Horse singing

Thanks to barefoot friend who posted the link.

Maybe Grace could try her hoof at this if she can't be a sports horse. Make sure you click on each horse's head to get the full benefit.

Daddy or chips?

After the McCains advert.

A girl's having a quiet munch on her breakfast hay when a digger parks behind her butt.

And then 'Mum' turns up with a camera. What's a girl to do?

Well pose of course!

Four legs good, two legs better

Or maybe not. Worked Grace on the lunge for a few minutes in the indoor school. She behaved very well. Although the alternative view of her front feet while she explored the two legged option was not really needed.

Judging by the tension in her trapezius, coupled with the issues she has in the back of her feet I think we probably went too far today and she even though she wanted to go forward it was too much, so she had to go up.

Despite the opportunity for drama she came down very calmly and got back on with minding me and doing her work. I can't really ask for more. Except in my dreams I can wish that her feet had never been allowed to deteriorate and with that thought its time for bed.

Mirror mirror on the wall

Who's that pretty girl then? Not what I expected when I took Grace in the indoor school for the first time. I had expected some snorting and skitting about. But Grace was far more interested in checking out her reflection.

For a horse that gets anxious about some things she is remarkably brave. Had me on tenterhooks the other day as she chased after some deer in her field. Just stopped before the pallisade fence which guards a drop into a stream. Please may she always stop before she gets that far.

hor

Whoops I've done it again................

You might not have seen the post 'You get what you reward' where Grace had me scampering to keep up with her on our way in from the field. I'd accidentally taught her that faster was better.

Well I've done it again. Only this time its a whole new way of 'moving over'. Never a favourite exercise, probably associated with getting thumped (not by me) and uncomfortable because of her corns, Grace was compliant, but unhappy when asked to 'move over'.

Well today she practically skipped round. And all because I have been teaching her to glue herself to my shoulder for certain exercises.

Today, anxious for more clicks and treats Grace decided to experiment and took the shoulder glue to a whole new level. (I am so going to have to rethink the training on this one.)

Could I shake her off? (No) So I tried standing by her shoulder and then walking backwards and zip-ah-dee-do-dah she does the neatest turn on the forehand. I was gobsmacked. So I scooted backwards again and she twirled on the forehand again.

Great! - not what I intended, but if it works for her it works for me! Yeah, I have a horse that can move its bum over. Ok, so the command sequence is a little off the wall but who cares?

Although there is the small matter of now having to teach Grace that she doesn't have to be permanently level with my ears................

Answers on a post card please!

Romping in the rain

Grace's Aunt came to see her today. Hence the better photo and a bit of video. The first video is of Grace showing off her trot, the second one shows her tenacity.

It's so nice to have a quiet school to romp around in.

Grace ended staying in today. It won't do her any long term harm - she needed a good dry spell anyway to allow her feet to dry out properly.

I've put her to bed with both fronts treated with White Lightening. I want to clear up the fungal infection as much as possible before I go away to Dallas.

Grace's new home

It has been an eventful week. Grace's flu/tet jab went awry and she had an allergic reaction to it. This meant postponing her move for a few days until she recovered.

Already the move is paying dividends. In just two days she is coping with stony ground better than she did before.

I've started loose schooling her again. Its quite entertaining because when the 'work' is finished we have a short game of 'wag the tail'. I lope about the school and Grace as the 'tail' follows with her nose tucked in behind me. She gets very cross if I turn too tight for her to follow directly. We always wrap the session with a cuddle.

I have already taught the signal for 'halt' so that if she is scampering up to me too fast I can stop her before I get run over.

Her feet need doing again. As the new yard has quite a few long hardcore surfaced tracks I am hoping that over time we will start wearing her feet more naturally.

Grace is moving house

It is time to explore the next stage with Grace. I need somewhere I can loose school, lunge and long rein her in relative safety. Hiking up a busy road on foot with a rehab in hand is not my idea of good practice. It was bad enough with my old horse, but she was incredible - Grace and I have several million miles to travel before we reach anything like the same level.

