I don’t know if you are like me… but before, when I lived in Grass Valley, I would make sure that all of my horses were clean and picked before the farrier arrived. Kinda like cleaning the house for the housekeeper.
I do that.
Anyway, back to the farrier coming…
If it was wet or muddy out, I’d bring them all inside so that they’d dry off and their feet would be nice and clean… their hair would be combed and coats de-dingleballed.
We always do Wrigley first because he is the most opinionated.
This is BG. She was very affectionate when I was trying to take this pic. After having her cranio-spine work, she was much more willing today!
Finn with dingleberries in his mane. He’s such a good boy. (Notice the wall behind Finn. Both Annie and Finn just got a wind wall in their shelters.)
BUT NOW…
Now, as you all know, I’m trying really hard to figure out, from scratch, the horse set-up here. I do get very frustrated, going from having it all perfectly working, to having no horse facilities at all. 2 years ago, we had nothing. Now, we have fencing, cross fencing, 5 shelters, a make-shift hay shed and cross ties.
However, we still have standing mud everywhere during the winter. And, no place to get away from it long enough to clean 7 sets of hooves. No matter where I clean, when I put the horses away, they will step in mud.
This is Missy Miss. She was good today, too! I’ve put arrows so you can see what happens to the ground when it rains… the horses push the mud around and then it dries in these little mountains. Total trip hazards. This is a big reason why need to carve out a safe, flat area somewhere on this huge, steep hill!
Gwendolyn is always an angel. She had so much ground work as a kid, she is a gem.
This is Mo. He didn’t get done today, but he’s cute so I took his pic anyway. He is a BLM donkey. Everyone should have at least 2.
THANK HORSEGODS FOR FERNANDO THE FORGIVING FARRIER.
Fernando is an angel. He comes on time, does a great job and never, ever grumbles. In fact, he laughs all the time. I love that about him.
Today, especially, after last week’s horrible events, going out of town for Hubby’s promotion ceremony and then getting the new puppies yesterday… I’m a bit (being generous here) behind in my grooming.
He scraped away mud and chatted the entire time. As I was cringing and apologizing, he continued to chat and trim, chat and trim.
Fernando never let it show.
I can think of a lot of farriers who wouldn’t work on horses with muddy feet. A lot.
Fernando is an angel.
Thank you, horsegods, thank you.
Norma and Dodger… not only are they caked in mud, but they’re short. Fernando never complains. He is a saint.
Unfortunately, the area on top of the hill, where all the horses stand, is HUGE.
I have to win the lottery!
yes. MEET THE PUPPIES! Click here: https://www.horseandman.com/?p=50106
When I had a very bad mud problem, we got the problem solved by spreading a thick layer of ground-up limestone (called fill-lime here in Iowa) over the area that was selected to kept dry. It worked extremely well. It is not too expensive. I think we spread it a few inches thick.
puppies? Did you say you got “puppies”?