All the Creatures

When I got my first horse over 20 years ago, I was at a boarding stable. It was mostly adult women who were “getting into” horses for the first time in their lives. Most of them had no clue as to what to expect from horse ownership or horses in general. I was lucky enough to have a dad that was a former jockey, so I had some experience with horses prior to me getting involved with horses. I boarded my horse at the stable for 7 years and during that time I saw plenty of people that should have never gotten involved with horses.

Those that should have never owned a horse were people who were easily intimidated by their own horse. They were unaware that horses have a hierarchy system in their minds when it comes to other horses and people. Some of the other people, mostly women, would listen to everyone’s advice about health or training problems and follow the wrong advice. They would also never take riding lessons or have a horse trainer. They learned from books or videos.

One woman, who I was quite fond of, was only a horse owner for less than a year. She bought a buckskin gelding named “Buck” and seemed to know what she was doing. I liked Buck, he was a short stout horse, with a mellow mind, great for a beginner. She had him for less than a month and changed his name to Sferra. Somehow the name Sierra did not fit him. To me Sierra was a female sounding name. As the months passed, she took Sierra on trail rides and rode around the boarding stable grounds. One day she asked me to take a look at Sierra. She thought his gait was “off.” She was right, he was paddling. Since he had not done it before, I told her it was that he needed a good trim and to switch horse shoers (her farrier was terrible). She did not mind my advice but had one of the worse horse vets in the area look at her horse. The verdict was that the horse had navicular and the vet wanted the woman to have the horse put down. Thankfully she did not heed the vets advice either and looked for a pasture home for the horse, she found one. She said goodbye to Sierra and left horse ownership for good. I thought that was the end of the story, it wasn’t. Several months later I was at a team penning. I was riding my horse and my hubby was riding his. I then spotted a horse that looked like Sierra. I rode over to the the horse and owner and asked the owner if the horse was the Sierra that was owned by the woman I knew. The answer was yes, it was Sierra but now they call him Buck…….and he was no longer lame. Sure enough, they saw the same thing I saw, a bad shoer had made poor Buck lame.They got Buck and used the same shoer I had for my horse. Buck was now back to being that great beginners horse, except this time he had a knowledgeable owner who had years of horse experience.

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A few years back I was fortunate to help rescue a small shetland pony from it’s sadly knowledgeable owner. The owner lived across the street from us. Normally the pony would graze their 1 acre pasture until the bought an angus calf. Then the pony and calf would share the pasture. One day I saw the pony penned up and the calf had now gotten large. I thought nothing more about it until 6 months later. The angus ended up in their freezer and the pony still remained penned up.

My daughter was now 6 years old and had expressed an interest in ponies. I went across the street to find out where they got their pony from and ended up with their pony. You see the pony had foundered during the time the calf was with them. In order to fatten up the angus for the dinner table, they fed large amounts of alfalfa and the pony had enjoyed it too. Unfortunately the free feeding of alfalfa had caused the pony’s hooves to founder and the owners solution was to pen the pony up……………for months on end. They got their solution from another “horse expert” in the neighborhood and never had a vet look at the pony.  After hearing that story, I was only too happy to take the pony out of that situation.

After getting the pony home the first order of business was to get it’s hooves trimmed (they had them trimmed over a year ago!!!). After finding out the condition of the hooves from my farrier the next order of business was to balance the pony’s diet to encourage good and fast hoof growth. I added a good quality biotin supplement and powdered gelatin to the pony’s feed. After 5 weeks I had the farrier come back and trim the pony’s hoofs again. This time he asked me what I did since he noticed a marked difference in the amount of blood in the hooves. I told him and then another 5 weeks past and he came out for another visit. This time he was amazed…..no blood in the hooves at all!!! In just 3 months I had managed to improve that pony’s feet to the point they were no longer ouchy for the pony and the pony could now start it’s training for becoming a riding pony.

My daughter showed the pony in English classes and won a few ribbons with her. After my daughter outgrew the pony we found a wonderful home for her.

A friend of mine now owns that pony and she is a pasture pet and companion for her other horses. She continues to keep an eye on her hooves.

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I am picky about what I wear on my feet. Shoes have to be comfortable and riding boots had better fit correctly. I can’t tell you how many times I have shopped for English style riding boots and never find a pair that have fit me. My problem is that my calf muscles are too big. Even the extra wide tops don’t fit. I have had to settle for either short boots or the lace up type.

That being said, I have found one maker of riding boots that was founded by women and their first boots were designed for women. They are Ariat. They have since moved into mainstream shoes womens that is. My favorite boot made by them the Terrain a cross between a sneaker and a lace up western riding boot. It is the most comfortable boot or shoe I have. I must remind myself to get a new pair soon ’cause the pair I have are about 6 years old and worn almost out from constant use.

One thing I have found out about riding boots is never to buy a pair with a terrain or hiking boot sole. The bottom of the boot/shoe should be smooth, if not they get stuck in the stirrup and can cause your foot to hang at the dismount. Unfortunately many so called riding boot makers still make horseback riding boots that have soles on them that are made for hiking and not riding……..stay away from them. I have a pair of them sitting in my closet, they are great for hiking in the snow but I would never ride in them. They are made by Mountain Horse.

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