The first step is managing the process of moving yard. I am a bit anxious about it. Grace has made friends and is settled. But even if her destiny is to be a pasture ornament, where she is won't meet her needs as an equine for much longer. So I have to feel the fear and do it anyway.

Oddly the yard we are going to is one I first used some 20 years ago when I moved to Kent. It must have had half a dozen reincarnations since then. I view this move as initially temporary, I will make the best use of the facilities on offer, evaluate where Grace's future lies and take it from there. And hope neither of us gets hurt in the process.

At least the yard is relatively secure. Barbed wire has been removed from fencing, hard core has been laid from yard to field. High security gates are locked at night and the whole place is wired with movement sensitive lights. The YO seems pretty switched on. Wish us luck.

How I taught Grace to lift a foot when I point at it

By special request. To be totally honest - my old horse taught me first - I just passed this method on............

1) First establish the basic 'click and reward'. Get this fairly solid. (If you want to know how to do this, I will do another post.)

2) Teach your horse that a lunge whip is not scary. I loose schooled Grace (quite a bit over a few weeks) so she got the idea that when I point with the lunge whip it is not scary and it won't hurt her. Every time she responded appropriately I clicked (and treated as necessary). As she is a rescue I gave her lots of time for this - a horse which is less scared will probably take less time.

2) Find somewhere your horse can be that they feel safe and comfortable in (including underfoot). Make sure it is a safe space for you too. I chose a quiet spot in the open yard because Grace's stable is tiny and I could easily get pinned against a wall. Grace arrived with a habit of double barrelling on a hair trigger so I needed to be especially alert and careful.

3) Roll the lash part of the lunge whip round the barrel and fix it so it won't come loose. Decide which foot the horse finds easiest to pick up. (Preferably a fore foot at this stage).

4) Then standing in a safe place - I chose slightly in front of and to the side of Grace's shoulder, point at the foot you have chosen (I use the blunt end of the lunge whip). Be incredibly observant.

5) Reward any effort that might be construed as the horse thinking about picking that foot up, even if it just shifts weight off it. (Remember click and treat and be quick about it.) You may have to lightly touch the leg, but be tactful. Think hinting rather than bullying. If you lose patience stop, turn the horse out and do something to work off your mood. Never try this exercise when you are feeling mooish. Keep the whole thing light and cheerful and fun.

6) Once you have a positive response from the horse, even a shift in weight, give the horse a break. I usually sweep the yard (its a very clean yard!). Then if all is still well you might want to try again. But don't push it. I usually keep the whole thing really short. Because its short you can do it most times you 'do' the horse without it becoming a burden. If the process is going badly give it a break for a few days and reflect on what you are doing wrong. Do something positive in this gap, so that your horse and you have a good bond. I used to hold Grace's bucket while she ate. Not much - but she learnt to relax while I was around. (There were other benefits which I will cover another time.)

7) When the horse understands that pointing with the lunge whip means 'lift your foot', you can gradually replace the lunge whip with a simple point of your hand. I used a stirring spoon as an interim pointer. Anything 'pointy' will do so long as it doesn't scare your horse and its safe.

8) Very important - when your horse lifts a foot, even if you didn't intend it - be polite. Thank your horse (even to the extent of holding the foot and pretending to look at it). If you didn't want the foot, don't be mean, you may have 'asked' unintentionally. My old horse got very enthusiastic about the whole foot lifting thing - so I taught a different command for 'keep it on the floor' using the same technique.

9) Listen to your horse - if you get the wrong foot there is probably a reason. In Grace's case she was trying to tell me that her hind foot was sore so please would I fix it first.

10) This method will not work if you are inconsistent, are not clear about what you want or if your horse is too sore to even lift a foot. Remember horses don't lie - we just sometimes fail to understand. And always be cheerful!

I'll see if I can find a willing volunteer to take pictures. One that won't freak Grace out in the process!

Off fore progress

Off fore - day after deshod and this morning. Not perfect but getting better all the time.

Truly humbled and a little embarrassed and very Wow!

