Monday night, one week post-injections, dressage school. I am trying not to get excited or read too much into a vastly insignificant sample size long before we should expect to see full expect.
But Tuck did feel good. Big loose swinging walk right from go. Easier -- easy, even! -- to activate behind without making him tank or run. Zero tripping up front or catching a toe behind. Blasted into his lengthenings, and didn't get stiff or prop when asked to come back. Went shoulder-in and stayed there comfortably.
Basically, the horse went as ridden. When I let myself get tipped forward over a set hand, life was not so fantastic. But when I put my butt in the saddle, lifted my chin, and kept the aids live and playful? Then I was sitting on a dressage horse again.
Like, when I took a survey of what I liked about what was happening and what needed work, my overall conclusion for the night was, I need a lesson.
Not conclusive. Just one ride, and much too soon to be conclusive.
But encouraging.
Meanwhile, cannot believe I'm saying this, but I am giving serious thought to trying to pick up some hoofcare skills. I don't want to Do My Own Hoofcare, but I keep staring at Tuck's feet and thinking that maybe it would be better for everyone if I could do a little between-farrier-visits cleaning-up rather than trying to convince our (wonderful and accommodating, but still) farrier to come trim one horse on a four-week cycle. Still pondering, and of course need to discuss with farrier before taking any action, but please to be laying your information and/or resources upon me.
Glad to hear Tuck seems to be feeling so great, hopefully it continues!
ReplyDeleteMy very first trainer always kept her horses trimmed between trimmings to save money. She got pretty good at it. It would certainly be a useful skill to learn.
I will be cautiously optimistic too for you :)
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with a bit of cautious optimism, sez me. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteEncouraging is good!
ReplyDeleteKeeping my fingers crossed for continued improvement!
ReplyDeleteGreat news, Hannah! I hope he continues to improve! Onward and upward!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the hoof trimming, I started out doing maintenance trims between farrier/trimmer trims. I had 2 very different trimmers in FL show me their way of doing things, and then I applied what I thought worked best. I continued maintenance trims even after we moved to MD. I felt my trimmer here left Lily's toes long, but otherwise she was moving great, so I continued my maintenance trims. Then one day the trimmer fired the entire barn (epic drama) and thus I lost my trimmer. I was terrified of looking for someone new, as she was considered the best in the area. So I started doing maintenance trims every two weeks myself, promising that if anything seemed amiss, I'd call in a professional.
6 months later, I'm still doing her myself. I don't recommend going solo for everyone, but just doing those maintenance trims yourself between farrier visits will teach you so much about Tucker's feet and his way of going. It's crazy how much their feet can tell you.
Here are some of the resources I've used and loved:
http://www.barefoothorse.com/ - first page I read about the barefoot movement. Great subjective information. They explain the trim, the hows and the whys.
http://www.ironfreehoof.com/ - great complement to the first link. Basically gives a slightly different perspective on the same subjects.
http://thehorseshoof.com/ - has a wealth of articles, how-tos, and just a ton of information. You can be on this page for hours!
Hope this helps! :)
Much belated thank you for those links! I have been spending quality time with them and will spend some more. :)
DeleteI'm glad that Tucker seems to be doing better. I started doing my own trims about 6 months ago, because I got so sick of the farrier drama. The main resource I used was a book called Natural Barefoot Trimming: The Hoof Guided Method by Maureen Tierney. I got it from Amazon for about $20 and there is a Kindle edition for $10. I think the websites Saiph mentioned are really good too.
ReplyDeleteOh, best coincidence -- I had actually just ordered that book when you left this comment. Glad to hear it's been useful for you. :)
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