From the ground up...

Digby, yesterday, coming over to see me.

Digby is getting his hooves trimmed soon. It's been 4 weeks since his shoes came off but the farrier had left his toes a little long on purpose so he'd be a little more comfortable. When they get trimmed, I will be taking some photos just to compare. He's been super sound some days (darn you Digby! I wanna RIDE!) and then there's days where he isn't so sound. I don't think it has to do with the fact that he's barefoot really. He's been fairly ok with his shoes being pulled since day 1. I think it's just whatever he has going on in his left front. He's also due for a chrio/massage treatment. I hemmed and hawed about continuing these now that he's not being ridden but they definitely make him more comfortable. It's not that expensive and it makes him happy. The pain in his hoof makes him brace and create tension in his muscles, which explains why he's back sore right before he goes lame. Even though we're not sure how much pain he is in, he's certainly happy and if the massages make his muscles more comfortable even for a week or two, it's worth it to me.

I've been thinking that I'll have a lot of free time when I go back to night shifts in January. I'll be working hopefully 6 days a week from 4 pm till 11 pm foal watching and doing all the fun things that that goes along with. This leaves me with ALL DAY! to do fun things. I might start doing some ground work with him or clicker training. Digby has been clicker trained before and knows how to bow and say yes and no. I'm sure I could teach him some fun new tricks. I think he's bored and would like a job. Maybe it's me who's bored... I'm not sure! :) Either way, he's not the best horse to work with on the ground and does need work with clipping (ears only) and definitely with trailer loading/unloading. He's sort of irritating on cross ties because he does. not. stand. still! and thinks that pawing is acceptable, even though I tell him every single time he does it that it is in fact NOT ok. I've decided that this winter/spring without being ridden is a good time to work with him on that kind of stuff. Nothing else to do right? I've been researching the groundwork stuff and the only thing that worries me slightly is there is a lot of circling done and/or lunging type situations. I'm not sure I want to do a lot of small circles with a horse who is lame. We will have to see how he is doing then!

Grooming Tip Tuesday - White coronets, socks and stocking! Oh my!

(Apparently, the "auto post" option that I tried yesterday did not work... oops.)

White coronets, socks and stockings! Oh My!


This week it's all about the down and dirty on getting those whites CLEAN. My first step is always to shampoo them. I don't need to use a blueing shampoo, like Quik Silver, the first time around. I lather them up and scrub, scrub, scrub. If they're covered in super gross mud and dirt, they simply aren't going to get sparkling white. The next step is to rinse, let dry and then clip. I tend to use a 10 blade but you can also use a smaller blade, like a 15, if you prefer the closer clip. Be careful with a smaller blade that you don't leave clip lines! It's pretty easy to do if you're using anything above a 10 blade. I clip the entire white, whether this is just around the coronet or all the way up to the knees. After clipping, it will be much easier to keep those whites white! For basis maintenance, just keep up to date on shampooing when they get gross so the whites don't have the chance to stain in the first place.

For a show or any other important event that requires lots of flashy whites, I do the same first steps (shampoo, let dry, then clip) a day or two ahead of time. The day before the event, I shampoo with a blueing shampoo like Quik Silver. Make sure you don't dilute Quik Silver. Apply directly to the white and scrub. It needs to sit for about 5 minutes. If it sits too long, it has the chance of staining the white purple. Eek! But if it doesn't sit long enough, it doesn't get as white. After shampooing and washing out the shampoo, I do one of two things. If it's only a tiny coronet on front leg or on a generally clean horse, I usually just spray some ShowSheen to help repel stains and dust and call it a day. If it's a sock or a stocking, I apply baby powder or corn starch while the leg is still wet from the shampooing. Pack as much in the white as you can! Honestly. You almost can't use too much! I don't apply ShowSheen after the baby powder but that's just me. On the morning of the big day, brush out any baby powder/corn starch that is still in the white marking and admire. I usually apply ShowSheen on the white marking after knocking out the baby powder/corn starch just to be safe but it's not necessary. The whites NEVER get whiter than a good course of clipping, Quik Silver and baby powder! (Note: you can do this to an entire body, or to any white marking on the body, but it does require a lot of baby powder!)

If possible, wrapping and blanketing is always your best option before a show day. White legs stay much cleaner by default when they have wraps on!