Okay, so yesterday I mentioned how Grace had adopted the VERY BIG WRITING approach to communication, with me at least. I am rather embarrassed to admit that today she had to take it a step further - think 'holding a child's hand to cross the road'.

I have no excuses, so I'll just get on with the tale of idiot human and mega bright, mega patient horse.

I knew it was high time I took a bit off Grace's feet. I didn't think it would be a huge amount, but bearing in mind I have to take the little and often approach with her feet, I knew we were overdue.

Out of habit I addressed the near fore first. She waved her off hind, then when I persisted she put it down and then let me do the near fore. I asked for the near hind, got the off hind. No joy, so I did the off fore. She waved the off hind, but let me do the off fore. (Getting the picture - well you are brighter than I was at 6am this morning).

So I go for the near hind again. This time she holds her off hind up - higher than usual - and on reflection I can almost hear her saying 'duh don't you get it - this is the one that needs the work!' Can you believe I ignored her again? So very very gently she just nudged me against the wall. Not squashed or threatened, but I didn't have enough room to work. I moved her over, and she moved me back. Rinse and repeat - and all the time she was offering me the off hind (which was on the other side to me - so no threat).

Finally the penny dropped and much to Grace's relief I attended to the off hind. And I am embarrassed again, really really ashamed this time. The bars, which I had been whiffling about for a while had lifted the foot into a little bit of a tilt, so she was leveraging on the slight overgrowth of the toe wall. To be fair, it wasn't huge, but it was enough to tear the laminae at the toe and leave a bit of a blood spot (about 3mm). Poor sod and ignorant me. Well I won't do that again and the next time she offers a foot for me to look at I will take heed and really look properly. And I won't um and ah so much - if the bar seems to need work, I'll try it - in the full knowledge that if I was wrong it will grow back in double quick time.

Remind myself to repeat my mantra daily 'horses don't lie!'

And the 'Wow!'?

Well haven't we come a long way? From a horse that would freak out when her boundaries were crossed to a horse that realises that no harm is intended, her human just needs a bit of gentle guidance. And she is figuring how to do that guidance, while still co-operating as far as she is able - and not scaring the human in the process.

So I am very proud of her, humbled by her wisdom and patience and a bit embarrassed/ashamed for myself.

She has twigged I'm a bit thick.......

Grace is adopting the approach of my old horse 'The Grey'. Realising that I can be a bit dim she is starting to 'talk' to me in the equine equivalent of REALLY BIG WRITING.

For example - I know she finds it hard to pick up her near hind when stood on concrete (because off hind is weak). But I still ask.

She used to just wiggle her ears and then freak out.

Now I get a really obvious tail swish and she picks up her poorly foot. Could she be any clearer in saying 'I hear you, I want to, but this foot hurts, so I can't.'

If I ask when she is stood on softer ground its not a problem, so long as I don't get silly with it.

Who said horses are dumb animals?

She is the devil woman.........

Can't get her out of my mind :-)

Since our little work session this pm. Didn't do a huge amount, but noticed something important. The last couple of days, when I have been too stressed and busy to do anything other than 'routine maintenance' Grace has become grumpy? sulky? or maybe a bit down in the dumps. Not sure because I haven't figured her out fully yet. But after today's work session she was very happy. Maybe she really needs to do something every day, even if its only interaction as opposed to exercise.

Today the barn is free (a rare event), so I take her straight from the field (yes she came to call from miles away out of sight again) and into the barn for a little interaction. (Please note I got the video the right way up this time! :-)

5 minutes of loose schooling and it as pleasure to note her action is freeing up all the time. Heel first landing in walk, which is very loose and swinging. Flat foot with some toe action in trot, but improving.

When the loose schooling is finished Grace lollops over to me for all the world like a spaniel puppy with a new tennis ball. I hold up my hand palm out flat to the front. Our signal for 'stop' and stop she does. So I decide 'why not see if we can teach Grace to stay?' The photo is about as far away as I could get before she 'broke'.

But maybe we have cracked the answer to 'Why did the call her The Witch?'. Is it because she has glow in the dark eyes! :-) (yes I know its really a reflection of my rubbish photography skills and not her at all).

