Relative Something

The horses finally received their long-awaited hoof trim; the first since they arrived here last fall. I learned a few more new things to add to my long list of “firsts” since we moved here. The quarter-inch of hoof that was cut off after over 6-months of growth will be about the same amount that gets cut off in 8 to 10 weeks.

The hair and hooves of a horse are linked, in the sharing of nutrients for growth. In the fall, when the energy shifts toward growing longer, thicker coats of hair, the hoof growth slows. In the spring, with reduced need to grow the extra hair, and the change of diet to include grazing fresh grass, the growth of hooves increases significantly.

I was intrigued to see how the farrier, our neighbor, George Walker, held the horse’s leg between his knees while he worked. That takes some strength to do. I wasn’t all that surprised to see that Delilah loved having new chew treats from the discarded portions of trimmed hooves.

We were lucky to have Elysa visiting at the time of the appointment, giving us another experienced horse handler to assist with wrangling the 4 members of the herd. One issue we didn’t really plan was that the appointment for their “pedicure” (hoof-icure?) was happening about a half-hour before their usual afternoon serving of feed.

If horses know nothing else, they know routine, and they have a keen perception of when it is time for grain. Their anticipation grows into a bit of restlessness if the feed isn’t being served when they expect it. As it was, we were already throwing in the unusual circumstance of haltering one at a time and bringing them into the barn.

Since the barn is where the feed comes from, they grew a bit more perturbed by all this activity in the barn, with no feed being served as a result. As Cyndie and Elysa worked to separate Dezirea, the last horse to have her hooves trimmed, the herd crowded the gate. When Cyndie headed in, Elysa got trapped between horses and Hunter took the opportunity to jump the line and head into the barn, untethered.

I had left the big barn doors open for extra light, but that meant Hunter was entering space where he could easily get loose. The only thing in his way was, me. I put a hand at the base of his neck, just above his chest, and held my ground while Cyndie worked to calm Dezirea and Elysa reclaimed authority as gate-keeper. I was eyeing the gear hanging nearby, hoping for a quick, handy lead rope, but just moments earlier I had taken that rope for use as a leash to lead Delilah out from underfoot.

The situation resolved without further incident when Hunter made the good decision to turn around on his own and head back out to the paddock. Luckily, Dezirea didn’t freak at the uncontrolled activity playing out in confined space, because the dance of people and horses left me squarely in her kick zone as I moved with Hunter’s turn.

At that point, the relatively easy decision was made to give the three outside horses their pans of feed, and allow Dezirea to nosh on her share from a hand-held bucket during her turn with George. Calm was restored, and the next thing we knew, the first farrier visit to Wintervale Ranch was in the books. Done!

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