Barefootin'

This past Friday Lilly's shoes came off. She's had her studded slippers on for several weeks and it looked like it was time to take them off. Besides, the ground is softer now with the warmer temps of late and the melting snow--the muddy ground provides ample cushioning for sensitive feet. But first, the old shoes must come off. Here is a shot of Bill taking them off. See that tool belt around his leg? Pretty nifty.

After the shoes are off, Bill looked at her frog and trimmed off a few pieces that were shaggy and shedding. The frog is fascinating. Amid all these hard surfaces, there's this triangular spongy thing! He also assessed her sole and the weightbearing edge. Next comes the rasp. In all stages of trimming Bill can eyeball the hoof and know what to do. If I were left in charge of trimming Lilly's feet, I'd have protractors and calipers out to make sure I was getting everything right. This is why having a good farrier is so valuable.
Here's Bill creating the beveled edge. I mean, I'm pretty sure that's what he's doing.

And finally, Bill cleans up any rough edges.

Lilly stands very nicely for a pedicure. I am always so pleased with her when she makes it easy for Bill to work on her. If she's terrible for her trimming, Bill might curl his lip at having to do it. And I wouldn't blame him. Maybe one day I will be able to trim and shoe Lilly so Bill can have a rest.

After Lilly's trim I took her down in the ring where she was very crabby about having to be ridden. Little sour mare. She even gave a little buck! (Picture posted yesterday.) When Lilly gets this way, I am crushed. I just want her to be a good little horse and follow my lead. What this means for me is that I've got to go back to my Clinton Anderson DVDs and see what he suggests. Or listen to Bill. I don't know what makes her so crabby in the ring. Chances are, she's lazy and is perturbed I'm actually asking her to do something other than eat hay. Or it is entirely possible that I myself am doing something wrong. As long as I do not end up on the ground staring at the sky with a broken back, a little protestation is fine. I just have to make her see that when she is cantankerous, it just means more work for her. Just like Clinton says: make the wrong thing difficult, and the right thing easy.