Hooves and hoofing it

Cibolo and I discussed his ongoing hoof needs. He wanted to know when he was getting new shoes. I told him that we were trying to strengthen his hooves, and then we'd see. He was not so thrilled. But he agreed to cooperate with the photo session. I'm posting these to create a record and track progress and, hopefully, the healing of the hooves as we try to transition to barefoot.



So, after a brief rinse off, we started. First the bare feet.

Using other photos I've seen, here's a few angles. Right rear. Um. Hind.

Left Hind. (See? I can learn)

Side view. Left...


and right.



Now to the front.




You can see here how high the nails went.



And the plastic gooey stuff to try to hold the structure together.



After our photo session, we went for a walk. It was cold and blustery, and all I was up for was some hand walking. This time it was just me and Cibolo.

We had a nice walk together. He leads so well, it's like having a large, really well trained dog. Then a few minutes of bareback - I was practicing having him stand next to an object and letting me get on. Walk two or three steps, then off. He's improving - he was avoiding mounting blocks and such and we're almost through that.

I still need a really, really high rock to actually be able to get on him without a stirrup. And he's not even that tall. 15.2? I think...

Makes a girl feel old.

Today, it's beautiful. Hopefully we'll ride.