Hooves are dynamic

Day after deshod, Six weeks later, Six weeks 4 days after deshod

Grace quite clearly has metabolic issues. She is not the worst I've seen, but she still needs 'managing'.

Our priority in the early days was to get her to eat, to get her teeth floated and her shoes removed. In the six weeks 4 days since her shoes came off her feet have improved a fair bit. The above shots are just of the near fore heels, but you can see how the heels are decontracting. There is even a visible difference just 4 days apart.

What you can't see in these pictures is how the frog has transformed from having the colour and texture of a piece of cheese to being more robust, grey coloured mega tough piece of india rubber.

When Grace's shoes came off and her soles shed the dead chalky layer, it was a bit alarming* to find her feet were more convex than concave. There is no doubt that she was uncomfortable for about 10 days on hard/lumpy surfaces. If her feet hadn't been changing shape so rapidly or if the walk from field to stable had been more than 100ft I would have booted or padded her feet.

Equally alarming was a) how badly her feet had been trimmed (by a qualified farrier) before the shoes had been put on b) the prospect of trimming the feet of a horse that was so worried by the process.

Now I don't need to worry, her feet are starting to become concave and she no longer worries about walking over hard surfaces. And she is very happy to be trimmed.

Of course all these external changes are being led by changes inside the foot. I can't imagine what that must feel like.

And what wands - [lavendar and lilac according to the cynics :-) ] - have been waved?

Diet is critical - and Grace's food is a long way from the current trend of premixed, sugary bagged feeds. And there are no expensive additives either. In fact feeding for foot health is very economical.

Environment is also important - and hard to manage for those of us on livery yards. The hooves need stimulating with 'appropriate' surfaces at the right time according to their progress. Grace is turned out in a standard overly sugary field. So I make up for it a little with the bedding I choose and a simple set of exercises; hand walking on concrete/tarmac and 'dancing' in the arena. I also keep her stabled for part of every 24 hours when grass sugars are at their highest.

For bedding I use Aubiose. I keep it dry (against the packaging instructions) as I find its crunchy texture seems to provide more stimulation than soft shavings or straw. Plus if looked after it is quite a dry bed, so helps combat fungal infections and thrush. It is also comfortable to lie down on (I've tried it), low in dust, easy to muck out and a similar price to shavings. For those who like a clean horse, it also drops out of manes and tails easily.

Think it through

Grace cantered to the gate so fast tonight she barely stopped in time. My beloved old Grey had a bad accident as a youngster doing exactly the same thing. From now on I shall wait until I am at the gate before I call her, because she stops when she sees you put up a hand. Not sure how that will work in the dark mind.

Grace did the same thing after our work session. When I signalled the end of the exercise she cantered up to me. No its not me she's keen on, but the click/treat reward. And yes she did stop in good time.

Not happy about 'move over' exercise when it involves swinging her quarters from her right to left, but she did it quite well in the end.

Grace seems to understand 'no' as well - so when she decided to cow kick instead of moving over and I said 'no' she stopped, thought about it and then tried the step over. It is almost as though she has been taught to kick - probably accidently, but whoever achieved this feat couldn't have done a better job if they had tried to do it on purpose.

I am going to think through the next stage of Gracies work quite carefully. There is a lot going on for her with her feet and general loosening up physically. It would be easy to push, because she is so willing. But if she gets sore she could easily get resentful and then we would lose everything we have gained.

Six weeks - off hind

Off hind, solar and side views. Left photos are the earlier shots, right hand are six weeks later.

No magic wands, waftiness or hippy activities :-) Just a good diet, adequate (not perfect) environment and an acceptable barefoot (not pasture) trim.

This foot was deeply infected and very sore. We have a way to go, but you can see how fast the foot has grown given the opportunity.

