A Change for the Better

Those of you readers with horses know its dang hard to find, and keep, a good farrier.  Especially when you live in the sticks.

The guys were back to mill the oak some more, last Saturday.

Up here, at Oak Creek, we have been using a farrier who was recommended to us when we moved in.  He worked at some of the larger barns in the area and, when I mentioned his name, locals would nod and say he was good.  And he was.  I liked how he handled the horses, with kindness, and they all did well.  He and Brett became good friends.  Over time, though, there was a change.  He was in a lot of pain while he worked (he isn't young and shoeing horses is hard, hard work).  The last time he came out, I was pretty unhappy but ... he and Brett are friends and he was the best in the area ... so I felt stuck.  I thought maybe my expectations were too high, considering that we don't live in an area with big fancy show barns and the hot-shot farriers they attract.

They are getting some gorgeous planks of wood from that tree

A couple of weeks ago, that farrier left a message.  He said that he had recently had knee replacement surgery and wouldn't be able to come out.  He called the day before he was due to come.  And the horses were already ridiculously long.  Brett's feelings were hurt at the short no notice and I was angry.  And I was a bit panicked.  Brett called a couple farriers but they were already booked solid.

My solution?  Contact a local fellow blogger, Elinor, who boards her horse close to our ranch.  She recommended the farrier that comes to that barn, and when she gave me his name, I had to laugh.  It was the same farrier that worked on Lucy and Winston when they were in training at Sandy's barn, over an hour away.  I said, "he isn't going to come all the way up here" but she thought he might be able to work us in, on the same day he comes to her barn.  He wasn't able to work us in, but he did recommend that we use his apprentice.  So we did.

Brett and the tree guy's ten year old son worked on knocking down fence.

The guy is local.
He is young and strong.
He graduated from farrier school two years ago and has been apprenticing since then with Sandy's farrier -- who is awesome.
He has experience working with vets and complicated issues.
He is passionate about his work.
He is currently applying for some advanced certifications around complicated cases.

He spent a long time with Jackson.  He took off a good amount and re-balanced him all the way around.  He didn't work for more than a few minutes on any one hoof, rotating around from foot to foot so Jackson wouldn't have to stand three legged on his tender feet for longer than necessary.  After he finished, Jackson immediately walked like a different horse -- and (see my last post) was able to do much more than his usual slow, careful walk.

He was very good with Tex; making friends and honoring Tex's insecurities.

Lucy was pretty straightforward.  He changed her shoes to be more consistent with dressage work. When Lucy went in for her stifle injections on Tuesday, our super amazing sport horse specialist said that she knew who he was, has seen his work, and likes him.

He tried to work on Finessa but said that he wasn't comfortable doing much without a vet evaluation.  She's got evidence of founder (she's got a long history of that) in three of her four feet and there are empty spaces and dead spaces and ... well, she's a mess.  We have scheduled an appointment for her. I was so embarrassed, and mad at myself, for not insisting on more regular trims for her.

Live and learn, right?

And Then There Were Twelve

Twelve chickens.  Little Sunny died last night in the warm comfort of the hen house with the rest of the flock roosting around her.  We keep our flock between six and twelve so when we get down to five, we will buy chicks and add them to the existing flock.  In the meantime, twelve is a nice number.

Today was sunny and clear.  It was warm standing in the sun.  In the shade, it was a bit too cool to be comfortable.  Sage, our farrier, came up to do regular trimming and shoeing.  Jackson has been without a shoe for two weeks between losing the shoe initially and then getting an abscess.  Today, he got trimmed and reshod.  He was very happy to go back into the pasture afterwards.  The poor guy has been stuck on stall rest for those two weeks.

I got Jackson out of his stall and ready to go while Sage set up his stuff.  Jackson watched with interest.

Jackson can be a bit of a pill for the farrier.  He moves around a lot, trying to yank his foot back to the ground and being generally uncooperative.  He likes Sage, he just doesn't like holding his foot up for longer than 30 seconds.  He's not the most patient beast in the stable. 

We are still using pads on his front hooves as it is making a world of difference in Jackson's comfort and soundness.  Sage also grinds down the front of the shoe to give Jackson an easier breakover.

Next, I got a lesson on trimming the donkeys.  They will hold their feet forever for me but are suspicious of Sage.  I thought it would be easier if I learned how to do it myself and then we don't have to deal with personality clashes between farrier and miniature donkeys.  Finessa was a good girl - I picked up her feet and handed them off to Sage - so she stood perfectly still and relaxed the whole time.

Flash was busy eating lunch, oblivious to the fact he was next on deck.

I'm scheduled to take a lesson Saturday morning.  There is a chance of rain in the forecast and I'll have to see how Jackson feels when I ride him tomorrow morning or Friday.  Even if I only walk and do light trot work during the lesson, I'll be happy.  I need need NEED a professional looking at me and correcting the nasty habits I'm sure I've picked up since March when I had my last lesson.

Finessa Gets a Trim

Our farrier, Sage, was up today to do the horses.  Finessa needed a trim as well.  She's such a quiet little lady that she doesn't wear down her feet like Tuffy does.  Sage is a tall guy and Finessa is a short donkey so the poor guy really has to bend over far.  Fortunately, Finessa is well behaved for her trims.

Finessa is very good about wearing her halter.

Sage trimmed her right front first.  Love that rose tattoo on his elbow.  There's a spider web on the other elbow.

Tuffy: If I eat dirt, will you pay attention to me too?

Hmmm.  That didn't work.  What are they doing over there anyway?

Maybe if I close my eyes they will all just disappear.

Yipes!  It's a piece of Finessa's foot!  ...is it tasty?

Hey Finessa.  How 'bout I take you for a walk?

Finessa: Would you just bug off.  I'm not in the mood for a snuggle.

Jackson: What's going on in there?  Are you getting treats??

Flash: Excuse me but did you notice that it's lunchtime?  We're starving out here.

Jackson: I think they're ignoring us.

Sage finished up with Finessa...

...and went back to shoeing the horses.