Riding today? NOT!

The culprit~

I was so excited to see the weather report for days & days of sunshine!  Linda & I had planned to ride today...  But - when I went up to saddle Farah - the hind shoe that was loose yesterday - was off to the side today.  I'd tried to tighten the clinches when I noticed it, Farah was very patient with my pounding - but I wasn't getting much done.  The nail heads are completely Gone...  This in only three weeks!  The telling number though, is the one Justin asked me about when I called him...  How many miles?  Well...  with the endurance ride & our somewhat normal trail riding - over 140!

Mesh material used to hold the packing

For the first time, I wanted to try Vettec Equi-Pack - a product designed to act as a replacement for traditional pads, along with other therapeutic uses.  My thought - was that after the ride, I would be able to remove or cut out the sole packing, allowing the bottom of the foot to stay dry & hard as they have been, without having to wait a full shoeing cycle to remove pads.  (I'm no fan of pads, but since the horses on this side of the state live in such typically wet conditions - hoof capsules stay soft longer into the year.  (This was something that Jim Bryant, DVM brought to my attention when he hoof tested Khari during her pre-purchase exam.)  For a ride - I like having that extra layer of protection - lameness pulls are no fun.)

We learned several things - first - the double tube of the product was not enough to fill all four of Farah's feet.  We could have used part of another tube.  Since Justin didn't have another of that product, he used a little of the traditional Equi-Pack to fill in some gaps around the edges, thinking that if anything - it would help the packing to stay in.   As with trying anything new before a ride - I was worried about how well it would stay in - but it did.  It wasn't until this last week that they started coming loose.  I cut off what I could & picked out her feet - noticing that the mesh product being under the shoe - seemed to have loosened the shoes a little.

Of course with the nail heads now gone - there just isn't enough to keep the shoes on her feet - especially since she works so well off her hind-end.  So - today - instead of the fine ride we'd planned, guess those weeds are calling my name!