Sorry its sideways

Grace was in the far corner of the field hanging out with her mates - I couldn't even see her when I called. Then I heard a thunder of hooves and her head appeared over the horizon - I whipped out the phone, but by the time I was ready she had dropped to a steady plod. Sorry the video is sideways - I can rotate photos but video is beyond me at the moment. And yes she always has to go to the loo before coming in (in fact she gets quite upset if you don't let her).

3 month mark - no sugar or starch required :-)

No added sugar or starch required :-) or any other 'magic' (expensive) ingredients.

These pictures are just over 3 months apart, the first being on the day Grace 'landed' and the second is today.

We did a bit of training - pretended it was for Gracie but really it was for OH who has to help look after her when I go to Dallas in December.

Grace now leads beautifully, from both sides as you can see (OH hasn't quite got the lead on the near side bit yet). Grace goes past the killer chickens and the various items in the yard being very careful not to spook OH seeing as how he is just learning. But she can't resist using him as a scratching post after all that hard work in the rain. Fortunately she knows enough not to do this to everyone.

Result! - I didn't get kicked in the head :-)

Well Grace was very cute today. Got to the yard early as I had some work to do on her bed. My plan failed. She must of heard the car or something. Snuck my head round the corner and there she was waiting at the gate and snickering for me (ok let's be honest, not me, but her dinner).

As I have finally replaced my long reins I thought I'd have a play. She didn't try to kick me in the head; which I had half expected because of her anxiety about being roped again, so I took that as a good start. Education very elementary though, because she didn't have clue what I was on about. So I will start from scratch with her. All the time being extra careful as she can be quick to take fright.

We had a bit of a walk round the yard which I am building up daily now as I want her feet to start to wear naturally and I also want to stimulate the back of her foot more effectively.

I think her feet are decontracting - they are certainly better than they were, although I am concerned with the recent wet that the thrush may creep back. The bars look a little odd in the photo, but they don't look so bad in the flesh. Mind you the walls look considerably worse :-(

The first picture is near fore just deshod, the second and third are the same foot from the solar view and a quick squint at the back. You can see in both of today's pictures how the back of the foot is opening up and appears more robust.

You are kidding right?

It was raining when I went to catch Grace. She ignored her head collar and walked in glued to my shoulder. I don't think I could have left her behind if I'd tried.

Grace has had a few days off (ok nearly a fortnight) I blame work but in truth I'm just disorganised. Did get all four feet roughed out though which took several goes.

Oddly the recent rain has galvanised me into action and this morning Grace had her first 'work' session for a while. It was fun and funny. Sorry no pictures - I'll try and get some later.

Grace has been developing her heel first landing and I thought I'd see how she went on a softer surface. Up to this point soft arena type surfaces have not been good. This morning was different and I felt confident enough to ask for a bit of work rather than just mooching about.

Well I didn't need to anyway - a mare on box rest decided to start 'shouting' and Grace decided she really needed to see if she could escape from the arena (for rescue purposes?).

Well I said 'no' and the look on her face - she should have been a biped in red wellies with bows in her hair. She really thought that if she squeaked a bit and stomped she would get what she wanted. Sorry Grace, but compared to some of the efforts I've seen yours are pathetic. Not that I want Grace to learn anything more dramatic.

I didn't have to 'do' anything other than insist that she continue to move around the arena edge in the direction of my choice. And it really didn't take any effort, just a little squaring of the shoulders and 'the look'.

Grace is a good girl, she soon settled into her work and did some lovely trot, relaxed and as soon as I let her off the track she came in for some in-hand work. We did a little 'step over' practice and that went well so I rewarded her and turned her out.

Mutual trust

Well today I did something I only do with horses I trust a lot. I balanced Gracies fore foot on my knee. Its a big trust thing for her too because it does leave her more vulnerable than the usual foot pick up. And she learnt immediately that if I faced forward and asked for 'foot' she needed to relax it forward rather than flip it up and under.

The following pictures are near fore side view - you can see how her foot had been allowed to scoot forward in her previous life. Solar view of near fore - heel is decontracting nicely. Then side views of near and off hind. See how the nasty infected crack is rapidly growing out. Final picture is Grace being a safe perch for a magpie - there were two before I got my camera out.

