's.  It's still good though, that Chief can show you don't have to have perfect feet to be able to do a lot of trail miles.  :) 

Horses playing with their ball!

Chief and Zenos are having fun here playing with their ball in the field next door.  Once Zenos got tired of playing with his big brother, Chief carried the ball over to Tigger and now they are playing with it.  It's funny to watch them throw it in the air and run after it.  Everything is a muddy mess here - you can see that the horses have blankets on.  I ordinarily don't like to blanket them but sometimes it's necessary to keep them clean, otherwise it takes longer to clean them up for a ride than I have time for. 

Tips on winter horse care for a barefoot horse

It's not easy keeping a horse barefoot in the winter. Here are some photos I took this morning.  As you can see, the ground is frozen solid.  This can make it very difficult for a barefoot horse! 

Chief and I got to ride in the clouds today!

We had a great ride in the snow today.  We got to ride with our heads in the clouds!  It was such a great day to ride in the snow, with a bit of mud here and there.  The horses both did great, they got a good workout with all of the hill work we did.  You can see some of the photos the clouds that later we are above, in the top photo.  Chief and Tigger both wore four Easyboot Grips, which work super great in these conditions.  Neither horse slipped anywhere.  I like the Grips in these conditions because they work a lot like snow tires. 

Endurance ride photos - Stagecoach

These photos were taken last Saturday at the Stagecoach endurance ride.  Tigger and I had a great day and he finished up his first ride season with 405 miles.  I rode just over 2,000 miles this year. 

Chief didn't get to go because I had promised him two months off between ride seasons - and of course that was when there were no rides, they had all been cancelled!  This ride was thrown together at the last minute.  I still chose to stick to my original plan so just went out for at least one day to support the ride.  It was good for Tig to go, he still has a LOT to learn!  I am still enjoying getting to ride Chief on pleasure rides, and plan to take him to Death Valley.  We've been testing new hoof boots, I've got some photos from riding today to post later.  Tig was testing some new things at Stagecoach too, with good results.  He is a good tester since he seems to clod his way through rocks.  He's a bit tougher on things than Chief is! 

Hoof trimming day & my fence needs work (ugggg!!)

We got a lot done today - the leaves are all cleaned up, lawns mowed, horses and dogs exercised, 12 hooves trimmed, all the horses wormed, the house is clean.  I also got my office straightened up and organized.  Lots to catch up on after being gone for almost two weeks!  I took a few photos today too.  Here are a couple of Chief, and one of his front hooves.  He has been barefoot most of his life, and is very active.  The neighbors have all said that my horses ran around a LOT while I was gone.  They were all (four of 'em) turned out together and I know that helps to keep them moving around.  Chief is the group leader and tends to herd the others.  They all get along really well together, tho I do have to admit it was a relief to come home and find all four horses in perfect shape.  We have never left them for that long before!  Rocky's and Tigger's feet both look really good right now too.  The only horse left to trim will be Zenos, and we should get to him tomorrow.  Tig still needs more work with his feet, he doesn't like having them picked up and wants it back on his terms.  He is getting better, but annoying when he wrenches your back out.  He's a brat compared to my other horses, who are all so easy about their feet.   

This photo shows Dave trotting Chief out after his trim.  The next photo shows why I hate vinyl fence.  If you ever put in a horse fence, don't do vinyl.  It may sound great, and looks great, but it just isn't very practical for containing large aninmals.  Especially if you are in a cold climate.  When my horses roll if one of their hooves comes in contact with a rail or a post and it's freezing out, it just splinters and shatters all over the place. Besides that, if they lean or push on it (trying to get to the hay, as shown in one of these photos) the stuff will snap and crack.  Next fencing is going to be metal pipe.  Last one before the vinyl was wood, and it was too high maintenance.  Zenos is the main culprit for all of the fence damage.  Even when we had the hotwire hot, he didn't respect it. 

Glad to be home again

I got home late last night from Tucson and my connecting flight in Phoenix was late, so I didn't get home till almost midnight.  First thing I did Saturday morning was take Cheefy out for a ride.  I was having withdrawals!  I think that Chief was too, as he was literally bouncing off of the 'walls' (or trail, rather).  Dave says to me "is he always like this", and I replied yes, when he hasn't been ridden regularly.  He laughed because Chief just did 5 days of the Grand Canyon XP less than two weeks ago.  I felt the same as Chief did, too full of energy and enthusiasm and totally restless even though I had ridden Tigger 100 miles last weekend.  I hope I can get in a couple more rides before leaving Tuesday evening for our vacation.  While Chief is in hyper-drive I smile and enjoy that he isn't lazy, or losing interest in getting out to see the world. 

I used Tig's size 2 Epics with the dome pads still in that I had used at High Dessert last weekend on Chief today.  They worked well.  I usually use size 1's on him, but he does measure in the size 2 range.  I just have to get the cable a bit tighter. 

100 Miles in Epics - Photos of Tigger's Pasterns & Feet

Here are a few photos I took just this evening.  Click to enlarge.  I left Tig's boots on after the ride ended on Sunday night and took them off tonight.  I had regular Epics on his front feet both days of the ride, with dome shaped comfort pads in them.  On his hinds I used regular Easyboots and used Easyfoam in them.  One of the boots was on his foot (pictured) for two full weeks.  The other one just for four days.  I'm really pleased with the results.  I was sure glad to have the pads in the boots for the sections of trail that were rocky, and also for the parts that were hardpacked.  I also was glad to have the boots on for the deep sand sections - the boots help to keep the horses from sinking as deep in the sand as a horse that is regularly shod.  Check out how clean the boots look inside too, after doing 50 miles in all that sand!  I did not vetwrap on day 2 and you can see there is not even a small rub anywhere on either pastern!!  I did vetwrap the first day because I was testing some new gaiters that hold promise  (I can't post photos of those yet).  On the first day I took off one of his front boots at lunch to check inside and they were completely clean inside.  It's all due to the boots fitting him so well.  It really helps with Epics to flatten down the metal teeth and cover them with duct tape.  That lets you get a closer fit around the top of the hoof and reduces the chance of anything getting inside.  If stuff still gets inside, using plumber's putty can help with that.  I didn't do that this time and still had a clean boot both days after riding 50 miles.  I'll try to get a photo album up soon of the ride.  I still need to get photos together from the Grand Canyon ride.  I get a little behind when I do a 5 day ride one week and then a 2 day ride the very next weekend.