A Ride to Clear the Mind

I took some time to do a trail ride this weekend. Yes in just a bareback pad, and no I didnt eat any dirt. If you look closely it looks like the Booster Boy is asleep. It was so nice to just hang out with him and not work on anything.

more on the hooves

First let me clear the air and say my farrier has done nothing that I have not asked him to do. He has done the very best that he can.
Second I was going to post pics but I have decided to not do that, in the interest of fairness to all parties concerned. If you would like to see the pictures please email me dq4abu@gmail.com and I will be happy to email them to you.
Here is a run down of feed, turnout, training etc.
He is turned out seven day a week, he does sleep in a stall.
He gets reset every 4-6 weeks depending on growth.
He eat Eastern Oregon Hay 8-12lb per day-weight is excellent body score 5-6
He gets Allegra 2x daily. 1 scoop am/1.5scoop pm with horse gaurd vits, majesty cookie, farriers formula, strongid and 1/4 c wheat germ oil
He works 5x weekly, w/2 full days off. Each work out is approx 1hr and some trail rides
We are showing First Level this year, schooling Second and a bit of Third.
The arena has amazing footing.

Internal Battle Field

I am getting ready to make a choice that will affect me and more importantly Abu. I spoke in my last post that he has not great feet. Let me start with some background on this. When I bought him he wore no shoes and with in a month of buying him I made the choice to have shoes. My farrier has done the best that he can all things considered.
However the feet arenot getting better they are getting worse. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result. That's where I am at.
I have made an appointment for next Friday at 10:00 to meet a holistic hoof care specialist for a consult. I have spoke to several on the phone and this guy was the only one that did not tell me I was an idiot and already doing everything completely wrong for my horse. One I spoke with pretty much told me I was a horrible horse owner, I did not care for him correctly, did not feed him correctly and have most likely destroyed any chance of him leading a healthy life. I will not meet with this woman.
So here lies my dilemma. If I make the decision to remove the shoes and go natural I don't know if we will be able to go to Sport Horse, my dream. If I leave the shoes on I continue to damage the hoof possibly. I am doing lots of reading and trying to educate myself as much as possible. Tonka wears no shoes and has never had a hoof problem. I cant really make an informed decision till after I meet with the Holistic guy.
Also there is the emotional part of all this. My current farrier has made it very clear that if you choose another path you are not welcome back to his client roster. Almost everyone in my barn uses this farrier. I have spoken with Barn Owner S and she is supportive of any choice I make, but I know in the long run it will put her in an wierd place for a bit. I just don't know what to do. I do know that Abu is my baby and I will go to the ends of the earth to get this right for him. I have spoken about different options including pulling shoes for a bit with current farrier and he is an adamant NO.
Does anyone have any insight, I would love any and all feedback.

Da Feets....

Well Mr Abu is possibly the Arab with the worst feet in all of America. He also delights in removing his shoes. I once found both of his front shoes hanging side by side in a wire fence, and he looked smug. I really don't think he cares if his toes look pretty.
So last Friday the Gray Devil managed once again to remove his right front shoe. I swear any other horse that removed shoes this much would be lame, not the Booster Boy. I think its a game. Have farrier come visit, remove shoes, so he can see farrier again.
Now I am very particular about his feet. He wears bell boots 24/7, good ones that are heavy duty. He gets his Hoof Flex a minimum of 5 times per week. He gets Horse Guard hoof and hair formula. I treat for thrush that is not even there regularly. He gets pedicures regular as clock work. He never sleeps with muddy feet. His feet are taken better care of than mine. I follow the farriers instructions to a T, I never deviate from what he tells me to do. And still we throw shoes.ARRRRRRGGGGGG. Now he does grow odd, he seems to want to grow really fast at the toe and slow at the heel. He is just an odd horse. Tonka wears no shows and is as Happy as a pig in mud. Go figure.
So he has been on light work since Friday just lunging and in hand work. Let me just say that is not nearly enough for an almost 8 year old VERY fit Arab. He has soooo much energy. He must be worked to keep his little mind busy. He was actually a bad boy last night and struck out at me when I was doing in hand. Hoof hit my thigh and I have a nasty bruise. He has never done that before.
So I called farrier on Monday, no return call. Barn Owner S calls farrier Tuesday, finally gets return call but call gets lost. I call farrier again, no return call. Barn Owner S calls me today and says farrier will be to barn sometime after 4pm today. I race to barn after work (in work clothes) and wait for farrier. At 6pm farrier calls Barn Owner S, he wont be out till Thursday morning. ARRRGGGG. I don't think farrier has very good time management skills. Oh well what are you gonna do right...just annoying.

If You cant beat em Join em!!

I rode Tonka yesterday. It was made very clear that even though he could be an amazing Dressage horse, he would much rather remain a cow pony. He is western. So I am on the hunt for a saddle for him. The poor little guy just cant take the pressure of being on the bit, it over whelms him.

I took an in hand lesson today, very interesting. I must say I want to learn more about this.

And for those of you that were curious as to what "buzzing" the arena is hop on over to Beth and Sams place as she uploaded a video of a aged DQ pretending to be a Rodeo Queen, trying to capture a bit of my youth perhaps.http://www.samthehorse.blogspot.com

First Saturday in May

20 three year olds took the to the track today at Churchill Downs....only 19 returned to the paddocks.
Please think of "EIGHT BELLES" and her humans today, a young filly lost much to soon.

I have a confession to make...

Well I have held out long enough and its time to come clean.

You know I rant on about dressage and it being my life. Well the truth is about 20 years ago I had another life.....I was....a RODEO QUEEN!!!!! Yes, its true.

See I come from a long line of Rodeo Queens and the family glory is still being carried on today. Now if you are going ppfffttt, Queening is not easy. You must be chosen to be a Queen and the competition in fierce. You must be able to ride, well, you must do public speaking, community service, fund raising, have excellent Rodeo knowledge etc. You are tested and judged at every moment during the 2-4 week selection process and once crowned you are watched like a hawk to make sure your values are in order.

The funny part about being a Queen in you for the most part have to pay for everything. Your home Rodeo will support you some, but those clothes are expensive and if you do a 3 day Rodeo you need a different outfit for every day.The travel expenses are huge, and some venues only allow fresh flowers and flowers for saddle blankets cost huge $$$.

Some of the less glamorous parts of being a Rodeo Queen include buying pants that are one size to small and have pockets sewn shut, then you cut out lining and rip the stitch at the bottom of the zipper so you can wear them. You cover your teeth with Vaseline during parades and grand entry's so the dust doesn't get to gritty. Or my personal favorite is with your pants being so tight you may pass out and can no longer feel your legs, have a friend spray your butt with Aqua Net hair spray till very wet and get on horse, you do stick.

I have trained Abu to Buzz the arena and on occasion for Trainer Tracey and Hubby will demonstrate, mostly for there amusement.

This is my little Cousin Candi,,,yet another proud family Queen at the Rose Festival Parade, and those flowers, they came from my yard.