Man training

I wanted to post these in the order they were taken. Grace used to have an issue with two people working in close proximity round her and she was not terribly thrilled about having her ears touched.

Well our girlie is getting brave! (And a bit fat I know, I know, but one thing at a time.) Here she is making up to my fantastic OH. He is quite tall, so he makes Gracie look tiny.

And having had a good smooching session they finished it off with breakfast. Gracie looks very content to me. And who wouldn't be with scratches and food being served up by your own personal man servant?

You get what you reward

Grace is out overnight and in during the day. I have found over the last few days that Grace's walk from the field to the stable has got so fast I could barely keep up. It took a while for the penny to drop.

I was rewarding her for reaching specific targets; so anxious for the 'prize' she naturally got faster and faster.

So now I am rewarding her for 'walking to heel', she is so smart she got the hang of it straight away.

We also started work on 'move over'. This really worried her at first, but within in a few minutes she realised it was just another way of getting rewards and then she settled down and started to really enjoy herself.

'Dancing' with Grace

Very important to encourage the back of Gracies feet to develop - at the moment they are still the immature feet of a baby. This will likely be due to inappropriate management when she was growing - which is probably true of the majority of horses in the UK and is an important but usually unrecognised element of much lameness and back soreness.

Lack of oomph in the back of the foot, plus less than ideal diet, exercise etc will encourage toe first landing and this is often a precursor to the development of navicular syndrome.

Gracie is 9 and low mileage. Not necessarily a good thing. Horses have evolved with the need to move a lot. The need is more than just physiological, its psychological too.

But of course while her feet are a work in progress we have to be especially considerate of how and what we do with her.

Where Gracie lives is a little low on facilities and we are not yet ready on any terms to hike up and down the road. So we are learning to 'dance'.

Just to encourage gentle and wide ranging movement. The alternative is to just lead her round in endless circles as the YO doesn't allow lunging or loose schooling in the sand arena.

It was kind of Gracie's idea. Having caught onto the whole 'targetting' thing with the clicker training she decided that she could target my right hand. So if I push my hand to her she steps back, if I put my hand on my thigh she steps towards me - if I wave it to the right she goes to her left, and if I wave it to my left she goes to her right.

I know nothing about dance, but if I can figure out how to put in a twirl or two I reckon we might manage a waltz :-)

But you will have to just imagine it because there is no way I am going to let anyone take any photos!

HYPP

A horrible inherited disease. There is a reliable test for the HYPP gene so it could be erradicated in a generation. For more information about this condition go to: www.bringinglighttohypp.org/
Particularly read the experiences sections.

But can you believe the number of horses which are HH has doubled?

As the gene is dominant even an N/H horse will have the condition. It is painful, frequently fatal and can strike at any age. A few horses with it will have relatively ok lives but most will not. And not just horses but people get hurt too. You'd think the people that care more about money than livestock might worry about that, but apparently not.

The whole thing stems from one Quarter Horse stallion called Impressive. He bred 2,500 odd foals. The condition has now leaked out into other breeds too because people have a habit of mixing and matching somewhat carelessly.

Grace is an example. Why would anyone breed a QH/Arab to a warmblood? Forget the fancy handles, she is a mongrel. A rather beautiful mongrel, but one that ended up on the meat waggon. And let's face it, the more crossed out a horse is the more likely that will be. Unless it is well trained and performing. And Grace is neither (yet).

And the connection between HYPP and Grace? Well I researched the QH element of her bloodline. I can't find any direct link to Impressive, but there are a number of unnamed horses in her pedigree so who knows? Anyhow I have lined my vet up to get her tested. I have no intention of breeding from her but I want to know her HYPP status for her sake and mine.

What I have discovered during my research is the sheer ignorance that exists among QH owners and breeders about HYPP. And the fact is that some people will do anything for money regardless of the pain that might cause.

Solid Foundations

Got a good reminder of the importance of solid foundations today. As usual it was my exceptional klutziness that lead to the situation.

