Flag pulled a shoe and in the process ripped half his hoof off - so he's out of commission for at least a week. It's been raining so much lately that their hooves seem to be very weak and brittle.
In our group lesson I rode Veronica's horse - Monty. I'm still a bit petrified of horses that I'm unfamiliar with, so even though I did hop onto Didi during the week, I was very apprehensive to canter him. The fact that he threw Tarren off just the other day and she got hurt pretty badly didn't help of course.... so I think that's why Pam decided I should ride Monty rather. I've watched V ride him so many times, I felt quite comfortable to ride him. His trot wasn't great - very bouncy and unballanced, but his canter was absolutely devine!!! So slow and soft, it felt like I was floating! That would be my next goal with Flag - to soften his canter, even though I have to admit it's so much softer and smoother than it was the first time I rode him!
Lesson 1 March 2011
I still think there is something wrong with my balance! Even in the trot he falls out of the circle, so I need to concentrate on my weight distribution and turning him with my hips!!!
Flag's balance and rhythm has improved so much! I'm very proud of my boy, even though I realize we still have a long, long way to go!
2 March 2011
Flag pulled a shoe AGAIN... we decided to take his shoes off and see if we can't get some growth to the hooves but the farrier I got for a second opinion said this was a very bad idea, because all he was doing now, is bruising his soles.
So, we threw all the advice we've received so far together (I mean seriously, it HAS been 2 months!!!)
- Replace normal shoes with racing shoes , which is thinner and lighter than the normal shoes
- Put him on a hoof supplement (Pam started him on a Biotin supplement)
- Apply Stokholm Tar once a day to harden the hooves (though they have already been doing this for a while)
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| Evening of 5 March in his stable. |
Today was Johan's 48th birthday party at the stables and I had the most awesome experience with Flag ever. I went to say hi to him in his stable and he was lying down - now usually, as you may or may not know, the horses jump up when you go into their stables at night. Flag however, just lay there and actually allowed me to cuddle up next to him! It was such a special moment!
Charlene, myself and G went back 5 min later to try and get a picture of the moment - but alas he stood up. Still got a cute pic though :)
16 March 2011
I rode Flag today for the first time in 2 weeks... his hooves are better now - I expected a frisky little beast, but luckily it was so damn wet we couldn't do much more than a light trot...
