fly swatter

The more I think about this kick, the more I really think it had to be a horsefly. Shyloh doesn't get too many horse flies on her, they prefer the darker horses over her. And I cannot stand to touch them with my bare hands, so I do not swat them that often, unless I have something else in my hand and no one else is around. Yes, I am a huge bug wimp. I see no reasons for things with more than four legs.

Giant blood suckers of Satan

Add to my bug wimpiness that Shy is a very independent horse that rarely looks to us mere humans for help, and horse flies have really been a non issue. So when the opportunity presented itself for me to shine with my horse fly killing skills/saving Shyloh skills, I jumped at the chance. I had her by herself, working on in-hand trail obstacles in the round pen. A horse fly landed on her and she began tail swishing and jerking her head back and to the sides to try to get at it. I grabbed a grooming brush and told Shy to stand still, to which she did not listen, she danced around some more. I quickly got her to stand still and went in for the kill! And I got the horse fly.

The look on Shy's face when I smacked it off her was priceless. It was awe and wonder and a little bit of surprise. Surprise, I think, because I did smack at her, but it wasn't hard and didn't actually hurt her. Wonder because the fly was gone. And awe because I did it. It was as if I had a new found purpose to her. A fly swatter.

Here is a little video I took as well, just to show how she picks her feet up on command.

survived!

Shyloh survived the night! The only mark she had was a tiny bit of hair missing, which could hardly be seen through the thickness. I felt her legs all the way down to her hooves. . .no heat!

Today, I just spent some time grooming Shy and picking her feet. Her feet! They have changed in the few days that she has been at the new place. Too bad the farrier was just out at the old barn to trim her feet. The weather has been wet and rainy, but the ground is very sandy and not muddy. Her frogs seem softer, something is different with her heels. I am not sure what is going on and if it is good or bad. At the old barn, there had no been much rain all summer, so her hooves were hard as rocks. I might give my farrier a call to see if these changes are anything to be concerned about. I think no, but I am a bit of a worrier, especially about her hooves.

We brushed up on some clicker training tricks: smile, wave, and kiss. Because Shy is not 100% comfortable yet, she was not willing to perform her tricks at first.

Then. . .we went with some other people and their horses on a trail ride!! Okay. . .I walked Shy and they rode, but it was awesome! Over four miles, round trip! My feet hurt.

shyloh's hooves

Okay, for all you hoof lovers out there. . .what do you think? Shyloh is getting trimmed Friday, her toes do look a tad long to me. She gets trimmed every 6 weeks religiously. I think I labeled the hooves correctly, I got a little mixed up with the photos, oops!

Right front

Right hind (at a funny angle, sorry)

Left front

Left hind

Right front side 

Left front side

Left rear side

Right rear side

Let me have it, fellow hoof lovers! I am trying to learn everything I can :) Her hooves have been a little dry and slightly chipping on the edges, so I have been adding coconut oil every time I go out. It is working really well!

every animal but me. . .

. . .got a pedicure today. The farrier came out to the barn to trim hooves. I riddled him with questions about Shy's feet, since I have been noticing differences because she has been mostly stall bound due to the weather. Where these her bars growing out? Why does the front of each hoof look like it's flaking by the coronet band? Her frog and heels are peeling, is that okay? Is she thrushy? Did she founder? Is this white line disease? Is that a bruise? Why has she been giving me trouble lifting her back right leg? Are her other feet sore?

Farrier butt. . .Shy was licking it.

The farrier politely stopped me and asked me if I subscribe to Equus. Of course I do! Doesn't every one? He laughed and said that Equus feeds into their reader's hoof paranoia. Every time a new article on hoof care/problems come out, he gets a ton of questions from his clients, but he said he does not mind answering. 

She also licked his neck. She does not leave the gentlemen alone!

He then patiently answered all my questions and reassured me that Shy has some of the best hooves he has seen. Yes, her bars are growing out, it happens.No, she is not thrushy, she actually has very nice frogs. The flaking at each hoof is comparable to our cuticle, it is just retaining moisture. Her peeling frogs and heels are just from standing on the wet ground. No, she is not thrushy, her frogs are quite healthy. No, she did not founder. No, that is not white line disease. No, that is not a bruise. She might be giving trouble with her back leg because it is her kicking leg and sense she is in a new herd, she might be in a protective mode, so no her other feet are not sore. Whew. Peace of mind.

When I got home, it was time to trim the dogs' nails. So they each got a little trim, too. And then there are my feet. . .sans pedicure.  But, I guess since they are stuffed in boots 90% of the time, it doesn't really matter. 

Maggie toes!

something cool. . .

My something cool finally came in the mail! I was so excited! The something new was the harness and line driving down the road. The something interesting. . .well, it is still a work in progress and proving to be a little more difficult than I thought. But, for my something cool, I had walked to my front door with my arms full of stuff and saw a package on the porch. I dropped everything and jumped for joy! Even the dogs had to wait to go outside until I was done with my jumping.

But first. . .the reason I was walking into the front door was because I was coming home from the barn. It was a nice day, but so so muddy. I really wanted to take Shyloh on a walk outside, but we would have sunk in the mud for sure. Instead, we had a little spa day.

Shy was not impressed with spa day

I groomed her really well, took my time, and just talked to her. Shy is shedding already; her body is so confused by this weather. I put some hoof conditioner on her hooves because they seemed to be dry. This dryness was the cause of a minor meltdown the other day, on my part. I had no idea what was wrong with her hooves, but after settling down and becoming rational. . .I realized that they are just dry.  Kathy confirmed this for me, whew. Shy has been inside during the week days because the pastures are dangerously muddy. I have been letting her out on weekends when I was there to supervise. 

I played around with her mane and came up with an evening "do" for her. It is a side swept mane-style that exposes a little more skin than Shy is used to showing. 

Showing a little neck. . .ooh lala

It is much more sophisticated than her normal double mane. Kathy said she looks more like a horse and less like a pony with her mane on one side. I would have kept it for a while, but as soon as we got in the arena, Shy shook it out. Back to the double mane. 

We lunged for a while. This is something we have been doing every time I have been going out. It's boring, but useful. We have been working on whoa and transitions. I did make a discovery today, though. I already knew she would not canter on a lunge line, but I found out she has two different trots. I cluck gets a slow, bumpy-looking trot and a kiss gets a quicker, more elongated, and smoother looking trot. Very interesting.

Anyway. . .here is my something new!

It was made by Sand at Manitiba MoonSox and Me. She does wood-burned signs and has a website called Cantering Customs. She does gorgeous work! She came up with the design and it totally encompasses everything that Shy is. I love it! Thank you so much Sand!! I can't wait to put it on Shy's stall tomorrow.