So two days in a row I make a hash of dressing a foot. Yesterday it was the off fore, today it was the near hind. Today there is so much duck tape that removing the dressing was somewhat sticky :-)

Unfortunately I forgot myself and started tugging away somewhat impolitely (never a good idea to do these things in a rush). This reminds Grace that people have a nasty habit of tying ropes to her feet. So she very firmly takes her foot away and makes it quite clear I better learn some manners before I can have her foot back.

So we go back to basics, back to a place where hopefully she will feel safe (and I feel humbled). I get the fat end of the lunge whip and gently touch it to her leg, ask for 'foot' and away we go, no problem, no stress. Rinse and repeat three times with appropriate clicking and treating.

Then having 'apologised' and reassured Grace that actually I can do it nicely, Grace lets me remove the dressing from her foot. No stress, no hassle, easy as pie. Now why didn't I do it properly in the first place? Because I am a dumb human and I am lucky to have Grace remind me quite gently that I need to pull my socks up and not be so slack about things. She would have been within her rights to get a strop on and not talk to me for ages, but she isn't like that, she is actually quite forgiving.

Having got that episode over with we spent five minutes doing a little loose schooling. Time to get her exercising again, to develop her feet and to put brakes on the weight gain. I hate to admit it but the girl is getting a bit fat.

I also started to introduce her new diet. I'll post the ingredients separately.

Changes can happen in just 6 days

Grace's near fore, six days ago (the day after we pulled the shoe) and yesterday. Criticise the trim all you want, I know its not perfect. But just look at the frog development - way to go!

If it wasn't for the squiffy lump on the apex of the frog I'd struggle to recognise it as the same foot. It doesn't even look the same shape. But another 'tell' is the notch between the sole and wall at the tip of the toe.

The foot hasn't really changed structurally that much, but trimming away the flare and bringing the heels back makes such a difference. I am most pleased about the way that the back of the foot is opening up. I never expected it to happen so fast, especially as the environment, exercise and diet are a long way from ideal. (We are working on it).

Pavlov's Ponies

Gracie gets more expressive every day. She is now taking after Madam and likes to give her tongue an airing when food is on its way.

Previously rejected herbs are now considered delicious and we have managed to exclude all sugary supplements/treats and she is eating her dinner with relish.

Today she had a good go at completely polishing her feed bowl. I still have to hold it though. We are working towards it being on the ground, but its not been a priority.

Gracie can also now eat her hay from the front of the stable rather than having to hide at the back. And as usual spending time in her company left me totally blissed out.

I came home buzzing

Grace can do that for you. Simple things mean so much. I was being a total klutz this morning. Trying to gel her off fore and just messing up every step.

After much faffing I had got to the point of using the duck tape to hold the padding in place. Laurel and Hardy had nothing on me. So Grace, bless her, helped me out.

Every time I had managed to get a piece of tape ready she picked her foot up so I could put it on. She did this about a dozen times. How smart is that? And no wriggling or shifting before the padding was properly secure.

It is said it requires a lot of patience to rehab a horse. Well Grace has plenty!

This is the solar view of Grace's near hind. It's a bit of curate's egg. The frog is ok, but you can see the forward flare and laid over bars. The flare was worse, but before I took this picture I had already taken it back a bit. I trimmed it a bit more today and will post a photo of the completed trim when its done.

I used White Lightning Gel on the near fore today. I was going to do all four, but I acquired an audience and I didn't think it fair on Grace or me to have to perform without practicing first.

That said she didn't mind the gelling/padding and taping at all. I will get to the other feet as soon as I can.

I did do a bit of trimming with people floating about though. Grace is very settled and doesn't mind being trimmed at all.

Ouch!

In this picture you can see just how under developed the back of Grace's foot is. No digital cushion or lateral cartilages to speak of. Despite being bare for much of her life. This goes to show how important the correct environment is - without the stimulation of a variety of terrain and lots of movement their feet just don't develop.

Even so Grace's feet are adapting to her new barefoot life already. Her heels have widened by a couple of millimetres in front. The infection and corns are drying up and she is trying out her heel first landing.

