Abcess and then concavity?

First picture 15/06 second is today 24/06. The light spot on the upper wing of the frog in the first picture conceals an abcess which blew out to the side. You can see the sole is starting to shed. The second picture shows the abcess hole growing out and how the sole is flaking off.

We struggled for ages with the hinds stubbornly staying pancake flat. It may be coincidental but the sole started to shed when the abcess relieved. The hind feet are not concave yet but they are on their way (long may it continue).

Flares are freaking me out

The first picture is 15/06 and the second is today 24/06. This is the same foot as in the posts below. Despite regular rolling the flares are still much in evidence. This is largely due to my cautious approach. If only I were brave enough to apply the Pete Ramey white line strategy. But that said, the foot is improving, just slower than it could if I were better at the trimming side of things.

Tough choices

I have to be honest. I'd rather turn Madam out if we could. But our temporary accomodation has no grass free turnout, in fact the grazing is some of the lushest in the area. But although it must be a bit stressful for her, there is no denying she is doing well. The first two pictures show her today - I swear she knows just how good she looks :-)

The four sole pictures show the off fore on 24/01, 01/02, 15/02 and 15/06 this year.

From the end of January until some time in March our trimmer was out of action. You can see how the foot is flaring out and a thumping great thrush infection is taking hold. Although we CleanTraxed her feet, we did in the end have to trim out a fair bit of rotting tissue. The daily use of Sudocream seems to have done the trick.

In today's foot picture you may be able to see the development of some decent concavity, the flare is under control, the frog is bulking up and the heels are starting to decontract. My thumb is holding back the tip of the frog to show where it is starting to shed. Unless there is infection developing underneath we will let this shed naturally, as the frog underneath is immature and will need protecting. This foot needs a trim and I will post before and after pictures when it is done.

Breamore 33k

Friday we trailed Madam 5 hours to the New Forest. Her 'Mum' then tried to drown her in a bog - fortunately it wasn't very deep and both horse and rider emerged unscathed. The new Easy Gloves didn't look too healthy though. My fantastic parents spent half of Friday night effecting emergency repairs on the Gloves for the ride on Saturday.

The 33+km (21 miles) ride was over chalk downland (hills), with a fair bit of gravel and flint mixed in with some lovely grassy stretches. It was the gravel and flint that prompted the use of the Gloves because Madam lost concavity in the Spring. Fortunately there were no bogs and the Gloves performed well. Not perfectly though - as all four pasterns were slightly rubbed.

Madam received lots of compliments for her good behaviour and I think her 'Mum' was pleased. The horse passed the vet, made the time and after a bit of recovery time we then trailered her the five hours home. She is so good in the trailer, it makes life so much easier for us all.

Now can you guess, which is the photo after the ride? The other one was taken earlier in the week.

Ghost

This is a horse we looked at today. Much too big for me. A boy; likely sensitive to sugar, rather more cobby than we usually go for; basically nothing like the Grey - so possibly he might do for us. OH likes him and he does seem like quite a people person. So sometime next week we will go see him again.

All that glisters

Madam after her evening ramble, not a brilliant photo, but look at the shine on her shoulder. All natural, no polish (not even brushed), must be her genes. Now if I could get the same effect on my hair. Easy day just walking out in hand as she worked hard yesterday. Spent much time admiring the views. The bushes in the second photo obscure a sheer drop over a cliff. We try not to get too close. The steps lead down to a series of 'cold baths' - which the local area is famous for.

Footwear for all

We have fitted Madam with Easyboot Gloves all round. So far so good. Really easy to put on and they seem to fit very well. They have certainly turbo charged the girlie who is now showing 'Grey' type attributes and offering to trot and canter everywhere no matter what the surface. Slight downside is the screws holding the gaiters on are very short, so I think that over longer distances they may come loose. On the longer rides we are now packing a mini screwdriver as well as the first aid kit, wire cutters, map and munchies.

Without the Grey to fuss over I have a bit more time in the day, so Saturday I decorated a pair of plimsolls (how sad is that!). Now wondering how to get the same effect on the Easyboots.... Really wanted to get Renegades because of the fancy colours, but they are too big for Madam. So will be digging out some paint and hoping it works on rubber........... Or heaven forbid I could do some house keeping (not).