Unsurprisingly, because the back of her foot is so weak, all this is a bit painful, not on soft surfaces, but the 100 yards from her box to the field is concrete and she has a shorter stride, with a lower head carriage for that.

Tomorrow, if all goes well I will put white lightning gel on her feet. The question mark is over whether I will be able to tape her feet up.

Oh and my hoof stand has finally arrived so I won't have to balance feet on my knees any more. I will start training Grace to use it tomorrow, unless it gets in the way of gelling her feet.

Invisibility Cloak

Horse shoes are like Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, only not so useful and much more unhealthy. Horse shoes cover things up, but it doesn't mean they aren't there.

So Grace had her shoes removed last Thursday and each day as I pick my way through the rotten, stinking material that was formerly hoof I find more horrors.

Each foot has its own receipe of rot. The near fore, underneath a half cm of thick black goo, was sheltering a suppurating corn which has started to bleed. This explains why it is hard for her to hold up her other fore leg for very long. It is just too painful for her near fore to take her weight for very long. I have cleaned away the goo, left more heel than I would normally to keep the weight off the corn and dressed the bleed with some broad spectrum antibiotic. I will continue to clean and treat twice daily until it has healed.

Her off fore also has corns, but they are not yet bleeding. The amount of infection in both fronts, all previously under the shoes, is huge, but not as bad as the hinds. On both front I have rolled the feet where possible, to relieve the flares and start to bring the feet into balance. I am going to do this slowly as the poor girl is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The fronts of her feet are sore because of the flare and thin sole, the back of her feet are sore from the infections and corns. While it is horrible now, it will resolve. The faster I can clear the infection the sooner she will feel better.

The hinds are the same but much much worse. But although I know its bad, part of me feels it can't be as bad as it was because at least now she has stopped 'backing up' her bed and standing in her droppings. - Horses with foot/limb/back pain will sometimes stand with their hind limbs jacked up on a ridge of bedding to relieve the pain - and if they have an infection in their feet they will stand in urine or droppings because although long term this contributes to the problem, in the short term it provides a measure of relief.

Grace was incredibly sweet today. I took a punt and left her untied while I cleaned, disinfected and did a bit of trimming of her hooves. She made no attempt to wander off or resist at all. And this is the horse that was supposed to be a nightmare to handle?

I am working on her addiction to sugary things - so not all her food got eaten today because I halved the sugar content, but she did eat most of it. Normally any horse I managed would get no sugar at all. But such was Grace's condition that getting her to eat was the priority. Now she is a good weight, her teeth are done and she is settled, we can dejunk her diet.

All blissed out

Not even 48 hours and Grace is already feeling the benefits. She was totally blissed out this morning. On the food front, she is more content when she is eating, she seems to be drinking less and her droppings have gone from cow splat squidgy to something approaching normal.

Foot wise, her front knee which was starting to knuckle over is now straightening up and she is trying for a heel first landing. Even though she has been in for 24 hours (for worming) she is still very 'chilled out'.

I have started soaking the bulk of her hay. When she first arrived she turned her nose up at it, but she is getting more willing to try new things and now soaked hay is very welcome.

Just deshod pictures

Overall the feet are flared, too long and showing signs of LGL. The foot with the big hole (off hind) is badly underrun. Three nails got left behind, two of which I got out today, but the third one is really stuck.

Grace has been patient throughout, but I am not going to push my luck. We have time to work on these feet at our own pace. I rasped each of them a little today, just to see how she would react really. Grace seemed totally unfazed.

For foot rasping I have replaced the clicker sound with the sound of the rasp being put on the floor. Of course the flaw is when I drop it, but rule 2 is I put the foot down, Grace doesn't snatch it away. So far so good. We are getting through treats fairly quickly.

I am pleased with how Grace has reacted so far, even for a regular horse her behaviour has been good, for a horse with her history, well, if you didn't know you'd never guess.

As a final note - not only was I messing with her feet but we had high winds, then sun and flies, and then deer scooting about and still she stood for me.

She is so different to the horse her breeder described. Maybe she is a ringer!